Marner’s Double Brings Leafs First Win Against Utah HC

Bullets:

• The Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Hockey Club had their first-ever matchup on Sunday. 
• The night ended with the Torontonians’ victory at 3-2. 
• Mitch Marner scored twice; William Nylander also contributed to their fourth consecutive win.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Utah Hockey Club played their first-ever matchup on Sunday, the day’s only NHL game. 

Mitch Marner (27) delivered a pair of goals during a dominant second period against Utah, propelling his team to a 3-2 victory. 

The win also extended Toronto’s streak to four consecutive victories, following Wednesday’s latest 3-0 shutout at home against Vegas. 

Good Night for Marner

Calgary native William Nylander (28) notched his 14th goal of the season for the Leafs. 

Markham-born Marner scored his seventh and eighth goals of the campaign which pushed him past Syl Apps (201) into 14th place on Toronto’s all-time scoring list.

In the eight games without their injured captain Auston Matthews (27), Marner has been on fire, accumulating six goals and eight assists. 

He also registered multi-point performances in seven of those games, bringing his season total to 11. 

His accomplishment was only defeated by Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (27) who recorded 12 multi-point games this season.

Matthews, who is still recovering from an upper-body injury, could make a comeback in the coming week. Despite his absence, the Leafs have maintained a solid record of 7-1-0, which hockey bettors will be taking strong note of.

Back-to-Back Games for Utah

On the Utah side, Pittsburgh-born Logan Cooley (20) and Torontonian Jack McBain (24) each found the back of the net. 

Utah had just ended a three-game skid with an emphatic 6-1 victory in Pittsburgh the night before, playing back-to-back games for the first time this season. 

McBain’s early third-period tip-in narrowed Toronto’s lead to 3-2.

The Leafs were also missing several other key players: Matthew Knies, Max Domi, David Kampf, Max Pacioretty, and Calle Jarnkrok were all sidelined with injuries, while Ryan Reaves remained out due to suspension.

However, despite the slow start that saw them trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Leafs surged in the second, netting their three goals in a span of five minutes and 35 seconds. 

Toronto dominated the period, outshooting Utah 16-6.

The Nylander Brothers, the Club’s 13th Pair of Siblings 

Alex Nylander (26), newly called up from the AHL Marlies, made his debut with the Leafs. In the first period, the Calgary-born saw power play time alongside his older brother William. 

The Nylander siblings are now the 13th pair of brothers to suit up for the franchise and the fifth to play together in the same game.

Since traffic in Toronto was especially bad due to the Santa Claus parade, in order to avoid the congestion, the two brothers took the subway to the arena. 

Utah’s team was forced to abandon their bus and walk the final stretch to Scotiabank Arena.

Next in line, Toronto will hit the road for NHL games against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, Utah will conclude their four-game road swing on Wednesday with a match in Montreal.