Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies Sweep Weekend
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Marlies played games on Saturday and Sunday nights. Both teams won their back-to-back games.
On Saturday, before the Toronto Maple Leafs played the Red Wings, the Toronto Marlies hosted the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
After the Phantoms jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, the Marlies responded with two goals by Joey Anderson to end the first period in a 2-2 tie. In the second period, both times the Marlies took the lead, the Phantoms responded with a goal of their own. The game remained 4-4 after regulation, and overtime solved nothing. Adam Gaudette and Joey Anderson scored in the shootout to win the game for the Marlies.
Later that night, the Leafs hosted the Wings. Just like the Marlies game, the visiting team scored first. Jake Walman gave Detroit a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Just 24 seconds into the second period, Mitch Marner scored to tie the game. His goal earned him his 500th career point. Toronto would gain the lead when John Tavares scored at 6:37 of the second, and they never looked back. Pontus Holmberg and Tavares would score in the third period to help Toronto beat Detroit 4-1.
On Sunday, the Marlies kicked things off with a game against the Laval Rocket. Adam Gaudette scored first for the Marlies with his 15th goal of the season, but Laval scored five minutes later to tie the game 1-1. Bobby McMann scored the lone goal of the second period to give the Marlies a 2-1 lead going into the third. Toronto would score twice in the third, while Laval scored once, and the Marlies won 4-2. The star of the game was goaltender Joseph Woll who stopped 56 of 58 shots to improve his season record to 8-0-0.
On Sunday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs were in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers. Calle Jarnkrok and Zach Aston-Reese scored for Toronto in the first period, followed by a Flyers goal from Travis Konecny. Conor Timmins scored his first NHL goal to give Toronto a 3-1 lead seven minutes into the second. The Maple Leafs would get two more goals in the second from Timothy Liljegren and John Tavares. Flyers forward Nicolas Deslauriers also scored in the second, and Toronto entered the second intermission with a 5-2 lead. Auston Matthews scored a power-play goal in the third, and Toronto won 6-2.
Toronto Marlies Top Weekend Performers
The Toronto Marlies had a decent weekend, with four players picking up three points each. Here is a look at each of the Marlies’ top performers from this weekend.
Logan Shaw
Logan Shaw recently received the captaincy of the Toronto Marlies. He picked up two assists in Saturday’s game and another assist in Sunday’s game for a three-point weekend. Shaw has 11 goals and 25 assists for 36 points in 33 games this season. (Stats from eliteprospects.com)
Joey Anderson
Joey Anderson recorded two goals and one assist in Saturday’s game. He now has 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 24 games with the Marlies. Anderson also has one goal in seven games with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
Adam Gaudette
Adam Gaudette recorded a goal in Saturday’s game, followed by a goal and assist in Sunday’s game. He has 15 goals and eight assists for 23 points in 25 games this season.
Bobby McMann
Bobby McMann is not a regular in the Toronto Marlies lineup, but when he gets a chance to play, he makes the most of it. He picked three points this weekend with an assist in Saturday’s game, and two goals in Sunday’s game. The 26-year-old now has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 17 games.
Joseph Woll
Joseph Woll has been unstoppable since his return from injury. He helped the Marlies win on Sunday by stopping 56 of 58 shots. The Marlies goaltender remains undefeated since his return with an 8-0-0 record. He has a .934 SV% and a 2.25 GAA. Woll is one of the reasons why the Toronto Marlies are first in the AHL’s North Division.
Toronto Maple Leafs Top Weekend Performers
After back-to-back losses last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs bounced back with a weekend sweep over Detroit and Philadelphia. Here is a look at Toronto’s top performers this weekend.
John Tavares
Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares had himself a good weekend. He collected two points on Saturday and another three on Sunday for a five-point weekend. The captain now has 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points in 41 games.
Calle Jarnkrok
Calle Jarnkrok was nearly invisible last week against the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. He made up for it this weekend with four points. That gives him nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 34 games this season.
Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner started the weekend off by picking up his 500th career point. He added three more points for a four-point weekend. Marner now has 15 goals and 34 assists for 49 points in 41 games.
Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray
Both goaltenders for the Toronto Maple Leafs needed a bounce-back game this weekend, and they got it. Samsonov allowed five goals (but just 2 5v5) in the shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues on January 3rd.. He bounced back on Saturday by stopping 22 of 23 shots against Detroit and is now 12-3-1 with a .916 SV% and a 2.29 GAA.
Matt Murray did not look good in Toronto’s 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on January 5th. Allowing five goals on 26 shots. He did bounce back against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, stopping 34 of 36 shots for a 6-2 win. Murray’s season record is 10-4-2 with a .916 SV% and a 2.57 GAA.