Regular Season, Game 43: Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs

After a week off for the All-Star Break, the Hurricanes are back in action north of the border. Carolina travels to Toronto for the first time since the David Ayres game just under two years ago. The story of the night has become very well-known and haunts the dreams of some Maple Leafs fans. This will also be the first game back in Toronto for the Canes' starting goalie tonight, Frederik Andersen, who was the losing goalie in the Ayres game. It'll be in front of an empty arena, so it won't be nearly as special, but it should still be very sentimental. This is the second meeting of the season for these two teams. Toronto visited Raleigh in October for Andersen's first game against his former team and the Canes took that game 4-1. Aho, Lorentz, Niederreiter, and Svechnikov scored the goals for the Canes that night against Jack Campbell, while Auston Matthews scored the Leafs' lone goal on Andersen. The Canes entered the break hot. They've won four straight and seven of their last eight, their most recent victory being a 2-1 win over San Jose last Sunday. Aho (G, A), Andersen (13-16, three goals allowed), and Brind'Amour (Head Coach) are coming back from Vegas after leading the Metropolitan Division to a win in the All-Star tournament, with Aho winning the Accuracy Shooting competition the night before. Jesperi Kotkaniemi entered COVID protocol yesterday, so Josh Leivo will be in the lineup in his place. Teuvo Teravainen will also be a game-time decision for the third straight game.

The Maple Leafs enjoyed a strong first half in a tough Atlantic Division. They entered the break on a nice streak of their own, winning five straight games and scoring 20 goals in their last three games. Four of those wins were against teams outside of postseason contention, including both ends of a back-to-back with New Jersey last Monday and Tuesday. Auston Matthews (G, A) and Jack Campbell (6-10, four goals allowed) represented Toronto at the All-Star Game in a losing effort to the Central Division in the semi-final game. This game is going to be strength against strength. Petr Mrazek will play his first game against his former team tonight for the Leafs instead of Campbell. Mitch Marner was just named the second star of the week in the NHL and is one of the hottest players in the league, scoring goals in seven consecutive games. The Canes have the league's best penalty kill, while the Leafs are the league's best power play. Staying out of the box is going to be a huge key tonight. I'm expecting to see a little rust from both teams since most of them have been off for a few days. It'll be a good test to see where each of these teams is heading into the second half. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 13:08- Nino Niederreiter (14) (assisted by Ian Cole (10) & Martin Necas (15))

Thoughts

The two teams were both pretty even at the beginning of the period, but the Canes really pulled away and looked much better as the 20 minutes progressed. Toronto didn't seem like they had much interest in holding onto the puck in their own zone and they turned it over quite a bunch. I thought the Leafs looked good at the beginning of the period, getting some good looks in tight on Andersen. Once the Canes took over the period, it felt like they'd inevitably break the ice. That's exactly what they did after a beautiful feed from Ian Cole to the front of the net for Nino Niederreiter to redirect home. Cole looked like he knew he was going there the entire time and it bounced off the post and in. Both goalies looked good in the period as a whole. We also got a fight between Wayne Simmonds and Brendan Smith after Smith leveled Ondrej Kase with a clean-looking hit. Trocheck made a boneheaded play at the end of the period, so the league's best power play will get a fresh sheet of ice to open the period with Trocheck in the box. That kill could be a huge moment in this game. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(TOR) 16:17- Auston Matthews (30) PP (assisted by William Nylander (24) & John Tavares (24))

(TOR) 19:33- Auston Matthews (31) (assisted by Morgan Reilly (34) & Mitch Marner (24))

Thoughts

The Canes had to kill three penalties in the period and were doing so good until Nylander found a way to play it off his leg and then poke it to Matthews for the goal. The goal at the end of the period from Matthews could be very deflating for a Canes team that didn't really get into their game much until the end of the period. Petr Mrazek has played like the starter he was while in Carolina, while Andersen has been just as good on the other end. The Canes had some great chances in the period. Jarvis fanned on a great chance. Aho was stopped on a breakaway. The Leafs showed their quick-strike ability with their two late goals, meaning the Canes need to find a way to get something generated. I'd have to assume the Canes will get a power play in the period. There should've been some already, but the officials are all about making sure things get evened up. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 0:08- Tony DeAngelo (8) (assisted by Jesper Fast (7) & Jaccob Slavin (21))

