TORONTO – This one could’ve went sideways in a hurry.
Instead, it nearly slipped off the rails late.
When Jonathan Toews snapped a puck clean by Petr Mrazek on the game’s first shot — and the first NHL game puck the goaltender had faced in 42 days — one had to wonder how it might affect the Toronto Maple Leafs’ No. 2 and their faith in him.
However ominous the beginning to Mrazek’s third attempt to get his Leafs season rolling, a rapid response by the players in front of him gave him time to settle down — and enough of a cushion to eke out a thrilling 5-4 victory.
Thanks in large part to a torrid Leafs power play (and some sloppy Blackhawks play to keep putting them on it), Toronto counterpunched Toews’ opener with four unanswered goals.
Before the game was 15 minutes old, Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander had each posted multi-point affairs, Toronto had mounted a 3-1 lead, and its scorching man-advantage had struck twice.
By scoring multiple power-play goals in five consecutive games (all without Mitch Marner), the Leafs tied a franchise record (they accomplished the same feat in 1981 and 1993).
Pierre Engvall sniped one in Period 2 off a hardworking fourth-line shift, and it was 4-1.
Again: It was 4-1.
Cue the visitors’ comeback.
Tightening up around their own backup, Kevin Lankinen, and cutting out the infractions, the Blackhawks’ control of even-strength play began to pay off.
Three straight strikes of their own — Connor Murphy, Dominik Kubalik, Jake McCabe — tied a wild one 4-4 midway through the third, setting the table for a finish more dramatic than expected.
“Defensively, they do a lot of really good things. We’ve got them Number 1 in the NHL in goals against since the coaching change at 5-on-5,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said before the game. “They’re not giving up virtually anything off the rush and forcing you to beat them in their D-zone and protecting their goaltenders very well. So, we’ve got to play our way through that.”
Unlikely hero David Kämpf, the former Blackhawk, scored the winner with just 80 seconds on the clock.
Kämpf benefited from an unlucky bounce of the back glass that caught Lankinen out of his crease.
Chicago deserved better in this one, but the Leafs will take it.
Fox’s Fast 5
• Traded from Toronto to Chicago this week, Kurtis Gabriel (No. 34) took warmups for his new club, but coach Derek King opted to hold the fourth-liner out of action until he’s had more practice time.
King had urged management to acquire an enforcer and was pleased with the trade.
“I think he’s going to be huge for us,” King said. “He’s going to finish his checks. He’s a big presence, right? If guys are going to start taking liberties on our players, he’s the type of guy I know is going to defend them.”
• Of all players who switched teams over the summer, Chicago’s Seth Jones has the most points (23). Toronto’s Michael Bunting is tied for sixth (19).
• Matthews will take a nine-game point streak (11 goals, five assists) out west next week. He now has 18 goals, tying him with Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor for third overall. Leon Draisaitl leads the Rocket race with 23, but objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear.
• Wholesome content: Jake McCabe’s wife gave birth to a son, their second child, Tuesday. “Everyone’s saying I got dad strength times two. It’s pretty special seeing your babies born. Pretty special. There’s nothing more amazing than that, frankly.”
• One of King’s children forwarded the interim coach this rather nasty clip of Mike Milbury ripping into his candidacy as a permanent head coach. “Talk about the opposite of inspiration,” Milbury says.
Derek King may have played for Mike Milbury on the Islanders, but that doesn’t mean Mike thinks he’s a good coach for the Blackhawks. Hear his true thoughts on the situation in Chicago and make sure to join the club. https://t.co/YWiYFx9WHn pic.twitter.com/GOCsvLAkEi
— Mike Milbury’s Fight Club (@mikesfightclub) December 10, 2021
“I heard it. I heard it. I had Mike [as my coach on the Islanders]for two years. I’m not sure I was the player he liked. He was trying to trade me, and then I broke my jaw, so he couldn’t trade me anymore,” King explained.
“The next year, it was great. We had a great relationship. He was really good to me, treated me well. Obviously, I became unrestricted, so he had to move me [to Hartford as a rental]. And that’s how I ended up in Toronto. I had nothing wrong with Mike. Yep. So, I don’t know what else [to say].”
