Maple Leafs' Second Period Domination Leads To 3-2 Victory Over Utah HC – Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs played in a rare Sunday night game after not playing on Saturday night. As for the Utah Hockey Club, they are coming off a win last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins and it is the second half of the back to back. Utah is now the 40th NHL franchise to play the Maple Leafs at home in its storied history.

Toronto will look to avoid a trap game from Utah, who may be tired, especially their goalkeeper Karel Vejmelka, who has started both games at the back. The Nylander brothers had a night to remember as both William Nylander and Alex Nylander played on the same team for the first time in their NHL careers.

Recap of the game

The Maple Leafs come into this game with six injured players up front and Ryan Reaves is suspended. Three minutes into the game, Pontus Holmberg grabbed a puck while trying to hit the puck and fell shoulder first into the boards. He helped Nylander off the ice and went to the bench. He did not leave the game and was part of his usual changes after the fall. Utah took two penalties within the first 15 minutes. However, they played very well defensively and shut down both Maple Leafs (PP) power plays; the second did not allow shooting.

Related: Getting to Know the Newest Map Leaf Alex Nylander

Late in the first, Holmberg took a penalty, giving Utah their first power play of the game. Only a few seconds into the PP, a shot from the Logan Cooley area on the side of the net and beat Joseph Woll to give Utah a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

After a very low key event period, the second half had more energy, especially for the Maple Leafs. Toronto finally managed to get on the board with a halftime goal by Mitch Marner, off a nice sauce pass from John Tavares. The second may have been one of Utah's worst seasons.

They took four penalties and turned a 1-0 lead into a quick 3-1 error. Marner scored for the second time of the night and Nylander, who stole the puck, created space to beat Vejmelka on the move. The Maple Leafs dominated the entire second half in all areas of the ice and took a 3-1 lead into the game.

As the Maple Leafs enter the third period, they look to keep the momentum from the second. However, it was not so, less than three minutes before the third; Jack McBain fired a shot past Woll to bring Utah within one. At the mark of the third quarter, the Maple Leafs played more time in the offensive zone. Utah finally got their first shot of the period just under seven minutes in as they looked to tie the game at three. Toronto put the pressure on Utah in the final 40 minutes. If it wasn't for Vejmelka playing as well as she did, the game could easily have been 6-2; instead, he kept his team in the game and gave them a chance to tie it with less than six minutes left in the third.

Utah piled on the pressure in the last five minutes, throwing everything they could at Woll. With 1:50 left in the third, they pulled Vejmelka to give them the man advantage, where they continued to put everything in the net. However, they could not pass one Woll. In the dying seconds, the Maple Leafs managed to clear the puck. Nylander sent it into the empty net, unfortunately, the horn sounded before the puck crossed the line. The reign of the Maple Leafs for the second time won this game, 3-2.