*Photo from the Athabasca Advocate*
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been on an absolute tear to start the season, after their last season was filled with turmoil and disappointment, not just during the NHL bubble in Toronto. Monday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks further proved their strong start. Frederik Andersen made 31 saves, 3 different Maple Leafs scored, and Toronto topped the Canucks with a 3-1 win.
Morgan Rielly started the scoring at 6:38 into the first, giving Toronto an early 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until 9:59 of the second, when Elias Pettersson tied it for Vancouver with a power play goal, making things tied at one. In the 3rd, Auston Matthews and and Alex Kerfoot scored 11 seconds apart to make it 3-1, and Toronto held on from there.
Matthews talked about how the 3rd period changed the game, saying that "It was 1-1 going into the third, and we hadn't nearly played our best hockey yet, but Freddie kept us in it, and we got off to a really good start in the third, had a couple of good offensive-zone shifts, and shifted the momentum back to our side. You have to learn to fight through these kinds of games where it's not bouncing your way or you don't have your good legs, but just fight through and find a way, and that's what we did tonight."
Andersen stopped 31 of 32 shots that came his way in the game as he improved to a spectacular 8-2-1 on the season, with the Maple Leafs themselves improving to 10-2-1, good for the top spot in NHL's North division, comprised entirely of Canadian teams.
Andersen talked about his terrific start to the season, saying that "I just feel good, I feel focused and feel like I'm moving well and tracking the puck well. It's been small things and adjustments throughout the season so far, and it's been good. Guys are helping me out well and keeping things simple for me. When I'm playing my best, it looks easier than at other times."
Braden Holtby got the start in the loss for the Canucks, saving 16 of 19 shots that came his way in the game, with his record dropping to 3-5-0 on the young season. The Canucks as a whole are in a free fall, losing 5 straight games and dropping to 6-10-0 on the season, good for just 5th in the North division.
Canucks defensemen Quinn Hughes described the mood of the team after another tough loss, saying that "We were really good. It was probably our best game all year, making plays, playing confident. We were really good and we were playing with life. So yeah, it stinks that we lost this one."
Canucks coach Travis Green echoed those words, saying that ""I don't know if we could have played any better in the first two periods and probably deserved to be up more than be in a tie. But sometimes when it's not going your way, you can play a really good game and not get the result you want. Tough loss. The team played very well tonight. I feel bad for our guys."
The Maple Leafs head to Montreal to face the red hot Canadiens, right behind them at second place in the North division, on Wednesday night, where Andersen is expected to start once again. The Canucks head home to host the Calgary Flames on Thursday, where Holtby is expected to start once again.
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