Marner sparks the Maple Leafs past Utah

TORONTO – On a nighttime wherever William and Alex Nylander entered the Maple Leaf grounds book, it was concern arsenic accustomed for Mitch Marner.

Marner scored doubly successful a second-period surge arsenic Toronto defeated the Utah Hockey Club 3-2 Sunday to widen its winning streak to four. The victory, successful the lone NHL crippled connected the schedule, came successful the first-ever gathering betwixt Toronto and Utah.

Marner has six goals and 8 assists successful the 8 games that skipper Auston Matthews has been retired with an upper-body injury. He present has multi-point games successful 7 of his past 8 outings, upping his play full to 11. Only Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov has much multi-point games, with 12.

His teammates and manager aren’t surprised.

“It’s conscionable benignant of modular — the level that helium brings year-in and year-out and what helium brings to our nine and what helium means to this team,” said John Tavares, who acceptable up Marner’s archetypal extremity with a cleanable walk from heavy successful the Toronto end. “He’s an elite player, makes plays, does truthful galore bully things … Plays successful each situations, brings an constituent to our locker-room that’s unique. So we’re truly fortunate to person him.”

Marner’s seventh and eighth goals of the play upped his vocation full to 202, moving him past Syl Apps (201 goals) into 14th spot connected the franchise all-time extremity list.

“I deliberation it’s concern arsenic usual,” manager Craig Berube said of Marner’s production. “Even aboriginal connected successful the year, helium was playing truly bully hockey for america — successful each situations, not conscionable scoring. I find he’s shooting a small spot more, which is great. I deliberation helium tin inactive sprout much but he’s doing a existent bully occupation for us.”

Toronto (13-6-2) was besides without the injured Matthew Knies, Max Domi, David Kampf, Max Pacioretty and Calle Jarnkrok and the suspended Ryan Reaves.

Down 1-0 aft a sluggish opening period, Toronto turned it up successful the 2nd with 3 goals successful 5 minutes 35 seconds. The Leafs outshot Utah 16-6 successful the period.

Logan Cooley and Jack McBain scored for Utah (8-10-3), which was playing its archetypal back-to-back games of the play aft snapping a three-game losing streak with a 6-1 triumph Saturday successful Pittsburgh. McBain’s tip-in aboriginal successful the 3rd chopped the Leafs’ pb to 3-2, making for an absorbing finale.

Joseph Woll faced 25 shots successful the Toronto extremity arsenic the Leafs improved to 10-3-0 astatine Scotiabank Arena, which leads the league for location victories.

William Nylander scored his 14th extremity for Toronto. His 231st vocation extremity was besides his 43rd game-winning goal, tying George Amstrong for sixth connected the franchise all-time database for game-winners.

Alex Nylander, signed this week from the AHL Marlies, made his Leafs debut and saw clip connected the powerfulness play with his older member successful the archetypal period. The Nylanders go the 13th acceptable of brothers to play for the franchise and the 5th acceptable to play unneurotic for the Leafs.

“The full time was special,” said William. “Seeing him retired determination successful the archetypal play felt beauteous crazy. Then it settled successful and felt much normal.”

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“An astonishing feeling,” added Alex. “A truly peculiar feeling to beryllium present connected this squad with my member here. It’s thing I’ll retrieve forever.”

Father Michael Nylander, who played 920 NHL games betwixt 1992 and 2009 for Hartford, Calgary, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Washington (twice), Boston and the New York Rangers, was successful the stands.

The past clip the Leafs had brothers playing successful the aforesaid crippled was successful 1987 erstwhile Peter and Miroslav Ihnacak played successful Game 7 of the second-round playoff bid against Detroit. Other brothers to deterioration the Maple Leaf unneurotic were Art and Busher Jackson, Don and Nick Metz, and Barry and Brian Cullen.

Marner says the Nylanders, who past played unneurotic for Sweden successful the 2016 satellite inferior championship, are chopped from the aforesaid cloth.

“I deliberation you spot it from however they formal to connected the crystal — you benignant of get mislaid astatine times reasoning who’s who,” helium said. “They some person a batch of swagger and a batch of confidence.”

Alex Nylander had antecedently appeared successful 121 NHL games divided betwixt Columbus, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Buffalo.

The brothers took the subway to the rink with the downtown clogged by the Santa Claus parade. Utah players besides went to Plan B, leaving their autobus to locomotion the last fewer blocks to the Scotiabank Arena.

Toronto heads to Florida to look the Panthers connected Wednesday and Tampa Bay connected Saturday. Utah wraps up a four-game roadworthy travel successful Montreal connected Tuesday.

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This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Nov. 24, 2024