In Toronto, the Maple Leafs got a tune up game in with the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.
Auston Matthews scored his 69th of the season in a 4-1 win.
It will be interesting to see how a “regular” season statistical outcome looks like next campaign.
“I think everybody looked really good to be honest,” Matthews said. “Some guys (Ben Hutton, Timothy Liljegren and Pierre Engvall) hadn’t played in a while, and it’s hard to shake off the rust sometimes, but I thought everybody that came in really looked good and helped us win. I think it’s just maturity now with us. Guys step in and find a role and execute really well. No matter where guys are playing in the lineup, up or down, it’s about coming in and doing a job for the team.”
David Rittich made 15 saves for his first win with the Maple Leafs.
“It’s awesome,” Rittich said. “I had a chance to spend a little more time with my teammates now, which was for sure helpful. I know everyone way more now and way better, so that was the biggest thing for me, to know the guys. I felt way better on the ice too.”
J.T. Miller was the lone goal scorer for Vancouver.
“I thought we got better as the game went on, but a couple of mistakes ended up in the back of our net,” the Canucks’ Tanner Pearson said. “That’s going to happen against this team, so we’ve got to minimize those. They control the puck pretty well. We need to get more shots and recover the pucks and start generating that way. That will be a focus point for us and a good place to start.”
The Maple Leafs took a 3-0 lead on goals from William Nylander, Matthews and Pierre Engvall.
“He’s (Matthews) one of the best goal-scorers I’ve ever played with, and I’ve only played one game with him,” Toronto’s Ben Hutton said. “It’s pretty fun to watch. If he gets a chance, he buries it. I was talking with a few teammates, and honestly every time he comes down and shoots, your eyes get big and think, ‘Oh, that’s a goal.’ So it’s pretty fun to watch.”
Mitchell Marner scored for the Maple Leafs to close the scoring for the 4-1 final.
“I thought we got better as the game went on, but a couple of mistakes ended up in the back of our net,” the Canucks’ Tanner Pearson said. “That’s going to happen against this team, so we’ve got to minimize those. They control the puck pretty well. We need to get more shots and recover the pucks and start generating that way. That will be a focus point for us and a good place to start.”
Braden Holtby made 20 saves in the loss.
“It was a tight game,” Canucks head coach Travis Green said. “I thought the compete level was high for both teams having played on Wednesday (Vancouver lost to the Ottawa Senators 6-3). We definitely got better as the game went on. There were a couple plays we’d like to have back for sure, but I thought their skill made a couple plays for them that was probably the difference at the end of the night.”
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