Completing their final home back-to-back of the season, the Carolina Hurricanes welcomed the Toronto Maple Leafs for their second visit this season. The Canes took down the Rangers on Saturday, scoring a touchdown in a dominant victory to eliminate New York from postseason contention. With Toronto fighting for their division, Carolina hoped to set a franchise record.
Frederik Andersen took the second half of the back-to-back against his former team, trying to get back on track after suffering a shootout loss to the Capitals. Jordan Martinook got the day off, as Taylor Hall returned to the lineup after resting on Saturday. Joseph Woll was in the net for the Maple Leafs. Anthony Stolarz shut out the Canadiens on Saturday in a 1-0 overtime victory.
It took a little while for the first period to get going, but the Canes owned the early momentum. The top line had a tide-turning shift, keeping the Leafs in their defensive zone for a good stretch. The penalty kill killed Toronto’s opening power play with ease, as the defense held the Leafs to one shot for most of the frame.
Naturally, things were going too smoothly for the home team. In the dying seconds of the period, Pontus Holmberg popped home a loose puck to break the ice. Morgan Rielly’s pass hit either Andersen's or Scott Morrow’s stick, leaving Andersen out of position for an easy tap-in. Despite an 11-4 edge in shots, the Canes ended the period down a goal.
Toronto’s firepower started to show up in the second. Midway through the period, Auston Matthews struck. Playing catch with Rielly, Matthews wired a one-timer past Andersen to double the Leafs’ advantage. There wasn’t much Andersen could do with it, having to respect Rielly’s shot and allowing Matthews plenty of net to shoot at.
The Canes didn’t get much zone time during the middle 20, spending most of the period in their own end. They successfully killed another penalty after Hall sat for an O-zone trip. Sebastian Aho had a good chance in the final seconds thanks to a spinning pass from Jackson Blake, but the period concluded with the Canes in a two-goal hole.
William Nylander provided some early insurance for Toronto, scoring 85 seconds into the final frame. A poor clearing attempt and curious coverage left Nylander alone in front of the net for an easy redirection. Chris Tanev sat for four minutes early in the period, giving the Canes an extended power play. Woll pulled out an incredible stop during the first half, robbing Jack Roslovic with his blocker.
The second half of the power play allowed the Canes to break the shutout. Seth Jarvis made a cross-seam pass for Aho to one-time a shot past Woll, injecting some life into the building. That would be the only other thing to cheer about. John Tavares sealed the game with a dagger late in the period to restore the three-goal advantage as the Leafs continued their push for the division with a 4-1 win.
This is probably not how the Canes wanted to finish the home portion of their schedule, but this was a classic game pitting a team with nothing to fight for against a team with something still on the table. Toronto was the hungrier team for the final 40 minutes after the Canes failed to do anything with their early momentum. The Leafs played an excellent road game.
Toronto's big players came to play in a must-win game for the Leafs to maintain their control over the Atlantic Division. All four members of the Core 4 recorded points, scoring three of the goals, with Mitch Marner assisting on Matthews' goal to hit 99 points. Morgan Rielly assisted on three of the four goals, while Max Domi assisted on both in the third period.
Most of the Hurricanes' team was pedestrian on Sunday. The top line was the only group that felt like they had juice for the entire game. Sebastian Aho is within one goal of 30, while Seth Jarvis' assist set a new career-high in helpers (35) and tied his point total from a year ago (67). Andrei Svechnikov also had a decent game, recording five shots and laying a massive hit in the third period.
There is still no cause for concern, though I'm starting to notice a trend with Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin being on the ice for a lot of goals. Slavin was a -3 on Sunday, while Burns was -2. It offsets the work they did on Saturday against the Rangers. Maybe it's a little paranoia on my part and nothing to worry about, but it's not something I'd like to keep seeing.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes finish the regular season on the road with another back-to-back. They head north of the border to face the Canadiens and the Senators on Wednesday and Thursday. Montreal can wrap up a playoff spot on Monday, and Ottawa is already locked in. This makes this last trip slightly less meaningful, but it will be a good tune-up for the Canes.