The Toronto Maple Leafs hadn’t won a game in regulation at United Center in 22 years until tonight. You can fact check it. The last time they came out of the Chicago Blackhawks’ building with a win after 60 minutes was February 12, 2003. The Leafs won 3-1 thanks to goals from Alyn McCauley, Jyrki Lumme, and Tie Domi.
The Leafs have won a few thrillers in overtime since then, including a 7-6 overtime win in 2018 in the game that inspired the signature Matthews hand-to-ear celebration. That said, Sunday night’s 5-2 win over the Hawks was pretty straight forward save for a couple of pesky final-minute goals against in the first and second period. Leading the way for the Leafs were the two guys who have struggled more than anybody to come by consistent offence this season, Nick Robertson and Max Domi.
Robertson could have had three or four goals tonight, but finished the night with a modest two goals, both assisted by Max Domi. The latter is still in pursuit of his first goal since December 20 against Buffalo, which, funny enough, came at the tail end of a three-game goal streak, but he was equally as dangerous with the puck tonight. He found Robertson in more or less the same spot on both goals and fired a howitzer off of the crossbar later in the game.
The depth scoring as a whole continued their parade of the weekend, with Pontus Holmberg scoring an empty-net goal for his third in two games, and they got some rare production from the back end as well, with Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev both contributing a tally.
It seems as though, with the trade deadline looming and so much talk about upgrading the forward group circling around the media circles, the depth forwards who are at risk of losing their jobs have found a second gear. It’s a best-case scenario for a Leafs team that will certainly be looking to beef up on both sides of the puck before the deadline, whether these guys end up becoming trade bait or force the Leafs’ hand into keeping them.
Joseph Woll stood tall with 25 stops on 27 shots, continuing the breath of fresh air in the Leafs’ crease with the return of a healthy Anthony Stolarz.
The Leafs are back in action on Tuesday night when they visit the Boston Bruins.
