Blackhawks score four in first, hold off Maple Leafs
via NHL.com
The Chicago Blackhawks scored four goals in the first period before holding off the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 5-4 win at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
“For us, that’s all that matters is getting the two points really,” said Blackhawks forward Brendan Perlini, who had a goal and two assists. “We played a really good first two periods and then let our foot off the gas, but the main thing is we got those two points. We’re in the chase (for the Stanley Cup Playoffs) so we just have to move on now and go again.”
Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks (31-30-9), who have won four straight and trail the Arizona Coyotes by four points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Corey Crawford made 17 saves before leaving after the second period because of an illness. He was replaced by Collin Delia, who made 26 saves on 29 shots in the third period.
“It felt like an eternity, those final seconds felt like a half an hour,” Delia said. “I was sweating pretty heavily after the game. After skating pretty heavily this morning, it definitely felt like a full game that third period.”
Andreas Johnsson, Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly each had a goal and an assist, and William Nylander and Mitchell Marner each had two assists for the Maple Leafs (42-23-5), who have lost three of their past four (1-2-1) and trail the Boston Bruins by four points for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Frederik Andersen was pulled for the second straight game after allowing four goals on 14 shots. He was replaced at the start of the second period by Garret Sparks, who made 24 saves.
“We put ourselves in a hole and we did our best to come back from it, but too little too late,” Rielly said. “When you look back at the start and the position we put ourselves in after the first period, that’s the problem. The last period is great, but you don’t want to be in that situation in the first place.”
They said it
“If somebody didn’t believe we could make the playoffs, they wouldn’t be here. It’s a really good group here and we all expect the best from each other. The League has been funny this year, too. One week we’re in it, one week out of it, then back in it again. Really, just stay there until the very end, until the final game goes and whatever happens, happens.” — Blackhawks forward Brendan Perlini
“We just have to figure it out. We don’t have to be concerned, but we have to realize that we have 12 games to figure out how well we want to come prepared to games. If we don’t, we’re going to be playing very short in the spring.” — Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen
Need to know
Toronto defeated Chicago 7-6 in overtime the first time the teams played on Oct. 7. … The Maple Leafs’ 29 shots in the third period were four shy of the NHL record for a single period, set by the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Blackhawks on Oct. 21, 2018. … Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman was a late scratch because of the flu. … Maple Leafs forward Kasperi Kapanen missed his second straight game because of a concussion. … Nylander’s assist on Johnsson’s goal was his 100th in the NHL. … Matthews played in his 200th NHL game. … Kane is one point shy of reaching 100 points for the second time in the NHL (2015-16).
What’s next
Blackhawks: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CITY, SNE, TVAS, WGN, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, NBCSP+, NHL.TV)
Mitch Marner became the first @MapleLeafs player to record 60 assists in a season since Doug Gilmour accomplished the feat in consecutive seasons (95 in 1992-93 and 84 in 1993-94). #NHLStats #CHIvsTOR pic.twitter.com/DcoJr8Q3Zd
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 14, 2019
Among players to begin their NHL careers with the @MapleLeafs franchise, only Charlie Conacher (131) has scored more goals through their first 200 games than @AM34 (106). #NHLStats #CHIvsTOR pic.twitter.com/NNZShRJb3z
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 14, 2019
John Tavares’ third period goal was his 39th of the season, establishing a new single-season career-high. #LeafsForever
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) March 14, 2019