Rittich, Flames push past Maple Leafs in shootout
via NHL.com
The Calgary Flames won for the sixth time in seven games, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in the shootout at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
Derek Ryan scored, and David Rittich made 35 saves for the Flames (26-18-5), who are 6-1-0 in their past seven. Matthew Tkachuk scored the only goal in the shootout.
“Both goalies were good,” Rittich said. “That was a great game, not too many goals, but both teams had a lot of chances to score, and I would say [Frederik] Andersen was really good too. It was great to shut them down offensively, that’s why we came here. … I’m kind of tired right now. I can’t wait to get to the airplane. They’ve got five or six guys who can score anytime when they get the puck, so it wasn’t easy.”
William Nylander scored, and Andersen made 31 saves for the Maple Leafs (25-16-7), who are 1-2-2 in their past five.
“We generated a number of chances that didn’t go in for us, their goaltender was very good, and luck didn’t go our way,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Sometimes those things are going to happen.”
Ryan put the Flames up 1-0 at 7:34 of the second period when he deflected Travis Hamonic’s point shot at the top of the goal crease.
“I felt like I was pretty wide open there,” Ryan said. “They just kind of left me there, and Hamonic made a nice shot to the side, so I was able to get a nice tip on it and have it go five-hole.”
Nylander tied it 1-1 at 8:35 of the third period on the power play when he redirected John Tavares’ pass in front.
“I thought it was a pretty even game all the way through,” Keefe said. “I think the way we found a way to tie the game, that was a big point for us coming into the third period down in the game, so we’ll take that.”
Rittich shutout the Leafs in the shootout. The Flames win 2-1. Leafs go to 25-16-7 for 57 pts. Chicago in town Sunday before the break. #leafsforever
— Paul Hendrick (@HennyTweets) January 17, 2020
Maple Leafs ice-time leaders tonight:
1. John Tavares: 26:23
2. Mitch Marner: 25:43
3. Auston Matthews: 24:11
4. Tyson Barrie: 24:02
5. William Nylander: 23:55— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) January 17, 2020