The Vancouver Canucks put together a strong effort in front of the hometown crowd on Tuesday night against a Maple Leafs squad who is very much still in transition under new head coach, Sheldon Keefe. The Leafs managed to come out of Rogers Arena with two huge points, improving to 6-3-0 with Keefe behind the bench.
The Canucks played a strong two-way game and deserved a much better fate than a 4-1 loss at home, clearly outplaying the Leafs through most of the game, but failing to capitalize on their chances. The 'Nucks had four clear-cut breakaways in the game, two on the stick of sniper Brock Boeser, so it was not for a lack-of-trying. They were simply stone-walled by one of the League's very best goaltenders, Frederik Andersen.
Here's a look at Andersen's numbers over his last 8 starts, essentially since Sheldon Keefe took over:
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Freddie was not the only Leaf to enjoy some success in Vancouver, as John Tavares and Auston Matthews each found the back of the net, with the former racking up a 3-point night. It was the latter, however, who would reach an impressive individual milestone.
With his early 2nd period tally, off of a sensational feed from below the goal line by Tavares - in a rare situation with the top two centers skating together at 5v5 - Matthews netted his 100th career even-strength goal, reaching that milestone in just 244 NHL games, the 2nd fewest among active NHL players.
Who is the only active player to reach 100 even-strength goals in less games than Matthews? "The Great 8" himself, Alex Ovechkin accomplished the feat just one game sooner than Matthews at 243. I suppose if you're in a tight race, finishing 2nd to anyone, Ovechkin would be a guy you wouldn't mind standing next to.
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