The Toronto Maple Leafs won their first game at home in regulation against the Arizona Coyotes since the 17th of October, 2002, which was the same day Matthew Knies was born. However, that wasn’t the only exciting thing in this game… Joseph Woll made his return since missing the past 35 games due to a high ankle sprain he sustained on December 7th, this game being his first win since November 30th. Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 53rd goal in the 4-2 victory for Toronto on Thursday, February 29th.
Coyotes lineup against the Maple Leafs:
Kerfoot – Hayton – Schmaltz
Maccelli – Bjugstad – Crouse
Zucker – Cooley – Guenther
Carcone – McBain – O’Brien
Moser – Dumba
Durzi – Kesselring
Valimaki – Stecher
Ingram
Maple Leafs lineup against the Coyotes:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Bertuzzi – Domi – Nylander
McMann – Tavares – Robertson
Holmberg – Kampf – Reaves
Rielly – Brodie
Benoit – McCabe
Giordano – Lagesson
Woll
Samsonov
Mitch Marner cut into a pass at the defensive blue line, and then, during a breakaway, he left a between-the-legs drop pass for Matthew Knies at the top of the goal crease. Knies tapped the puck in and put Toronto in a 1-0 lead at 6:56 of the first period.
Early into the second period at 18:55, Tyler Bertuzzi scored his fifth goal in the past three games. He deflected a point shot by William Lagesson between Connor Ingram’s pads in the slot to extend his three-game streak. Auston Matthews ended his two-game goal drought when he extended the Maple Leafs’ lead to 3-0, recording his 53rd goal of the season. Matthews shot high-glove at the slot after taking a pass from William Nylander. Soon after Matthews’ goal, Alex Kerfoot put the Coyotes on the board when he scored on a breakaway after intercepting a pass in the defensive zone… finishing the middle frame with a 3-1 score.
Logan Cooley scored his ninth goal of the season to cut it to 3-2. Matias Maccelli shot, and it hit the goal post, and Cooley put in the rebound. With 58.7 remaining in the final frame, William Nylander extended his point streak to nine games with an empty-netter for a 4-2 final.
Joseph Woll on his return, how the team played, and what he’s missed most about the kind of experience he had in this game: “It was awesome. It’s been a few months, and I’ve really missed playing and being able to play at our home building. To get a win like that was pretty nice,” – “I thought we as a team played strong and we kept them to the outside – I think, one just being able to be not really thinking, just playing. That’s something I miss a lot when I’m rehabbing. There’s a lot of focusing and a lot of thinking about how to get back, then you get to today and you don’t have to think, which is nice. Just being around the guys, I think initially in an injury, that part of it is tough when you’re kind of on your own a bit more and not on road trips. It’s awesome being back around the team and being a part of it.”
Notes:
– Joseph Woll made 30 saves in his retu,rn and Connor Ingram made 22 saves for Arizona.
– William Nylander had a goal and recorded two assists, Matthew Knies had a goal and an assist, and Mitch Marner recorded his 50th assist of the season.
– Mark Giordano had left the game in the first period when he hit his head on the boards after a diving redirect at the top of the goal crease… It had been confirmed as a head injury with no update currently by Sheldon Keefe.
– Sheldon Keefe won his 200th NHL game… Keefe is 200-88-38 in 326 games, which makes him the fastest Toronto Maple Leafs coach to reach 200 wins and surpassed Pat Quinn, who had reached the 200-win mark in 383 games.