This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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Colorado Avalanche play well to beat Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1. Here is the game summary.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | FINAL |
COLORADO | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
TORONTO | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
GAME SUMMARY | EVENT SUMMARY | FACEOFF SUMMARY
ON THE SCORESHEET
Jake Gardiner got the Maple Leafs on the board with a power play goal at 17:24 of the third period. Gardiner leads Toronto defencemen with five goals this season.
Nikita Zaitsev registered an assist on Gardiner’s third period goal. Zaitsev has six points in 13 home games this season.
Mitch Marner picked up his 13th assist of the season in the third period. Marner has 15 points in 13 home games in 2016-17.
SHOTS FIRED
The Maple Leafs outshot the Avalanche by a 52-29 margin.
Toronto out-attempted Colorado 99-52 in all situations and 66-37 at 5-on-5.
The Maple Leafs outshot the Avalanche 21-8 in the first period and 21-6 in the third period. Colorado had a 15-10 edge in shots in the second period.
Toronto established a new season-high for shots for in a game with 52.
Prior to tonight, the last time the Maple Leafs registered 50 or more shots on home ice was Nov. 23, 2009 vs. New York Islanders (61 – OT).
With 21 shots in the first period, the Maple Leafs established a new high for shots in a period.
Prior to tonight, the last time the Maple Leafs recorded 20 or more shots in a period came on Oct. 24, 2015 at Montreal (23 – 2nd period).
The Maple Leafs equaled their season-high for shots in a period established in tonight’s first period in the third period of tonight’s game.
Nazem Kadri, William Nylander and James van Riemsdyk each registered seven shots on goal for the Maple Leafs.
James van Riemsdyk had 11 shot attempts for Toronto.
HOME AGAIN
The Maple Leafs are 8-5-0 at home.
Toronto’s record is 29-37-9-2 in 77 games against the Avalanche franchise and 18-19-4-1 in 42 games played in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs are 0-5-1 in the second leg of back-to-backs this season.
Tonight’s attendance is 18,875.
The Maple Leafs continue a five-game homestand on Dec. 13 vs. San Jose at 7:30 p.m.
OF NOTE…
The Maple Leafs conceded their first empty net goal against of 2016-17 at 18:49 of the third period.
Antoine Bibeau stopped 26 shots in his NHL debut.
Connor Brown and Morgan Rielly registered two takeaways.
Jake Gardiner led the Maple Leafs in TOI (22:20).
Zach Hyman led the Maple Leafs in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage at 76.5 percent (26 for, 8 against).
Zach Hyman and Ben Smith each registered a pair of blocked shots.
Nazem Kadri won 58 percent of his faceoffs (11 won, 8 lost) to lead the Maple Leafs in the faceoff circle. Kadri was 10-for-15 (67%) in the faceoff circle when matched against Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.
Roman Polak led the Maple Leafs in hits (6).
Ben Smith started the fewest shifts in the offensive zone (12.5%) among Maple Leafs skaters.
UPCOMING GAMES:
Tuesday, Dec. 13 vs. San Jose Sharks, 7:30 p.m. (TSN 4, TSN 1050)
Thursday, Dec. 15 vs. Arizona Coyotes, 7:30 p.m. (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:00 p.m. (Hockey Night in Canada, FAN 590)
Monday, Dec. 19 vs. Anaheim Ducks, 7:30 p.m. (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
Thursday, Dec. 22 at Colorado Avalanche, 9:00 p.m. (TSN 4, FAN 590)
POSTGAME QUOTES
MIKE BABCOCK POSTGAME: DECEMBER 11, 2016
On the team coming up against a hot goaltender:
[Varlamov] was good. it would have been nice to score, obviously. We did a lot of good things. They get a good road win, they rode their goaltender and got it done. We had lots of opportunity to score and we didn’t. Our power play had good looks, but we’ve got to score on our power play, we can’t just get good looks. Our penalty kill, which has been spot on, gave up two tonight. I thought [Bibeau] in net did a real nice job and we had every opportunity to have success tonight. I’m pleased with our effort, how we played and how we went about it.
