TORONTO – Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was upset with his power play.
Minus injured star Auston Matthews, the NHL’s seventh-ranked unit had clawed its way through three previous chances and a big chunk of a four-minute lead in the final moments of a tied game.
A dynamite sequence flipped the script.
Mitch Marner scored on a power play with 1:15 left in regulation Wednesday as Toronto defeated the Nashville Predators 2-1 on a night where both goaltenders stole the show.
The winger received a fantastic feed from William Nylander, who sold a shot to the off-duty Juuse Saros, before taking a second to gather himself and bury his 16th goal of the season after a Nashville defender broke to him the stick
“It was ugly, but it won us the hockey game,” Keefe said of the power play. “So coach will keep his mouth shut.”
John Tavares added a goal and an assist as Toronto (26-9-7) won its third straight game. Nylander had two assists, while the impressive Matt Murray made 32 saves.
“I’m not sure there’s ever been a game (this season) where the goalie won us the game,” Keefe said. “In many ways, you could tell here tonight.”
Filip Forsberg responded for Nashville (19-15-6). Saros stopped 33 shots for the Predators, who saw their season-high four-game winning streak snapped.
“We did a good job on the penalty kill,” Nashville head coach John Hynes said. “You can’t give them those looks. We allowed their power play to be the difference.”
Toronto improved to 31-15-2 all-time without Matthews, absent from the lineup for the first time in 2022-23 with an undisclosed illness, since taking him first overall in the 2016 NHL draft.
“Auston obviously brings a lot to our team,” said Marner, who tied Darryl Sittler’s franchise record by recording at least one run in his 18th straight home game. “The scoring ability, the leadership, the defensive game.
“I just have to take over and try to win games without him.”
The goalies put on a clinic in the first, with Murray denying Tanner Jeannot on three straight occasions, including a no-look desperation effort as he swam into his crease, before Saros made superb saves on Nylander and Timothy Liljegren.
“Kind of a crazy play,” Murray said of his saves on Jeannot. “There was some contact after the first shot and it spun me around a little bit. I looked over my shoulder and saw the guy make a pass to the back door.
“I had to bring something there.”
Tavares then opened the scoring with 3:06 left in the period when he took a pass from Nylander on a 2-on-1 for his 20th of the campaign and the Toronto captain’s fifth in the last four games.
Forsberg pulled the visitors back even 1:46 into the second when he beat Murray for his 17th.
The Leafs goaltender made a pair of good saves on Ryan Johansen early in the third to keep things tied before Saros stopped Michael Bunting on a 2-on-1.
Toronto, which was also without defender TJ Brodie due to a rib injury, killed off a penalty with less than 10 minutes remaining as Murray rose again on a pair of Nashville.
The Leafs then went on the decisive power play when Mark Jankowski received a four-minute penalty for a high hook on Morgan Rielly with 4:22 left on the clock.
“Kind of a disaster start,” Marner said of that man advantage. “”I’m just trying not to get that save on the highlight reel…trying to put it on the net.
“Luckily I was able to.”
MATTHEWS ABANDONED
Last season’s Hart Trophy winner sat out with an issue Keefe said he had been dealing with “for a while.” Matthews, who participated in Toronto’s optional morning skate and is listed as a daily, has 20 goals and 47 points in 41 games this season. The 25-year-old missed nine competitions in 2021-22 through injury or suspension, but still scored a league-best 60 times in 73 competitions.
MCMANN DEBUT
Matthews’ absence opened the door for the 26-year-old from Wainwright, Alta., to make his NHL debut. Bobby McMann was the reigning American Hockey League player of the week with six points in three games before getting the call to join the big club on Tuesday. “You dream about it your whole life,” McMann said. “Definitely pretty special to step on the ice and have the jersey thrown over (my head), such a historic organization.”
UNTIL THE NEXT
Leafs: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Predators: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on January 11, 2023.
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