Murray comes up big, Marner gets another point as Maple Leafs cap trip with fourth win

DETROIT — Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe knows Mitch Marner is feeling it.

And by ‘it,’ we mean good, great, wonderful, terrific, whatever word applies. 

Any and more certainly apply to Marner, who is on the cusp of tying a long-held Leafs record.

Marner recorded a point in a 17th consecutive game on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena, scoring in the second period to help the Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2.

“You get in a rhythm when you’re an elite player and you just feel like every shift you’re going to make a difference,” Keefe said following the morning skate. “He’s feeling it. He’s feeling it with the puck, without the puck, with his defending. 

“Some of his best plays are coming off his reads and creating turnovers to create high-end chances for us. It seems like no matter the minutes or the situation or the schedule, he’s just continuing to push on.”

The Leafs won all four games on their trip, won all six of their road games in November and in the wider view, have won 10 of their past 14. 

Crucially, goalie Matt Murray was on point for the Leafs. After getting a night off in Pittsburgh on Saturday and watching Erik Kallgren help beat the Penguins, Murray did his job and did it well, denying the Wings on the majority of chances whenever there were bumps in the defensive end, and there were more than a few.

Murray, who allowed an Adam Erne goal in the third, finished with a season-high 41 saves. Detroit had won four in a row.

If Marner gets a point against the San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, he will equal the franchise record for most consecutive games with at least one point at 18. No Leaf has reached that mark since Ed Olczyk in 1989-90, and that came after Darryl Sittler set the record in 1977-78. 

In 11 career games against the Sharks, Marner has three goals and 10 assists. 

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Marner’s goal at 52 seconds of the second period came thanks to a feed from Mark Giordano. As the Leafs skated the puck up the ice, from the press box we could hear Marner call for the pass. Once the crafty Leaf got the puck, he moved to his forehand and beat goalie Ville Husso with a shot that should have been stopped.

The Leafs didn’t generate consistent offence throughout the game, truth be told, but took advantage of a weak performance on the part of Husso.

The Detroit netminder was pulled after Rasmus Sandin scored on a floater at 8:37 of the second, putting Toronto up 4-1. The Leafs scored four goals on 13 shots, giving Wings coach Derek Lalonde enough evidence to send backup Alex Nedeljkovic into the net. 

A couple of Leafs reached milestones in the first period after the Wings took a 1-0 lead. 

Auston Matthews unleashed the shot which has tortured goalies since he broke into the NHL, giving Toronto a 2-1 advantage at 8:24. Matthews took a pass from Michael Bunting and fired a shot from the slot over Husso’s catching glove. The play started in the Toronto end when Mac Hollowell, in his fourth NHL game, skated around the net and chipped the puck to Bunting. It was Hollowell’s first point in the NHL.

Less than a minute later during a Toronto power play, William Nylander popped the puck into an open net following a shot from the point by Sandin.

Captain John Tavares also assisted on the goal at 9:15, marking his 300th point as a Leaf. Tavares became the 40th player in franchise history to record 300 points with the club.

The Leafs were stuck in the defensive zone at times during the first but Detroit couldn’t capitalize after scoring the first goal at 4:45. A shot got through Murray and a loose puck eventually was poked over the goal line by Moritz Seider. 

At 14-5-5, the Leafs have 33 points and are within three of the Boston Bruins, who lead the Atlantic Division with 36. Boston has three games in hand over Toronto.

“We’re making sure that we’re putting the puck into good spots and we’re not making life harder on ourselves than it needs to be,” Keefe said. “With us being shorthanded as we are on defence (with Morgan Rielly, TJ Brodie, Jake Muzzin and Jordie Benn out), we’ve got to have a really sound team game. Forwards have to be responsible with how they play, both with the puck and without, to be able to support the defence defensively, and then also to help us on our breakouts. We need to be connected. 

“We really have that happening right now and our confidence has grown to a good place.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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