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Leafs persevere in sweep of Flames

January 27, 2021, 9:11 AM ET [542 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The Toronto Maple Leafs started their rematch with the Calgary Flames like a house on fire, scoring a pair of goals and limiting the home squad to one shot in the opening 20 minutes, but in spite of being outshot 25-11 for the rest of the game, the Leafs were able to weather the storm in the second of back-to-back games and sweep the two-game set with a 4-3 victory at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.

Mitch Marner, who is tied for the NHL scoring lead with Connor McDavid, beat Jacob Markstrom on a one-timer with 7:46 remaining to give the Leafs their third straight victory.

Wayne Simmonds, Auston Matthews, and Travis Boyd scored for Toronto, and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves for his fourth win of the year, as the Leafs improve their record to 6-2-0 on the season and move into first place in the North Division.



Toronto once again got contributions throughout their lineup, as Simmonds scored in his second straight contest and Boyd notched his first goal as a Leaf early in the second period, but the difference in the contest was the power play cashing in on one of their two opportunities and the top line scoring the game-winner after the Flames rallied from a two-goal deficit.

“We were reeling there for quite a while, but the fact that our best people just got to work when things were all even again and went out there and found a way to get us another one,” Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “We (didn’t) like a lot of things about the game, in terms of how we let them back in it, That just shows where we need to continue to grow as a team.”

Keefe took advantage of some fresh legs throughout the game, giving the fourth line of Boyd, Joey Anderson and Pierre Engvall and defenseman Mikko Lehtonen a healthy share of ice time. Boyd and Anderson replaced Alexander Barabanov and Jason Spezza and saw around 10 minutes ice time on the night. Lehtonen took a regular shift with Zach Bogosian and played a season-high 13:03 in the game, but played only one shift in the third with the Leafs trying to preserve a lead.

“There’s a lot for us to still find out in terms of how he can handle different matchups and how much we need to protect him and give him an opportunity to really adjust to the League and to the pace of play and the competition. I would still say we’re uncomfortable. I think if he were speaking honestly, Mikko is probably a little uncomfortable too.” Keefe said. “We don’t have that luxury so whether it’s Mikko or whether it’s any of our other depth players we’ve been moving in and out, it’s a challenge. Every team is dealing with that in their own way and we’ll continue to get him involved when we can and give him opportunities.”



Toronto moves on to Edmonton to begin a two-game series with the Oilers on Thursday

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