Mitch Marner helped the Maple Leafs secure their fourth straight win when he scored two of their three goals against the Utah Hockey Club at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, November 24th. This was the first time the Maple Leafs and Utah played against each other. It was an unfortunate loss for the Utah Hockey Club after coming off a huge 6-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, which had been their first win after being stuck in a three-game losing streak. William Nylander scored the other goal of their three, and both Logan Cooley and Jack McBain scored the two Utah goals. The Toronto Maple Leafs head out to Florida to take on the Panthers on Wednesday, then to Tampa Bay on Saturday, before returning home to host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, December 2nd.
Toronto Maple Leafs Lineup:
McMann – Tavares – Marner
Robertson – Holmberg – Nylander
Grebenkin – Minten – Nylander
Steeves – Dewar – Lorentz
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
McCabe – Tanev
Benoit – Timmins
Woll
Stolarz
Utah HC Lineup:
Keller – Hayton – Schmaltz
McBain – Cooley – Guenther
Maccelli – Bjugstad – Crouse
Carcone – Stenlund – Kerfoot
Sergachev – Maatta
Cole – Lamoureux
Kolyachonok – Kesselring
Vejmelka
Stauber
Late into the first period with 2:12 remaining, Logan Cooley put the Utah Hockey Club in the lead at 1-0 with a power-play goal and his fourth goal of the season. Dylan Guenther, from the left circle, fired a one-timer that deflected in past Joseph Woll off of Cooley at the right post.
Mitch Marner scored the first Leafs goal to tie it to 1-1 with his seventh goal of the season at 14:45 of the middle frame. After fighting for the puck, Chris Tanev had it, but popped out and John Tavares got a hold of it, sending it down to Marner, who was in the neutral zone. Marner drove into Utah’s zone, beating Karel Vejmelka glove side on a breakaway. With 10:26 remaining in the second, Marner struck again for his eighth of the season to break the tie and give Toronto a 2-1 lead on the power play. A redirection attempt by Fraser Minten went wide of the net, however, Mitch Marner had gotten the puck below the goal line, immediately banking a shot in off the pads of Vejmelka. Not long after Marner’s second goal, William Nylander scored, pushing it to 3-1 at 9:10 of the second. Nylander slid a backhand five-hole on Vejmelka after he stole the puck from Logan Cooley back at the defensive blue line before skating in on a breakaway.
Early into the third period, Jack McBain cut it to 3-2 at 18:09, picking up his seventh goal of the season when he redirected a point shot by Logan Cooley in the slot. Joseph Woll protected Toronto’s lead at 7:09 when he stretched out his left pad, denying Michael Carcone, who attempted to jam a shot in past Woll at the right post.
Mitch Marner on the game, his first goal, and how they approached the game when there are so many regulars out of the lineup: “We played a lot better, straightforward, north. So, as soon as we started doing that, we won a little bit more battles as well, made quick plays off it, and got rewarded for it – I saw Johnny was able to go get it and turn up the ice with his head up and free space in front of him. I just tried to read what I had in front of me and there was a big gap there, so I just tried to find it and John made a great pass,” – “Just like the last couple. People need to step up and I think a lot of guys have done that in this locker room, and we got to continue to do it.”
Alex Nylander on what he will remember most about this game, the chance of getting some shifts with his brother, and how he felt overall: “A lot. It’s an amazing feeling and a really special feeling to be here on this team and with my brother. So, it’s something I’ll remember forever – It was really cool. We almost had a chance there to get one. It was a lot of fun to know how he plays and read off him. That was really special,” – “I actually felt pretty good out there. I thought I was going to be a little bit more, but since I played last year… that helped. I felt good out there throughout warm-ups and stuff. Obviously, I had a little bit of nerves but not too bad.”
Notes:
– During a four-game multipoint streak, Mitch Marner has recorded a total of eight points (four goals, four assists).
– William Nylander picked up both a goal and an assist. …In his season debut after signing a one-year contract on Friday, Alex Nylander had two shots and was plus-1 in 10:37 of ice time. Alex and William became the fifth pair of brothers to play in a game together for the Maple Leafs.
– Joseph Woll made a total of 23 saves for Toronto.
– The Maple Leafs are 7-1-0 in their past eight games, each of which they’ve played without their captain, Auston Matthews, due to an upper-body injury.
– Logan Cooley recorded both a goal and an assist.
– Karel Vejmelka allowed three goals on a total of 35 shots. …Vejmelka has started in six straight games for the Utah Hockey Club.
