Joseph Woll made 38 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs (41-24-3) defeated the Colorado Avalanche (41-25-3) 2-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night. Auston Matthews and Steven Lorentz were the goal-scorers for the Maple Leafs.
Valeri Nichushkin was the lone goal-scorer for the Avalanche, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves. Tuesday night’s loss snaps Colorado’s point streak at nine games.
Game Recap
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Maple Leafs struck first on a Matthews’ power play goal 28 seconds into the second period. Matthews threw a pass in front of the net that deflected off of Devon Toews and behind Blackwood.
The Avalanche evened up the game with a power play of their own when a pass from Nathan MacKinnon found Nichushkin in the slot, who one-timed the puck over Woll’s left shoulder.
Lorentz gave Toronto the 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal, his sixth of the season, at 2:53 of the final frame, on what was a bizarre play in the neutral zone. Simon Benoit’s clear on the penalty kill hit diving referee Kelly Sutherland, resulting in the puck sitting near the Avalanche blue line on a platter for Lorentz to pick it up, and pick the right corner over Blackwood’s left glove.
The Avalanche outshot the Maple Leafs 39-26 and went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Maple Leafs were 1-for-1 on the power play.
Up Next
Both teams are back in action on Thursday night. The Maple Leafs are in the Big Apple to take on the New York Rangers, while the Avalanche are in Canada’s capital to take on the Ottawa Senators.
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