Feb 1, 2018
Night to ‘remember forever’ for young Leafs Holl, Dermott
Blueline partners score their first career NHL goals to lift the Leafs to their third consecutive win and revel in the once-in-a-lifetime experiences, TSN Maple Leafs Reporter Kristen Shilton writes.
TORONTO – The official record shows the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 5-0 on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. But for Justin Holl and Travis Dermott, the 52nd game of the season for both teams turned out to be a night they’ll hold dear for the rest of their lives.
The rookie defencemen are long-time friends and teammates from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to begin with, both on recalls from that league to cover for injuries and illnesses at the next level.
For Holl, Wednesday was the first game of his NHL career, period; for Dermott, it was his ninth. Paired together on the backend, each blueliner scored his first NHL goal before game’s end, one right after the other; Dermott even assisted on Holl’s goal, the two in some perfect cosmic harmony from the get-go.
“It’s almost surreal,” said Holl, who, according to Elias Sports Bureau, is the first Leafs defenceman to score a goal in his NHL debut since Claire Alexander accomplished the feat on Nov. 30, 1974, against the Washington Capitals. “It happens and then you’re like, ‘Wait, did that really just happen?' and you’re like, ‘Nice, it did.’ ”
“It’s crazy. You can’t even put it into words,” said Dermott, wearing an ear-to-ear smile after the game at the Air Canada Centre.
“I love playing with Travis, he’s a great hockey player and I think we have good chemistry,” said Holl. “It’s nice to be able to come up here and play with a familiar guy like that and still be on the same page.”
Dermott and Holl’s goals were the fourth and fifth of the night respectively for Toronto, capping a landslide of youth-generated offence that started early in the first period.
Kasperi Kapanen, just recalled from the Marlies on Monday, was credited with a goal that went off an Islander to get the ball rolling for Toronto (29-18-5). Next it was second-year star Auston Matthews banking in a rebound to put the Leafs up 2-0. Fellow sophomore Mitch Marner tallied his eighth of the season next, and Dermott (who skated a career-high 19:47 in ice time) and Holl added their markers to ice the victory.
It wasn’t until 4:30 on Wednesday afternoon that Holl even knew he’d be making his NHL debut three hours later. He said Dermott texted him to say they’d be playing together and he’d “had chills for five minutes.”
The Leafs were dealing with a defence corps unexpectedly depleted by illnesses that forced Roman Polak and Ron Hainsey out of the lineup; Polak was moved to IR so the Leafs could bring up Holl on excruciatingly short notice.
But for Holl, the opportunity felt ages in the making. The 26-year-old was a second-round draft selection of the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2010 and has skated in 239 career minor-league games between the ECHL and AHL, never cracking an NHL roster. The moment he knew he had, Holl tried to treat the biggest day of his professional life as he would any other, logging 16:30 of ice time and one shot on goal.
“I have confidence in my abilities, and sometimes you have to work a little harder for the things you want,” he said. “There’s anxiousness to get going, because once you get going it’s just another game you settle in, but definitely the first two shifts you’re trying to feel it out and make sure you don’t do anything too stupid.”
That Toronto was able to produce one of its most dominant wins in weeks, outshooting the Islanders 50-28, while missing the combined experience of Hainsey, Polak and Morgan Rielly (upper-body injury) on the backend made the rookie goals all the more special for every Leaf.
William Nylander, who fed Dermott a perfect pass to set up his goal, jumped directly into his arms when the puck went in, and Matthews made sure to retrieve the keepsake from inside the net for him.
With three consecutive wins under their belts now, the Leafs’ longest win streak since Dec. 6-10, there was no better moment to revel in the once-in-a-lifetime experiences unfolding before them.
“You love to see it – two great guys, great players,” said Matthews. “Especially to be out there on the ice with them, it’s exciting for everybody. I know what it was like when I scored my first, and I can only imagine what’s going through their head. It’s a dream come true.”
“And even to start a fathers’ trip, you can’t write any more perfect than that, especially with Holl as my partner,” said Dermott. “With this all coming together, you can’t really put words to it.
“It’s just a feeling you’ll remember forever.”
TAKEAWAYS
Amazing Andersen
While the young guns stole the spotlight, Frederik Andersen turned in an impressive performance between the pipes, making 28 saves to earn his fourth shutout of the season (tied for second-most in the NHL). Andersen wasn’t very busy for much of the game first’s 30 minutes, with Toronto outshooting New York 23-6 at that point, but the netminder made the necessary saves to keep New York from garnering any momentum. His two best stops of the night were both on star centre John Tavares – first on the power play in the second (when he sprawled back into his crease to glove the puck) and the second early in the third (with another glove stop from in close). The Islanders pressed hard in the final frame to get on the board, forcing Andersen into a few more difficult saves, but perhaps feeding off the wild energy of his teammates, the goaltender looked as confident and efficient as he’s been all season.
Fourth-line fury
The Leafs’ wanted to get faster all over the ice. It’s why Kapanen has replaced Matt Martin on the team’s fourth line for the past three games. And Wednesday’s game was undoubtedly their best of the bunch. In fact, Toronto’s fourth line was perhaps their best of the night overall, in no small part because of Kapanen’s presence alongsideLeo Komarov and Dominic Moore. Not only did he get credit for Toronto’s first goal (which looked to have gone in off an Islander), the play itself came about because of relentless pressure from that unit. It was a trend that would continue throughout the game, with Kapanen’s speed opening up new possibilities for them offensively. He was able to negate an icing in the second period that got his line set up in the Islanders’ end, and Kapanen kept beating defenders to puck after puck and dishing passes back to the point or his linemates to maintain possession. The group finished with 61 per cent possession and seven high-danger scoring chances.
Up in the air
Before Dermott and Holl exploded with offence, the biggest story of the day on the Leafs’ blueline was the return of Nikita Zaitsev. The 26-year-old had missed the Leafs’ previous 17 games with a broken foot before getting back in the lineup against New York. He picked up where he left off, playing 21:56 (just shy of his season average of 22:50 before getting hurt), and he didn’t appear to be missing a beat. Zaitsev’s return couldn’t have been more well-timed, either. Playing on a back-to-back, Toronto is poised to rely on their rookie blueliners once again come Thursday night. According to Mike Babcock, Polak and Hainey are battling a nasty stomach bug and wouldn’t be travelling with the team to New York. He suggested they could be flown in on Thursday morning, but the team doesn’t want to risk infecting anyone, either. If that’s the case, Dermott and Holl could see their minutes increase even further, especially if the Leafs find themselves in penalty trouble and need to cover for short-handed time on ice leader Hainsey once again.
Next game
Toronto heads back out on the road for a matchup against the New York Rangers on Thursday.