Marner scores in third, Maple Leafs complete two-game sweep of Flames
Mitchell Marner scored at 12:14 of the third period to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to their third straight win, 4-3 against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.
Marner broke a tie when he one-timed a pass from Auston Matthews to make it 4-3. It was Marner’s fifth multipoint game this season; he has scored six points (two goals, four assists) in his past three games and is tied with Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid for the NHL scoring lead with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in eight games.
Toronto is 6-0-0 this season when Marner scores a point.
“I’ve really been working on that shot with [Matthews],” Marner said. “I think if I can try to find that spot more, I know [Matthews] can find me there. For me, it was just trying to get it off my stick quickly and on to the net for a chance on net for a rebound or something to go in, which it did. I’m trying to get more [of] a shot mentality in there, trying to be more of a threat, and it was a great dish by [Matthews] and it was a big goal.”
Marner and Matthews each had a goal and an assist, and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves for the Maple Leafs (6-2-0), who have won five of their past six and completed a two-game sweep of the Flames.
“It’s good character to battle these games out and get the two points,” Andersen said. “We had a chance to take all four [points] today in this little mini-series, and we wanted to do that. It was really nice to see the way we battled until the end and got away with the two points again. … You never want to make it this hard every night, but it’s a good character win.”
Johnny Gaudreau scored two goals for the Flames (2-2-1), who lost 3-2 against the Maple Leafs on Sunday. Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves.
“Every game’s a divisional game now so everything matters, so it’s tough coming out with nothing in these two games,” Calgary forward Milan Lucic said.
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