Matthews scores 36th in Maple Leafs win against Canucks
Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 36th goal to help the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
“I think everybody looked really good to be honest,” Matthews said. “Some guys (Ben Hutton, Timothy Liljegren and Pierre Engvall) hadn’t played in a while, and it’s hard to shake off the rust sometimes, but I thought everybody that came in really looked good and helped us win. I think it’s just maturity now with us. Guys step in and find a role and execute really well. No matter where guys are playing in the lineup, up or down, it’s about coming in and doing a job for the team.”
Mitchell Marner had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs (32-13-5), who clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday with a 4-1 win at the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto leads the Edmonton Oilers by nine points for first place in the Scotia North Division.
David Rittich made 15 saves for his first win with Toronto since being acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on April 11.
“It’s awesome,” said Rittich, who made his third start with the Maple Leafs. “I had a chance to spend a little more time with my teammates now, which was for sure helpful. I know everyone way more now and way better, so that was the biggest thing for me, to know the guys. I felt way better on the ice too.”
J.T. Miller scored, and Braden Holtby made 20 saves for the Canucks (19-22-3), who are 1-4-0 in their past five games.
Vancouver trails Montreal by 10 points for fourth in the division with four games in hand. The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs.
“I thought we got better as the game went on, but a couple of mistakes ended up in the back of our net,” Canucks forward Tanner Pearson said. “That’s going to happen against this team, so we’ve got to minimize those. They control the puck pretty well. We need to get more shots and recover the pucks and start generating that way. That will be a focus point for us and a good place to start.”
William Nylander gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 15:29 of the first period when he took a pass from Alex Galchenyuk following a turnover by Quinn Hughes and shot under Holtby’s pad.
Matthews scored 51 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0, one-timing a pass from Marner on a 2-on-1. He leads Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers by eight goals.
“He’s one of the best goal-scorers I’ve ever played with, and I’ve only played one game with him,” Hutton said. “It’s pretty fun to watch. If he gets a chance, he buries it. I was talking with a few teammates, and honestly every time he comes down and shoots, your eyes get big and think, ‘Oh, that’s a goal.’ So it’s pretty fun to watch.”
Pierre Engvall extended the lead to 3-0 at 2:56 of the second. He received a pass low in the right circle from Jason Spezza on a rush and beat Holtby short side over his glove.
Miller scored on the power play at 15:36 to cut it to 3-1.
Marner made it 4-1 at 19:05 of the third period when he beat a scrambling Holtby with a one-timer after Alexander Kerfoot intercepted a clearing attempt from the goalie along the left boards.
“It was a tight game,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “I thought the compete level was high for both teams having played on Wednesday (Vancouver lost to the Ottawa Senators 6-3). We definitely got better as the game went on. There were a couple plays we’d like to have back for sure, but I thought their skill made a couple plays for them that was probably the difference at the end of the night.”
Hutton makes his Leafs debut tonight.#LeafsForever | @bochnereye pic.twitter.com/x3ddqabPdP
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 29, 2021
LEAFS WIN!
Cruised past the Canucks!#LeafsForever #FuelledByG @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/XUIpvP5qHj
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 30, 2021
Sweet home cookin’
Tonight’s @OntarioLottery Game Winning Numbers. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/tajjfK4gjb
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 30, 2021
Another night of magic 🎩#LeafsForever | @Molson_Canadian pic.twitter.com/Bzr6ZHtqwO
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 30, 2021
Auston Matthews scored his 11th game-winning goal of the season and matched Tod Sloan for the second most in a single season in @MapleLeafs history, behind only Charlie Conacher (13). #NHLStats: https://t.co/botfwTNhkH pic.twitter.com/edPJi2qI9H
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 30, 2021
Auston Matthews scored to reach the 60-point mark for a fifth consecutive season, requiring the fewest games of his career to accomplish the feat (36-24—60 in 46 GP). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/9vVN7yGDjl
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 30, 2021