The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday night.
The sharpest detail was the size of the night from the two stars at the top of the lineup, as William Nylander and Auston Matthews combined for nine points in Toronto’s first road win of the season.
Nine Points From Nylander And Matthews
Nylander finished with two goals and three assists for five points, tying his career high for points in a game and setting a career high with the three assists. His second goal was also a milestone, the 700th point of his NHL career, which gave the performance a place in his personal record book as well as in the result. Matthews matched the pace beside him with two goals and two assists, so Colorado spent most of the night chasing a game that Toronto’s best players were controlling at even strength and in transition.
Nylander kept his own explanation simple after the game:
“I was just going out there playing. I got some really nice passes to be able to score those two goals.” William Nylander, via NHL.com
That modesty fits the way the points were built. Easton Cowan and Nick Blankenburg, scoring in his Toronto debut, added goals of their own, and Nick Paul recorded two assists, so the Leafs were not asking two players to do everything. Still, the shape of the win was set by Nylander and Matthews. When Toronto needed a tying goal, a go ahead goal and then breathing room, the puck kept finding one of them in a dangerous spot.
The Two Minute Turn In The Second Period
Colorado had real control of the middle of this game. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and Brock Nelson added a goal, and Toronto trailed 3-2 in the second period with the home crowd expecting the Avalanche to pull away. Mackenzie Blackwood made 17 saves for Colorado, but the game turned too quickly for the Avalanche to protect what they had built.
Nylander tied the game at 16:47 of the second period, and Cowan put Toronto ahead only 46 seconds later, at 17:33. Two goals in under a minute changed everything about the third period: Colorado had to chase, Toronto could play with a lead, and Sergei Bobrovsky could protect a game instead of trying to rescue one. Bobrovsky finished with 30 saves and recorded his first win of the season, a steadier finish than the score in the second period had suggested was coming.
The win also came without John Tavares, who missed the game after returning home for the birth of his son. For more on the young talent working into this Leafs lineup, see McKenna Nets First Goal, Leafs Rally, and for the rivalry game that opened this stretch, read Senators Edge Maple Leafs In Opener.
By The Numbers
- Final score: Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Colorado Avalanche 3, at Ball Arena in Denver on Oct. 10
- William Nylander: two goals, three assists, five points, tying his career high; second goal was his 700th NHL point
- Auston Matthews: two goals and two assists for four points
- Sergei Bobrovsky: 30 saves and his first win of the season
- Nathan MacKinnon scored twice for Colorado, and Brock Nelson scored once
- Toronto improved to 3-2-1 with its first road win; Colorado fell to 3-2-0
A Road Win With Real Weight
Early season road wins are usually judged by how a team handles the bad stretch, and Toronto handled theirs in the hardest building on the trip. The Leafs gave up the lead, fell behind 3-2 to a team led by MacKinnon, and answered with two goals in 46 seconds rather than waiting for the third period. That response, more than the six goals, is what will travel home with them.
There is also a simple standings point. Toronto is 3-2-1, every result so far has been tight or eventful, and the club needed a night where its biggest contracts produced like biggest contracts. Nylander delivered five points, Matthews delivered four, and the supporting scorers, Cowan and Blankenburg, arrived exactly when the game opened up. If that balance holds, the Leafs will not need milestone nights to win on the road. On Saturday in Denver, though, the milestone night was the story, and Nylander owned it from the tying goal onward.
