Toronto 4, Minnesota 1
When: 6:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees:
Francis Charron, Jean Hebert
Linesmen:
Brandon Gawryletz, Bevan Mills
Attendance:
18164
By Field Level Media
Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares each had a goal and an assist, and Frederik Andersen stopped 26 of 27 shots to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Alexander Kerfoot also scored a goal for Toronto, which extended its point streak to eight games (7-0-1). Nylander extended his goal streak to four games.
The Maple Leafs, who won for just the fourth time in the past 13 meetings against the Wild, also improved to 13-4-1 under head coach Sheldon Keefe, who replaced Mike Babcock on Nov. 20.
Ryan Suter scored for Minnesota (10-4-3 at home), and Devan Dubnyk finished with 25 saves.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead at the 5:55 mark of the first period when Kerfoot one-timed a Tavares feed from the edge of the left circle for his seventh goal of the season. It also was Kerfoot's 100th career point.
Nylander made it 2-0 just before the end of the period, picking up a rebound of a Matthews shot near the crease and flipping it past Dubnyk for his 17th goal of the season.
Matthews extended Toronto's lead to 3-0 midway through the second period with a power-play goal. He roofed a cross-ice pass from Nylander from the bottom of the right circle for his 27th goal of the season.
Suter put Minnesota on the board a little over three minutes later with a power-play goal, firing a shot from the left point past a screen by Mikko Koivu and Andersen's blocker side for his sixth goal of the season.
The Wild pulled Dubnyk with 2:20 to go and managed just one shot on goal before Tavares sealed the win with an empty-netter, his 16th tally of the season, with 25 seconds remaining.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Toronto |
|
Minnesota |
|
Auston Matthews 2 |
Points |
Ryan Suter 1 |
|
Auston Matthews 1 |
Goals |
Ryan Suter 1 |
|
Auston Matthews 1 |
Assists |
Kevin Fiala 1 |
|
Auston Matthews 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Ryan Suter 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Frederik Andersen .963 |
Save Percentage |
Devan Dubnyk .893 |
|
Frederik Andersen 26 |
Saves |
Devan Dubnyk 25 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Toronto
|
29 |
4 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
31 |
| Minnesota
|
27 |
1 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
34 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Wild have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Toronto will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .591 after a win and .474 after a loss.
For more information, contact us