You know things are going right for the Toronto Maple Leafs when they play against type and get a great goaltending performance from someone not named Frederik Andersen. The Leafs have been scoring on average more than five goals per game during their nine-game point streak but were able to extend that to 10 with a pair of second-period tallies, an empty-netter, and a stellar shutout performance by backup Michael Hutchinson in a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
Pierre Engvall and Auston Matthews scored goals 2:42 apart in the middle frame, and that was enough for Hutchinson, who stopped 33 shots for his third straight win after starting the season 0-5-1 and first shutout since January 5, 2019 against Vancouver.
“I felt really, really relaxed out there. I thought it was good to build off of the Detroit game in the New Jersey game. It was nice to get the win on that,” Hutchinson said after the game. “It was a lot of fun out there tonight. The guys played extremely hard. I thought we did a really good job defensively, we really made them have to work to try and generate chances. And then the guys bailed me out on a couple huge plays too.”
The wins and the recent performances by Hutchinson is taking a bit of pressure off Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, who after Toronto backups earned just one of a possible 14 points in October and November was likely facing the prospect of paying a steep price to acquire a new backup for Andersen.
It is not impossible that Toronto will still look for an upgrade between the pipes between now and the February 24th trade deadline, but it can now if the cost is reasonable.
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Leafs prospect Rasmus Sandin finished off his impressive performance at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship with a goal in Sweden’s 3-2 win over Finland to earn the bronze medal. The 19-year-old finished the tournament as the highest-scoring defenseman with 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists).
Leafs prospect Rasmus Sandin has his first goal of the day to tie things up for 🇸🇪! pic.twitter.com/rfwmnGOcRZ
Toronto’s 2018 first-round pick played six NHL games before being sent down to the American Hockey League in October, and it was thought that Sandin would remain with the Toronto Marlies for the rest of the season to prevent his burning the first year of his entry-level contract, but Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported on HNIC’s Saturday Headlines that the Leafs may consider promoting the rookie later in the season.
Sandin did not seem overwhelmed by the NHL in his earlier stint with the Leafs, and the club has a hole on the left side of the blueline with Jake Muzzin out until after the All-Star break with a broken foot.
Johnston indicated that Toronto was not concerned about exhausting the first year of the ELC, likely because Sandin would not exceed 40 games this season, which is what is necessary to start the clock towards unrestricted free agency.
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