Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby makes a glove save during the second period on Monday.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
For Dennis Hildeby, Monday night’s 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lighting was also his first career National Hockey League shutout.
For his father, who stayed up late to watch the game back home in Sweden, it represented another milestone game puck for a growing collection.
“It’s something you will look back to, I guess,” the 24-year-old said after the victory, the team’s fifth straight against the Lightning. “And I believe my father would be, or is very happy about that. He collects them all.”
The fourth-round pick from the 2022 draft stopped all 29 shots that came his way, earning the fifth win of his career in just his 10th NHL start. It continued his recent stellar play, which has seen the native of Jarfalla, Sweden, turn away 107 of 110 shots (.973) directed at his net. That his hot streak arrived while Toronto was in something of a crease crisis, with last season’s goaltending tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll landing on injured reserve, has been opportune to say the least.
Just as importantly, he kept Toronto’s points total ticking over, with the win meaning the team has earned nine of the last 10 points available to it.
“Great to see Beast get his first shutout and he played great,” John Tavares said afterwards. “So good job by everyone just kind of staying with the game and doing what we had to do to protect the lead.”
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan congratulates defenseman Morgan Rielly on his goal on Monday.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
Morgan Rielly’s fifth of the season stood up as the game winner, while Auston Matthews added an empty-netter with less than one second remaining for his 12th of the campaign. The game was a chippy affair, a tension-filled night that threatened to erupt in the third with two ejections – one from each team.
“That’s when we’re at our best in this room, kind of having that playoff mentality of tight games and really hard checking,” Jake McCabe said. “That’s when we’re at our best, and frankly, it creates a lot of offence for us too, when we’re checking like that and getting on man rushes.”
Despite remaining winless in December, the Tampa Bay Lightning came into Scotiabank Arena sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division. However, such is the level of parity in the National Hockey League, and in the Eastern Conference in particular, that Tampa was only four points up on the Maple Leafs, who sat just four points in front of the last-place Buffalo Sabres.
But Tampa, bolstered by the return of centre Brayden Point after seven games out injured, and reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, who missed Saturday’s loss against the New York Islanders, came out flying. The Lightning outshot the home side 15-11 over the opening 20 minutes, and but for a Troy Stecher goal-line clearance on a shot that got by Hildeby just before the five-minute mark, would jumped in front early.
As happens so often though, it was the team absorbing most of the punches that came up with the telling blow. With 3:34 remaining in the period, Rielly burst into the slot after receiving a pass from Easton Cowan. A back-checking Jake Guentzel looked to have successfully stick-checked Rielly before he could uncork a shot, but the Leafs blueliner reloaded for a second effort, and was able to back-hand the puck past Jonas Johansson for his fifth of the season.
Cowan picked up his sixth assist of the year, with Tavares notching his 30th point on the goal, becoming the first Maple Leaf aged 35 or older with at least 30 points prior to their 30th game of the season since Mats Sundin in the 2007-08 campaign.
Tempers frayed in the third, as Tampa winger Gage Goncalves received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a knee-on-knee hit on Leaf defenceman Dakota Mermis, a hit that precipitated a fight between Toronto’s Dakota Joshua and Tampa’s Max Crozier. Unfortunately for Toronto fans – who were ready for their team to enjoy a five-minute power play – Bobby McMann was also involved in the skirmish, receiving a match penalty for high sticking to cancel it out. Mermis left the game and went back to the dressing room after the hit, with Craig Berube unable to offer any definitive update on his defenceman’s condition afterwards.
And Hildeby saved his best save for last. With under a minute remaining in the game, and the Lightning having pulled Johansson for an extra attacker, they hit the post and swarmed the net. But the young netminder reached behind him to corral the loose puck and avert further danger.
Seconds later, Matthews fired the puck the length of the ice into an empty net for his 12th goal of the season.
Having cut into Tampa’s division lead, the Maple Leafs await further visits by Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, before Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers make their annual visit to Toronto on Saturday.