After a big 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 2, the Toronto Maple Leafs immediately returned to the ice on Jan. 3 to face off against the Anaheim Ducks. They looked to carry over their success against the Kings for their matchup, and they did just that in the end, defeating Anaheim by a 2-1 final score in overtime. It was a hard-fought win for the Maple Leafs, and here are three main takeaways from the contest now.
Maple Leafs Avoid Getting Goalied By Dostal
While the Maple Leafs secured two points from this contest, Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal made it extremely challenging for them. The 23-year-old had a spectacular performance, as he made a Ducks franchise-record 55 saves on 57 shots. The Maple Leafs dominated the flow of play, but the Ducks’ netminder stood up to the test for the majority of the contest.
The Maple Leafs certainly were determined throughout this contest, and their number of shots effectively displayed this. The Maple Leafs had 18 shots in the first period, 15 shots in the second period, and 22 shots in the third. Dostal also did not allow his first goal until the 14:17 mark of the third period, so he made it especially challenging for Toronto. However, in the end, they were able to finally beat him and then win it in overtime.
While the Maple Leafs had trouble scoring for the majority of this game, it was great to see them stick with it and eventually get the W. However, even with this being so, Dostal deserves a ton of credit for keeping Anaheim in this game. Without him in the crease, this could have been a blowout win for the Maple Leafs.
Jones Did Pretty Good Himself
While Dostal, understandably, is the goaltender whom hockey fans will be talking about from this contest, Martin Jones had a strong performance himself. After a 31-save shutout against the Kings in his last appearance, he was excellent against the Ducks, saving 27 out of 28 shots in the win.
Related: Jones Stands Tall in Maple Leafs’ 3-0 Shutout of Kings
Jones may not have faced nearly as many shots as Dostal, but when he was challenged, he stood on his head. He faced multiple high-danger chances, but the 33-year-old goaltender answered the bell. With the Maple Leafs having serious questions in goal, it has been nice to see the club’s once third-string goaltender continue to have strong performances. Without his steady play in the crease, this could have been a frustrating loss for the Maple Leafs.
With this win, Jones now has a 6-3-0 record, a 2.20 goals-against average (GAA), and a .930 save percentage (SV%) in 10 games. He is continuing to prove to the Maple Leafs that he is still an NHL-calibre goaltender, and he should be sticking around on their roster for a while because of it.
Matthews Scores 30th of Season
Auston Matthews has had a spectacular 2023-24 season, and he is on pace to have the best goal-scoring season of his career. He continued this trend against the Ducks, as he scored the Maple Leafs’ overtime-winning goal, one-timing a perfectly placed Mitch Marner pass by Dostal. This was also Matthews’ 30th goal of the season, so it was notable in more ways than one.
Matthews was noticeable throughout the entirety of this contest before his overtime goal, too. The 2016 first-overall pick had a monstrous 13 shots on goal and created an array of chances. While Dostal continued to stone him throughout the game, he got the last laugh with his overtime winner.
It only took Matthews 35 games to hit the 30-goal mark in what has been a marvelous season for the superstar center. If he keeps this kind of scoring up and stays healthy, he may have a legitimate chance of hitting 70 goals this season.
With this win, the Maple Leafs have improved to a 19-10-7 record. They will now look to keep their winning streak going on Jan. 6 against the rebuilding San Jose Sharks.
