Curtis McElhinney made 39 saves in his first game since Dec. 20, and Nazem Kadri scored two goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Thursday.
“It feels good. Obviously, it’s been a long layover,” McElhinney said. “It’s just the way the schedule’s worked out. The last couple games for me were tough personally, so this was a nice way to bounce back tonight.”
Zach Hyman and Auston Matthews scored, and defenseman Jake Gardiner had three assists for the Maple Leafs (28-18-5), who were coming off a 3-2 overtime win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
“We skated real good tonight, maybe as good as we’ve skated all year,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “All four lines were good. It was a big win for our team. Anytime you win back-to-back, especially with the way Dallas has been playing — Dallas has been playing real good. [Stars coach Ken Hitchcock] does a good job and you knew it was going to be a tight game.”
Just a goal scorer and his goaltender. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/EKC28B6x5h
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 26, 2018