Gridin scores twice as Flames beat Maple Leafs for fourth straight win
Auston Matthews became the fastest player in Toronto history to reach 800 points, but the Leafs lost Kirill Marchenko to injury.
CALGARY —
Matvei Gridin scored twice and added an assist as the Calgary Flames beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday night for their fourth straight win. 1
It was the first three-point NHL game for Gridin, the 28th pick in the 2024 draft, who has three goals and two assists in his past two games. He is the first Flames player aged 20 or younger with a three-point game since Matthew Tkachuk on Dec. 4, 2018. 1
“It all starts with us playing the right way,” Gridin said. He added: “Four (wins) in a row, we're playing great hockey right now and just keep doing that.” 1
How it unfolded
Gridin opened the scoring at 10:05 of the first period with a shot into the top corner over Sergei Bobrovsky's blocker. Mikael Backlund, back after missing two games with an upper-body injury, made it 2-0 at 11:50. 1
The goal was Backlund's 609th career point, tying Johnny Gaudreau for fifth on Calgary's all-time list. Gridin's power-play goal 25 seconds into the second period made it 3-0. 1
Easton Cowan and William Nylander pulled Toronto within a goal, Nylander at 6:06 of the third, before Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil scored into an empty net. Devin Cooley made 26 saves for his fourth straight winning start, and Calgary (5-6-0) finished its homestand 4-0-0. 1
“We're playing a simpler brand of hockey and it's resulting in more opportunities,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. 1
Matthews milestone, Marchenko injury
Auston Matthews assisted on Nylander's goal for his 800th career point (437 goals, 363 assists). He reached the mark in 703 games, the fastest in Maple Leafs history; Darryl Sittler had held the team record at 742 games. 1
Bobrovsky made 29 saves in his 800th NHL start. The loss ended a four-game winning streak for Toronto (7-5-2). 1
Forward Kirill Marchenko left in the second period with a lower-body injury after taking a hit from Yegor Sharangovich and falling awkwardly. He played one more 14-second shift and did not return. 1
“I don't have the full update,” Toronto coach Jim Hiller said. “He couldn't come back and finish the game, so that's never a good sign.” 1
Hiller was also critical of his team's puck management. “Turned the puck over way too much,” he said. 1
Sources
- NHL.com: Gridin scores twice, sparks Flames past Maple Leafs
- The Leafs Nation: 5 takeaways from Leafs-Flames
This article was reported and written by Mike Tremblay and edited by Daniel Okafor. It draws on the sources above, which are credited in the text. Our standards · Report an error