(CAR) 9:23- Derek Stepan (7) (assisted by Tony DeAngelo (27) & Steven Lorentz (4))

(TOR) 14:12- Mitch Marner (15) (assisted by Timothy Liljegren (6))

Thoughts

The Canes came out of the break on fire with DeAngelo scoring just eight seconds into the period then setting up the go-ahead goal just about midway through the period. The Leafs didn't go away and were able to tie it up with Marner continuing his goal streak. The Canes finally got time on the power play, but only after taking their fourth penalty of the game and then getting just 28 seconds to play a man up. Andersen and Mrazek made some great saves to keep everything tied and the Canes are going to be able to bank a point in a tough game. This was truly a point earned after going into the third period down a goal. 

Overtime

Scoring

(TOR) 2:51- Mitch Marner (16) (assisted by Morgan Reilly (35) & John Tavares (25)

Thoughts

The Canes had two good chances on Mrazek that were both stopped. Svechnikov's wrister was easily detected, then a backdoor pass for DeAngelo was thwarted by Sandin. The Leafs controlled the puck for most of overtime and it all comes down to Andersen moving with the puck under him because he didn't know where the puck was. It's a shame it ends in a loss, but I'll gladly take the point. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Steven Lorentz (Assist)

He only had the one assist and finished with just one shot on goal, but I felt like Lorentz was all over the ice tonight. He was in the plays trying to get something generated for three periods. He helped set up the Stepan goal by making a great pass back to DeAngelo before Stepan knocked home the rebound. He also played a physical game, finishing with four hits in just under ten minutes played. 

Second Star- Nino Niederreiter (Goal)

Ian Cole deserves a lot of credit for the goal since it was his beautiful pass, but it was Nino's perfect touch on the finish that broke the ice for the Canes in the first period. Only Necas, Trocheck, and Aho saw the ice more than him tonight amongst the forward group. He also laid a couple of hits to complete his well-rounded night. 

First Star- Tony DeAngelo (Goal, Assist)

DeAngelo had a good night, but he had a great third period. He got started quickly in the third with the tying goal just eight seconds into the period. He then put a shot on Mrazek that squeaked through just enough to get to Stepan to tie the game. He almost had a chance to win it in overtime had it not been knocked away.

Final Thoughts

Huge props to Petr Mrazek for the game he played tonight because he was spectacular. Frederik Andersen also played well, he just made one more mistake than Mrazek did. A huge takeaway is going to be the Canes only getting 28 seconds on the power play in just over three periods compared to the four penalties the Leafs drew. The kill responded well and the referees made the right calls on the Canes' penalties, but there's no way the Leafs committed just one penalty all night. That's not the only reason the Canes lost and I'm aware of that, but it's a big point of emphasis. I did some quick math regarding the Leafs and determined the Canes were beaten by 55.8% of Toronto's cap. Matthews (2G), Marner (2G, A), Nylander (A), Tavares (2A), and Reilly (2A) combined for ten of the Leafs' 11 points tonight, with Liljegren's assist being the only point scored outside of that group. They are a lethal team, but they lack a lot of depth and that's what contributes to their lack of success in the postseason. I'm not re-inventing the wheel with that observation, but it's noteworthy for sure. Nevertheless, a point is a point for the Canes and they'll have very little time to marinate on this one. They're back in action tomorrow night in Ottawa against a team that has played them well twice this season. The Senators will be in the second half of a back-to-back as well after beating New Jersey tonight. I'd imagine we'll see Anton Forsberg since Matt Murray played tonight, while Antti Raanta will likely get the call for the Canes before they return to the US to play Boston. It sucks to lose, but at least it was in overtime.