In Denver Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs displayed an old form, very old form, in a 6-0 rout of the Colorado Avalanche.
Frederik Andersen made 38 saves in the win; it was his first of the season and seventh of his career.
“It’s always fun to have [a shutout] but wins are the most important,” Andersen said. “We’re happy to get the two points today. Let’s keep it going.”
The Leafs cleaned house from the net in the off season and brought Andersen in from Anaheim where he had success. This season has been difficult with a Toronto team finding its way under head coach Mike Babcock.
“We skated well early, we got that [Matthews] goal and then we seemed to gain some traction,” Babcock said. “We were able to capitalize on our power play and we were able to keep it out on the penalty kill. It was one of those nights where our goalie was good and we were able to find the net.”
The Avs have lost five straight and are 11-20-1 on the season.
“Probably as frustrating as it’s ever been, but you’re not going to get anywhere if you just roll over and feel sorry for yourself,” Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog said. “We just have to dig deep and work hard. We ran into a hot goalie, no doubt, but hot goalie or not, you can’t let in six goals. It’s frustrating and embarrassing.”
Nazem Kadri scored two goals for the Leafs.
“We know we can score,” Kadri said. “It’s just about being persistent and kind of just staying on top of it, not getting discouraged when we don’t score goals. We’ve had opportunities every single game, it’s just the puck doesn’t go in the back of the net.”
WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Avalanche highlights
“We need to score more than zero goals if we’re going to get out of last place. Our power play’s really bad, our 5-on-5 is bad,” the Avs’ center Nathan MacKinnon said after the dismal effort on offense Thursday.
Auston Matthews, Connor Brown, James van Riemsdyk, and Frederik Gauthier also scored for Toronto.
“All lines contributed,” Matthews said. “I think that’s the biggest part. Everybody was full throttle, we didn’t back up. Momentum can swing to their side, but Frederik came up big again.”
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