Toronto Maple Leafs Take on a Winning Streak Against Calgary Flames

TORONTO – As soon as Austin Matthews and Mitch Marner’s skates hit the ice, they owned the game. Marner’s quick one-timer led the Leafs to a 4-3 victory against the Calgary Flames.

Last night’s game winning goal was through a quick pass from Matthews stick and into the firing shot of Marner, giving the Leafs their second win against the Flames, and breaking the tie with 12:44 minutes left.

“If I can try and find that spot more, I know Matts (Austin Matthews) can find me there, so we’ve been trying to work on that shot a lot. For me it was just trying to get it off my stick quick and into the net,” said Marner in a post-game interview on TSN. Marner continues to battle with Connor McDavid for leading points in the league, both sitting at 12.

Tension was high at the end of the game as Jake Muzzin flipped the puck at Matthew Tkachuk after the game ending buzzer had gone off. Tkachuk attacked, causing a minor scuffle between the two teams. Tkachuk slammed his gloves on the ground and punched the boards as he headed toward the dressing rooms of the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The third period, with the Leafs leading 3-2, hit with an intensity to see which team would hold the power. Johnny Gaudreau secured his second goal of the night when John Tavares was sent to the penalty box for holding. The Flames announced their comeback with a tie game of 3-3. But the Leafs were unstoppable with the dynamic duo, Marner and Matthews.

When the clock struck 9:00pm last night, fans were at the edge of their seats watching the Leafs dominate in the first period with a two-goal lead. Wayne Simmonds set the pace of the game with a goal 3 minutes and 44 seconds in. Austin Matthews followed with a power play goal after receiving a brilliant pass from Marner demonstrating how the two were dominating the game from the beginning. The period ended with 10-1 shots on net for the Leafs. “Calgary must have thought the game started at 10:00 pm,” said Toronto Maple Leafs fan Stuart Wing, from Western University.

It was an eye-opening second period as the control shifted into the sticks of the Calgary Flames, outshooting the Leafs 18-5 with goals by Johnny Gaudreau and Milan Lucic. “Leafs defense is struggling to combat this aggressive offensive push. I want to see this continued aggression into the next period,” said Calgary Flames fan Aidan Hasick, from Western University. The Leafs ended the second period with a close lead of 3-2 from Travis Boyd, his first of the season.

The Flames’ 25:22 minutes in the Leafs’ zone outnumbered the Leafs’ offensive push of 20:30 minutes. Wing said, “This looks like the best defensive hockey I’ve seen from a Leafs team in a long time… I’m optimistic they could succeed against a hot goalie in the playoffs this year.” The Leafs aim to keep their winning streak alive with an upcoming game this Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers.

End of First Period Update:

Heading into the second period, it’s 2-0 for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wayne Simmonds started it off, with assists by Justin Holl and Jimmy Vesey.

Austin Matthews followed with a goal 14:16 minutes in with a great set up by Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly, after Elias Lindholm took a hooking penalty and Pierre Engvall was released from his two-minute penalty for tripping. It was a slow start for Calgary as the Leafs have secured a 2-goal lead.

“We were real tight, and we didn’t give them much space to operate… It’s going to be a much different second period,” said Leaf’s coach Sheldon Keefe.