In Toronto Monday night, it was contest between two former goalie partners as the Anaheim Ducks’ John Gibson made 33 saves to defeat Maple Leafs goalie, and former Ducks goalie, Frederik Andersen, 3-2.
“You could just kind of tell early on in the game that [goalie John Gibson] was locked in. I’ve seen that look before, and it was going to take a special shot for him to get beaten tonight. He kept us in the game, gave us momentum when we needed it, he was awesome for us tonight,” Anaheim’s Cam Fowler said of his goalie.
Andersen made 25 saves in the loss.
The game also featured the return to Toronto of Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle who fired in January of 2015 by the Leafs.
“I think a lot of people have made a bigger deal out of it from a personal standpoint,” said Carlyle, who was fired by the Maple Leafs on Jan. 5, 2015. “Yeah it’s nice, but the bottom line is our hockey club needed the win more than I needed the win, and that’s really why we’re here.”
Following a scoreless first period, the Leafs Auston Matthews potted his 15th of the season to the home team a 1-0 lead in the second period.
With 1:59 left in the middle frame Ryan Getzlaf got the Ducks even with a deflected puck to beat Andersen.
“We don’t have enough discipline,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “The bottom line is you’ve got to have better discipline or you hurt yourself. The last two games, guys sat on the bench because we took too many penalties. Any way you look at it, that affected tonight’s game.”
WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Ducks highlights
The third period featured some back and forth play with the Ducks taking a 2-1 lead when Nick Ritchie converted a turnover from the Leafs for the 2-1 score.
At 11:42 Nazem Kadri‘s deflected shot beat Gibson to get Toronto back to even at 2-2.
Cam Fowler converted on a power play with just under seven left in regulation and Gibson held the fort the rest of the way for the win.
“We knew we had to have a good game, and I put a little extra pressure on myself to make sure I was there for them, and it worked out,” Gibson said.
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