The Globe and Mail - 02.03.2020

MONDAY,MARCH2,2020| THEGLOBEANDMAILO B9

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defenceman said in front of his

dressing stall at Scotiabank Are-

na. “When something like that

happens, you want to crawl into a

hole.

“The good thing is that there is

always another game and anoth-

er opportunity to turn things

around. We came out and respon-

ded in a good way. After that, we

came with two nice wins on the

road and again tonight.”

The Maple Leafs shut down

one of the league’s most potent

offensive teams. They held the

Canucks’ most dangerous players

• Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Tyler
  Toffoli and Bo Horvat – to one
  point among them. After allow-
  ing two goals on the first three
  shots he saw, Frederik Andersen
  stopped the next 24 in his 28th

A week ago, after a wretched loss
to an emergency backup goalten-
der, the Maple Leafs teetered on
disaster. Riddle that they are, they
have done something unexpect-
ed since then: win three in a row
against tough opponents and se-
cure their grip on a playoff posi-
tion.
After Saturday night’s 4-2 vic-
tory over the Vancouver Canucks,
Tyson Barrie said the embarrass-
ing defeat by David Ayres and the
Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 22
may have been the tipping point
in the season.
“We are very proud people and
didn’t get to where we are with-
out being that way,” the Toronto

victory of 2019-20.

Martin Marincin scored the

game-winner, his annual goal of

the season, and Toronto got oth-

ers from Frederik Gauthier, Aus-

ton Matthews and Zach Hyman.

The latter was an empty-netter in

a sequence during which Hyman

blocked a shot, dived in front of a

Vancouver player to prevent an-

other and then broke away after a

fierce battle for the puck. “I would

hate to play against Hyman,” his

teammate, defenceman Travis

Dermott, said. “He fore-checks

hard and has a big impact for the

time he is in there. He works until

he is dead.”

The goal was the 45th for Mat-

thews, who is two behind David

Pastrnak of Boston for most in

the league.

Marincin has scored only five

times in six NHL seasons, but put

Toronto ahead 3-2 only 18 sec-

onds into the third period on a

lovely wrist shot after a fancy toe

drag and a break toward the net.

It was his first goal since March 15

of last year. “You don’t see it often

from [him], but when he brings it

out, it’s usually a treat,” said Mat-

thews, who has 31 goals in 33

home games.

Marincin logged 20 minutes 48

seconds of playing time – a sea-

son high for him – with the team

filling defensive gaps caused by

injuries to Morgan Rielly, Jake

Muzzin and Cody Ceci. Marincin

also blocked six shots and deliv-

ered three hits.

He received the game basket-

ball the Maple Leafs hand out to

the night’s top player, a gesture

that began this season as a tribute

to the Raptors.

“When he is called upon, he

gives everything he has,” head

coach Sheldon Keefe said. Marin-

cin has been shuttled back and

forth between the AHL Marlies

and the NHL club multiple times

this season. “When you are

bounced around, up and down

and in and out, that takes a lot of

heart.”

The Maple Leafs headed off on

a California road trip on Sunday

in third place in the NHL’s Atlan-

tic Division. The Florida Panthers

are five points back in fourth. The

first three teams in the division

automatically advance to the

postseason.

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