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While there’s lots of hockey to go, it’s never too early to whittle down the playoff competition in the North Division.
The Maple Leafs are in position now to put Calgary on the ropes, fighting off a slow start after their two big wins in Winnipeg to beat the Flames 4-2 in the first of back-to-backs at the Saddledome.
On a night when Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 25th goal and Alexander Galchenyuk his first as a Leaf, Toronto extended its division lead to six points on Edmonton and Winnipeg. Calgary, which has lost five of seven to Toronto to date in 2021, now remains six back of Montreal for the last playoff spot with the Habs having a mitt full of games in hand and the Vancouver Canucks in limbo.
Michael Hutchinson overcame a sluggish first period by himself and the team to make 32 saves and buy Jack Campbell an extra day’s rest for Monday’s conclusion of the series.
The Leafs made it 2-2 as Galchenyuk finally scored in his eighth game as a Leaf, then they went ahead in the third on a weird one by captain John Tavares. David Rittich stopped the initial Tavares shot but the rebound glanced in off teammate Noah Hanifin, who smashed his stick on the net in anger.
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Mitch Marner found Matthews for an insurance goal, the latter’s first shot of the night.
Hutchinson made his eighth start of the year so a rested Campbell could attempt nine straight wins and tie a record held by Felix Potvin and Jacques Plante.
He got a quick cushion with Morgan Rielly’s first-minute goal of the night. Rielly passed Brian Glennie to join the top 10 of Leafs defencemen in games played with 555. Hutchinson also stopped a Mikael Backlund breakaway, but Mark Giordano, who played a long time with Rielly’s current partner TJ Brodie, got his 500th point before the period ended. Joakim Nordstrom out-battled Alex Kerfoot in front of Hutchinson to tip Giordano’s shot.
The Leafs looked inattentive in their own end again as the period ended, the second line and defence giving up a puck and leaving Andrew Mangiapane open for a shot that Hutchinson appeared unready for. He atoned on an early second-period penalty to teammate Zach Hyman with a few saves in tight.
While Connor McDavid and Alex Ovechkin are keeping the heat on him in the Rocket Richard goal trophy race, Matthews did assist on Rielly’s goal, but his stick snapped on Toronto’s first power play in the middle period and cameras caught him unwrapping a brand new one and hastily taping it.
The power play didn’t get a shot on its lone chance, now 0-for-28 and without a goal in 10 or more games for the first time since 1998.
Coach Sheldon Keefe has had to keep up constant defence of it through Sunday’s media interviews as he reiterated he’ll go back to using January – February personnel and just let them find their way to consistency. That includes Matthews, Marner and Tavares on the first unit with Wayne Simmonds the net front presence. Hyman, Jason Spezza and William Nylander are featured on the second with Jake Muzzin the new lone defenceman.
Keefe conceded there have been too many experimental changes with both groups that wound up being detrimental and that going back to the same people who made Toronto first in the league for awhile is the prudent choice.
lhornby@postmedia.com
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