Whereas the Buffalo Sabres forgot to play 40 minutes of their match with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs had no issue with a 60-minute game on the same night.
Tyler Ennis paced the Leafs with his first NHL hat trick in a 6-2 thumping of the host Calgary Flames.
“This stretch obviously is super important,” Ennis said. “Boston’s winning all the time it seems. We have to keep winning.”
Frederik Andersen made 35 saves to get the victory.
Matthew Tkachuk and Derek Ryan picked up goals for the Flames who have lost straight and lead the San Jose Sharks by just three points.
“We’re still in a good spot,” Tkachuk said. “There’s no need to start freaking out or anything. We’re still first in the West.”
That’s called whistling past the cemetery.
Toronto improved to 41-21-4 with the win.
“It was a little bit of a wake-up call for us. But again, I think we have to remember that’s the first time we’ve lost two in regulation in a long time. We’re a good team,” Mark Giordano said after the loss.
Zach Hyman struck for two goals and Mitchell Marner had a goal and two assists for Toronto.
“They were all over us in the beginning. They came out hard. We were up 3-0 after one. I don’t think the style of play really panned out. We stuck with it. It was a big win for us,” Hyman said.
But the star of the night was Ennis who returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch over the weekend.
“He’s brought a lot,” Marner said. “He’s got a lot of energy, he’s a lot of fun to be around outside the rink. He fits the team very well. He’s got a lot of skill and a lot of speed in his body. You see it out there tonight.”
[WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Flames highlights]
David Rittich made 26 saves in the loss.
“It was a weird game for me,” Rittich said. “I had probably the worst luck on our team during that game. I was a little unlucky with bad bounces, but that’s hockey and bad things can happen.”
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