Toronto Maple Leafs' John Tavares celebrates his empty-net goal against the Detroit Red Wings with goaltender Anthony Stolarz during third period NHL hockey action in Toronto, on Nov. 8.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
As is routinely the case on Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend, greatness was in the building Friday night. However, those of a blue-and-white persuasion were more concerned with the greatness in absentia in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.
For the second straight game, captain Auston Matthews – who scored a franchise record 69 goals last year – sat out with an upper-body ailment. But much like Tuesday night, when the players pulled together to upend the Boston Bruins, the Leafs made sure that their captain’s absence was without consequence, as his predecessor wearing the C, John Tavares, scored twice and Mitch Marner added another to skate to a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
It wasn’t easy – goaltender Anthony Stolarz even had to improvise with a bare-handed save to cover the puck late on to preserve the victory – but most importantly for head coach Craig Berube, they got it done.
“We didn’t generate a lot offensively tonight,” he said. “Not a lot of clean plays. I thought that we grinded good in the offensive zone, had some real good o-zone shifts where we had the puck and we’re competing and hanging on to puck, just didn’t get a lot of clean looks.”
In the hours leading up to the game, team management actually placed Matthews, the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner on injured reserve with an upper-body ailment. The move, retroactive to Nov. 3, means that Matthews will also miss Saturday’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens. The earliest he can return is Tuesday, with the Leafs playing host to the Ottawa Senators that night.
But in his absence, Tavares was only too happy to fill the offensive void, with his two goals representing his 65th career multi-goal game.
“It was a good team game,” he said. “I wouldn’t say anything was really special tonight. It was pretty low event, the execution on both sides probably wasn’t as good as maybe it is at times, but obviously we want to be on the right side of it.”
Given the Hall of Fame festivities, both teams were forced to sit and watch as the opening faceoff was held up 20 or so minutes while all seven new inductees to the Hall – including legendary Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk – were paraded out onto the ice.
Marner – who is hoping to get a signed Datsyuk stick at some point over the weekend – took the ceremonial opening faceoff against Detroit captain Dylan Larkin.
For the third straight game, it was the power play that got the Leafs on the board. Having sputtered throughout the first 12 games – registering just three goals in 38 opportunities over that period – Toronto has now scored six goals in the past three games with the man advantage, with Marner doing the honours here, bundling a rebound past Cam Talbot after William Nylander had driven to the net.
The goal was Marner’s third of the season and 15th career goal against Detroit – the most he has scored against a single NHL franchise. It also extended his current points streak to seven games, during which time he has scored 11 points.
As befits an Original Six matchup between the two long-time rivals – who first locked horns in 1927 – Friday’s meeting was a game of fine margins, with little separating the Atlantic Division rivals, who came into the game separated by just three points in the standing.
The Red Wings, who had won two straight entering the contest, found their way back into the game just before the midway point. Like the Leafs, they were forced to rely on special teams to get back on terms.
With Tavares in the penalty box for hooking, the Red Wings cycled the puck before finally finding Larkin near the left faceoff dot. Despite being surrounded by a trio of Leaf defenders, the Detroit captain had time to turn and fire the puck over Stolarz’s glove and into the roof of the net.
Tavares didn’t have to wait long to atone for his mistake though.
Thanks to a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty shortly after the period’s halfway point, the Leafs’ red-hot power play got another chance, and after Marner and Morgan Rielly worked an opening, Marner found Tavares in the slot and he found the back of the net.
“Some of the things that we’re talking about we’re preaching, are starting to pay off, and we’re doing a better job with a better job with that,” Tavares said when asked about the power play. “So just our pace, delivering pucks to the net, obviously retrieving pucks and finding second and third opportunities and making it difficult on the goalie.”
After the Red Wings pulled their goalie with 90 seconds remaining, Tavares was presented with another chance and made no mistake, turning and sweeping the puck into the net from just inside the blueline for his seventh of the season.
In a low-scoring contest, the responsibility fell to Stolarz to make the lead stand up. Making his third straight start, the American netminder had to be alert through long periods of inactivity, ultimately making 21 saves to earn his sixth win of the season, highlighted by the bare-handed grab as time ticked down in the third period.
“I think my blocker kind of got caught up on somebody’s skate or stick,” he said. “I kind of just saw the puck kind of sitting there and just grabbed it and tried to get it out of there as quick as I could to avoid injury there.”
Riding a two game win streak, the Leafs now play host to the Montreal Canadiens – losers of five straight – Saturday night.