TORONTO — Kelly Sutherland got his name in the paper, which is something no NHL referee ever wants.
Sutherland earned an ignominious assist on the game-winning goal early in the third period Wednesday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1, at Scotiabank Arena.
“I haven’t seen one like that in a while,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “There’s always some crazy bounces in this game. It’s a pretty fluid game. But that one was a little strange, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
The Avs were on the power play when Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit sent the puck toward the Colorado end. Sutherland had stumbled in the neutral zone and it hit him instead.
Colorado’s top unit was in the middle of heading to the bench for a change, and that led to a very unexpected shorthanded 2-on-1 that Leafs forward Steven Lorentz converted at 2:53 of the final period.
“That one was tough because I was starting to go play it (in the corner) and then I had to come back,” Avs goale Mackenzie Blackwood said. “I lost my net a little bit. I was off my angle and gave him a little too much far side.”
Both of Toronto’s goals came on fluky bounces.
“They didn’t really earn them,” Blackwood said. “That’s the unfortunate part about tonight. I think we played a heck of a game. They just got opportunistic and lucky.”
Sutherland’s ill-timed fall would have just been a funny footnote had Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll not been fantastic, stopping 38 shots, including a few Grade-A chances as the Avs chased an equalizer.
Colorado entered this game on a nine-game point streak (8-0-1) and with the third-best points percentage in the NHL since trading Mikko Rantanen for Martin Necas and Jack Drury on Jan. 24.
The Avs controlled play for long stretches, particularly at even strength. Both teams scored on the power play, then Toronto collected its gift from the hockey gods while shorthanded.
“There’s 82 games. There’s going to be weird games like that every year,” Avs center Nathan MacKinnon said. “I thought we played really well. I though (Blackwood) played great. It was just unfortunate.”
Auston Matthews had two quality looks in the opening seconds of the middle period with Toronto on the power play. He eventually scored 28 seconds in while trying to pass instead of shoot.
Matthews tried to center the puck from near the goal line. It deflected off Devon Toews’ stick and knuckled over Blackwood’s left shoulder.
Colorado native Brandon Carlo took a penalty 80 seconds later, and the Avalanche capitalized. MacKinnon backhanded a pass from the left circle to Valeri Nichushkin in the slot for a one-timer at 2:48 of the second.
It was Nichushkin’s 18th goal in 31 games this season — a 47-goal pace over a full season. MacKinnon pushed his NHL-leading point total to 104. His 77 assists are 11 more than anyone, and the reigning MVP would be 10th in the league in points even if he had zero goals this season.
Bednar hinted at potentially tinkering with his forward lines down the stretch earlier in the week, and he made some significant changes during this contest. He put Nichushkin and Brock Nelson on a line with MacKinnon, which shifted Charlie Coyle up to the second line between Necas and Artturi Lehkonen. The new-look third unit became Drury between Ross Colton and Jonathan Drouin. Parker Kelly moved back to the middle on the fourth line, with Joel Kiviranta and Logan O’Connor.
“I thought we played a pretty good hockey game,” Bednar said. “Those are just kind of two unlucky bounces when you’re doing the right thing. Just have to try and overcome them. We had some scoring chances to be able to win the hockey game. Their goalie played good.”
Footnote: Before the game, Bednar said defenseman Josh Manson (upper body) will miss at least three more weeks. He said it’s possible, but not probable, that Manson will play again during the regular season.
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