The Leafs were on the road tonight, playing the franchise highest in altitude and lowest in points. They slaughtered them.
The game opened with some quick offensive exchanges, and Mitch Marner made a Kessel-style streak up the right wing and wired a shot off the post behind Semyon Varlamov.
Neither team is famed for its defensive prowess, and they traded chances early. Marner had another golden opportunity on a partial break where he couldn’t quite put the puck in the gap between Varlamov’s left pad and the post. Beloved local hero Zach Hyman had a whirling backhand off a pass from Matthews, but he missed the net.