On starting Marner with Smith and Martin:
I’ve just been watching the games… I think there’s been a message going on for a bit and that’s just a process of growing up in the National Hockey League, it doesn’t go your way all the time. You’ve got to work hard every single day in practice, games, period.
On if he saw a response prior to reshuffling the lines:
I don’t know if I saw a response, I just thought it was the right thing to do.
On what he saw from Bibeau:
He was 6-foot-3 the whole game, he was square, looked calm. I thought the release on the second goal – I thought he should have been out a little bit on that, but I thought he made some good saves. They didn’t have a ton but he had to make some good saves and I thought he did a good job. My big thing for me is I just felt comfortable. I wasn’t in panic mode when he was in the net and neither were the players. They were relaxed and he played the puck good.
On Jake Gardiner:
I think Jake has played a lot of good hockey for us. He’s confident, he skates, he breaks the puck out, he passes it well. Sometimes he’s a little too high risk, needs a little intensity and needs to tighten up once in a while, but he’s a good player for us.
On what he wants from the upcoming homestand:
I want to win, we’ve got to win. It’s an opportunity for us. Tonight was a big game for us, obviously, to not get a win. Now we’ve got a real good team in San Jose and we’ve got to get ready for them. We’ll take an off-day tomorrow, get our energy up and get ready to play.
ANTOINE BIBEAU POSTGAME: DECEMBER 11, 2016
On making his NHL debut:
I was really calm, I think I surprised myself. I wasn’t nervous at all. I think I was well-prepared for that game and I was feeling good in net.
On getting tested once the game began:
It felt good. I was cutting the game by five minute segments and it helped keep myself in the game, especially in the first. I didn’t get too many shots. It was good, I was feeling really good.
On the excitement when the team scored to make it 2-1:
The fans were amazing. The boys played so great, we just couldn’t score that second goal. We had so many chances. That’s the way hockey works.
On tonight’s atmosphere:
It was really nice, the fans were really into it. Especially at the end like you said when we were trying to score that second goal. It was really special to play in this building with that kind of atmosphere.
JAKE GARDINER POSTGAME: DECEMBER 11, 2016
On frustration after losing despite tonight’s effort:
It’s tough. I think we started the game really well and just didn’t get the bounces in the first. We had a little bit of a lull and obviously their power play was good and buried one. That’s tough when your special teams isn’t really going. We’ve got to bear down on that.
On a lack of production on the power play:
We’re getting good chances on the first shot but if it missed it seemed like it was coming back our way or they’re getting it down the ice. When we get it to the flanks or we’re shooting it from up top, it’s got to hit the net. Those are the kind of goals we need to get are the rebounds.
On if frustration affected the bench tonight:
I didn’t think so. We stuck with it to the very end and almost had them, it’s just [Varlamov] had a great game. It’s a good goalie over there and hats off to him.
On Bibeau in his NHL debut:
I thought he was great, he was very good for us. He’s a heck of a goalie, he’s still young. I sure hope he was nervous, it was his first NHL game, but he didn’t look like it. He’s a pretty calm kid.
JAMES van RIEMSDYK POSTGAME: DECEMBER 11, 2016
On frustration over scoring one goal despite 99 shot attempts:
Frustrating is definitely the right word. Their goalie played really well and he can get hot like that at times throughout his career. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get another one by him.
On power play struggles tonight:
I thought we moved it around a little bit but we didn’t get those second chance opportunities for whatever reason. Once we got to the third period we started to get a couple more looks at it, but not consistently enough.
On playing with Connor Brown to start tonight’s game:
He’s a great player too. We have a lot of depth on our team. He brings some good speed and he’s a really smart player. He makes the right play with the puck all the time.
On Antoine Bibeau’s NHL debut:
I thought he was great, he gave us a chance in there and made some big stops. A couple of those – the goals that they scored – he didn’t have much of a chance on them. They made some good plays. That’s the way it went.
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