Spezza gets hat trick for Maple Leafs in win against Canucks
Matthews scores in sixth straight game for Toronto
Jason Spezza got his first hat trick in nearly five years for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
Spezza completed the hat trick to put Toronto ahead 6-2 at 4:34 of the third period when he cut around Alexander Edler in the left circle and tucked in a shot past Thatcher Demko’s outstretched left pad. It is his eighth three-goal game in the NHL and first since April 9, 2016, when he played for the Dallas Stars.
Mitchell Marner had a goal and two assists, Auston Matthews scored twice, and William Nylander had three assists for the Maple Leafs (8-2-1), who are 5-0-1 in their past six games. Frederik Andersen made 16 saves.
J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, and Demko made 30 saves for the Canucks (6-8-0), who lost for the third time in four nights.
Miller cut it to 6-3 at 8:14 of the third, but Marner scored blocker side on Demko at 11:37 for the 7-3 final.
Matthews gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 2:56 of the first period when he cut around Miller and scored five-hole on Demko from in close. It was Matthews’ sixth straight game with a goal and also extended his point streak to eight games (eight goals, three assists).
Tanner Pearson tied it 1-1 at 6:24 when he jammed in a rebound at the side of the net, but Spezza made it 2-1 with a power play goal at 10:15.
Matthews extended the lead to 3-1 at 3:04 of the second period when he scored from a sharp angle off a pass from Marner from behind the net.
Horvat scored 22 seconds later to cut it to 3-2.
Spezza took a pass from Nic Petan and shot over Demko’s glove at 8:44 to make it 4-2, and John Tavares scored his first even-strength goal of the season to push the lead to 5-2 at 17:56.
Maple Leafs defenseman Travis Dermott left the game with a lower-body injury at 2:21 of the first period after appearing to injure his left leg in a collision with Tyler Motte along the boards.
LEAFS WIN!
Cruised past the Canucks!#LeafsForever #FuelledByG @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/Mp3Ngq7YIi
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 5, 2021
Jason Spezza (@MapleLeafs) recorded his eighth career hat trick and first since April 9, 2016 with Dallas. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/OzjTjwk1RO
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 5, 2021