Instant Reaction: Maple Leafs choose holiday cheer over festivus with pre-Christmas win vs. Penguins
The Toronto Maple Leafs showed up with a chip on their shoulder a day after the team fired power play coach Marc Savard, snapping their three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
William Nylander, who needed a big night perhaps more than anybody, finished the night with four points – two goals and two assists, while Matias Maccelli continued to make an impact after scoring in his second game back in the lineup. While the Leafs originally had a 3-1 lead and let the Penguins crawl back into the game to make it 3-3, Max Domi scored a beauty of a game-winning goal that left most fans scratching their head, wondering why he doesn’t do this every night.
Joseph Woll was sturdy in net and gave the Leafs all the opportunity to win with a 28-save performance on 31 shots, while Steven Lorentz and Bobby McMann (empty net) rounded out the scoring for the Maple Leafs.
While the Leafs didn’t exactly get a chance to showcase their first power play without Marc Savard, there wasn’t much of a sample size to look for. Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson was called for tripping on the first penalty of the game in the third period, which was then cancelled out by a Matias Maccelli slashing call. Moments after the team took to the ice for 4-on-4, Penguins forward Ben Kindel slashed Nylander on a breakaway opportunity which sent the Leafs back to the power play. Domi went on to score only seconds after the penalty ended.
While this win certainly can’t be seen as any indication that things are on the way up, this Leafs team needs any kind of positive momentum they can get. They will now get three days off to enjoy Christmas with their loved ones before getting back at it on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.