Toronto 4, Vancouver 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, April 29, 2021
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Referees:
Marc Joannette, Chris Schlenker
Linesmen:
David Brisebois, Scott Cherrey
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 36th goal of the season and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Thursday night.
William Nylander, Pierre Engvall and Mitchell Marner (empty net) also scored for the Maple Leafs (32-13-5, 69 points) in the opener of a two-game set.
Marner added an assist for the Maple Leafs, who clinched a playoff spot by defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Wednesday and have won four games in a row.
J.T. Miller scored for the Canucks (19-22-3, 41 points), who have lost three in a row. They fell 6-3 to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
David Rittich made 15 saves for Toronto, and Canucks goaltender Braden Holtby stopped 20 shots.
Nylander scored his 16th goal of the season at 15:29 of the first period. He took a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle after receiving a pass from Alex Galchenyuk.
Toronto had a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal in the first period.
Matthews scored from the right circle 51 seconds into the second period. Marner set him up with a pass to earn his 44th assist of the season.
Toronto led 3-0 thanks to Engvall's fourth goal of the season. He scored from the right circle at 2:57 of the second period. Rasmus Sandin made the pass to set it up.
Miller scored for Vancouver on a power play at 15:36 of the second from a sharp angle in the left circle. His 11th goal of the season came with nine seconds remaining in Timothy Liljegren's hooking penalty.
Toronto led 18-11 in shots on goal after two periods.
Marner scored his 18th goal of the season into an empty goal at 19:05 of the third period.
Toronto's Wayne Simmonds and Vancouver's Alexander Edler were given fighting majors at 1:54 of the first period. Edler had served a two-game suspension for his hit on the Maple Leafs' Zach Hyman on April 18. Hyman has not played since because of a sprained knee.
With a playoff spot clinched, the Maple Leafs did not have Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, Nick Foligno and Jack Campbell in the lineup.
The teams meet again on Saturday night.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Vancouver |
|
Toronto |
|
J.T. Miller 1 |
Points |
Mitchell Marner 2 |
|
J.T. Miller 1 |
Goals |
Mitchell Marner 1 |
|
Bo Horvat 1 |
Assists |
Mitchell Marner 1 |
|
J.T. Miller 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Braden Holtby .833 |
Save Percentage |
David Rittich .938 |
|
Braden Holtby 20 |
Saves |
David Rittich 15 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Vancouver
|
16 |
1 |
1-2 |
0-0 |
5 |
26 |
| Toronto
|
24 |
4 |
0-0 |
1-2 |
9 |
21 |
Upcoming Games
-
Toronto will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .710 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Vancouver will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Canucks have a W/L % of .474 after a win and .375 after a loss.