KANATA, Ont. – After 15 years, involved in the battle of Alberta, Mark Giordano finally tasted the other provincial rivalry of the NHL.
And, oh, how sweet.
Giordano received a beautiful pass from 90 feet from William Nilander in overtime. His 38-year-old legs exploded against Ottawa Senators goalkeeper Anton Forsberg. And Giordano snapped the short side of his watch and freezer, a shot as clean as his shaved dome.
Giordano’s snipe ended in an exciting 5-4 victory and became the oldest Toronto Maple Leaf in history to score after extra time.
John Tavares hugged the new old man on the left, Aston Matthews hugged him on the right, and the rest of these Leafs – hunting for the franchise’s best regular season – filled with smiles.
“Every time you score, you usually feel pretty good. But the winners of the game are something you always remember for sure, “said Giordano. “It was a lot of fun to play.”
Giordano was not recruited to light lamps for his boys’ team. He was acquired at the exchange deadline to box in front of the net, make safe decisions in his own zone and intelligently grab the puck at Toronto’s elite strikers.
Seeing Giordano not only score two goals in the last Leafs rally, but also win two desired points with his blade, is both a bonus and a boost.
“It’s big. These are big goals,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “The type of goals that make the team really come together and celebrate. So, this is a worthy moment for a man like him, who just came here and did a great job for us. ”
Alexander Kerfut has been to Toronto Maple Leaf long enough to know that recovering senators are refusing to give free points to their provincial rivals.
He realized that the 40-point difference between the two clubs would not affect the ice, no matter how many fans supporting the playoffs marched east for 401 hours in an attempt to turn Saturday into a home game bonus.
“They have been playing well with us since I joined this team. They have a lot of skills up front. “A younger team that plays every game without losing,” Kerfut said before the game.
“We know they will be ready for it. If we’re not ready to go, they can take it to us. “
What they did in the initial period.
Of course, the Maple Leafs controlled the game.
But they also failed to cash in on their power games for the fourth straight game and gave up their best chance of the night when Justin Hall and TJ Brodie were caught deep.
Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle threw in the opposite direction at 2-on-0, and the 20-year-old German finished with a flash, flying in the windshield in honor of the first blow of the night.
“We made a stupid mistake to allow them to get a 2-on-0. At the time, we were playing the play and we had complete control, “Keefe said.
Michael Del Zotto’s point-blank burst doubled Sens’s lead, temporarily calming the mostly blue-and-white crowd.
“We don’t want to give anything to anyone,” Ottawa coach DJ Smith said before the game. “You will not just come in and go around us. Our efforts will be there.
“We want to be known as this – you will never get free against us.”
Toronto came together in a much more fun second period, with three goals from Kyle Clifford (his first of the season), reviving Michael Bunting and Mitch Marner’s snipe.
Ottawa got another one from Dylan Grambrell, setting the stage at 3-3, heading for the third.
Stützle pounced on Ilya Lyubushkin’s careless distribution of his own zone and beat his second overtaking Erik Källgren to regain the lead, 20th for the sophomore of the season.
“He will be a great player in this league for a long time,” said Marner.
But Marner’s second of the evening – a greasy crease marker on his boot – leveled the game again and angered the crowd, which erupted in overwhelming support for visitors.
“Go!” Leaves! I’m going! ‘ the chant was as loud as it used to be. So, this is amazing. And that feeds us, “said Bunting.
This fed Toronto through the wild end of the fourth period, highlighted by Giordano’s heroic exclamation mark.
“Every time he took turns, there was a good noise,” Giordano said.
“I am really impressed with the attitude of the team. The boys, you might say, they expect to win every night. ”
Already almost entrenched in the second seed of the Atlantic Division, Maple Leafs will return to play the second half of their Easter weekend one-on-one on Sunday against the New York Islanders.
The speed of the fox 5
• Former island captain John Tavares said Mike Bossi (Rest in Peace) is a great man and has been very supportive, especially during his first few years on the show.
“(He) just loved the game and he liked to talk about hockey and goals in particular,” Tavares recalled. “If not the best, he was one of the best at it and was part of one of the best dynasties in NHL history and had a remarkable career.
“It was great for me to talk to him about what made him a great player and how he saw the game. These are the things you value the most and that always stay with you. ”
• The powerful game of Maple Leafs was stopped in the last 17 opportunities, with a goal against a short goal.
“The last three games (this one) have not been good, but before that we had 42 percent in a segment of eight games,” Keefe countered. “Let’s not get too carried away with the fact that it won’t go well for a while.”
• The smiling William Nylander at least has a sense of humor about the worst of his career and the worst dash-15: “I was joking with some of the boys. I say, “If you want a minus, come play with me.”
• Senators coach DJ Smith is flattered to hear that his name is being kicked as a candidate to be behind the bench of the Canadian team at the World Cup in Finland next month.
“If I have the opportunity, I will certainly be available,” Smith said. “We will see what happens here. I’ve never been to a world cup. “
• Keef and Raptors head coach Nick Nurse sent messages wishing him playoffs on Friday. They keep in touch and Keefe uses Nurse as a training resource in this market.
“It’s definitely an exciting time to be a fan of sports in Toronto, no doubt,” said Keefe, who also follows Blue Jays.
“There were many reasons to pay attention and follow and try to learn what we can from (Raptors), but also just to see the excitement they managed to generate for our city.”
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