These guys from the Beehive State don’t buzz off easily.
In their first visit to Toronto as the blandly re-branded Utah Hockey Club, the former Arizona Coyotes gave the Maple Leafs all they could handle before the latter salted away a 3-2 win defending a 6-on-5.
But there was no combined goal for William Nylander and brother Alex in their first game together as Leafs, even though coach Craig Berube gave them joint power-play time with plenty of open ice. Dad Michael, a former NHLer, was in the building after the Leafs signed and promoted Alex from the Toronto Marlies farm squad during an injury crisis.
None of the Leafs had early jump in a rare Sunday night home tilt, but someone in the dressing room certainly lit a fire after a tepid opening period. They erased a Utah lead with three goals in less than 11 minutes amid a 17-shot barrage.
Mitch Marner slipped behind Utah’s defence, despite goalie Karel Vejmelka slamming his stick as a warning that John Tavares was looking for Marner with a stretch pass. After two Toronto power plays that lacked effective entries, Marner made a nice play to keep the puck in at the line and then from the far corner banked the extra-man goal off a Utah player.
Fraser Minten collected his first NHL assist, while Tavares earlier reached 20 points in 20 games and Marner 202 goals with that second strike for 14th on the franchise list ahead of Syl Apps.
William Nylander, with a steal at the Leaf line and solo rush backhand deke, made it 3-1, but eight years after they were last world junior championship teammates for Sweden. he and Alex somehow didn’t gang up for a goal during a long ensuing 5-on-3. Snake-bitten winger Nick Robertson hit a post during one power play and another at 5-on-5, making it 11 games since he scored his only goal of the season.
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The Leafs started the game with their energy fourth line, but they were one of the only trios pressing Utah hard in a period where Toronto was outshot 12-10. Utah clicked on its first man advantage, Logan Cooley tipping Dylan Guenther’s shot. Jack McBain deflected another past Joseph Woll in the third period. The Leafs hit just about everything else during the game, Robertson’s post, a loud crossbar by Pontus Holmberg and two shots off Vejmelka’s mask.
Toronto was looking to extend its hold on first place in the Atlantic Division over the Florida Panthers, achieved through winning six of its previous seven games, all without captain and leading scorer Auston Matthews in the lineup and a growing injury/suspension list that had taken seven forwards out of the lineup the past couple of starts.
Berube broke with his goaltender rotation, in part to reward Woll for a Wednesday shutout and to set up Anthony Stolarz to face his old Panthers team Wednesday. By then, Matthews could be back and others will be coming off the injured reserve list. Woll made a stretching pad stop on Michael Carcone to preserve the third-period lead. Toronto made it 11-0-0 this year when leading after 40 minutes.
Utah came in knowing at worst they’d earn a weekend split after winning handily on Saturday in Pittsburgh and chose to walk the last few blocks to Scotiabank Arena after their team bus ran into Santa Claus Parade traffic downtown.
X: @sunhornby