Welcome to the fifth edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to Feb. 12.
The rundown
The Toronto Maple Leafs returned to form after suffering their most humiliating defeat since last February's infamous David Ayres game. The Maple Leafs let the Ottawa Senators overcome a four-goal deficit and prevail 6-5 in overtime on Monday, but they've since responded with two wins against Ottawa: a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and a 7-3 rout on Thursday.
Wednesday's result didn't inspire much confidence in Toronto, but the next night's dominant showing proved the North Division's top dogs have put Monday's collapse behind them. Still, it will be more telling if they can continue to play well against better opponents.
Out west, the slumping Vancouver Canucks showed some improvement. They went undefeated in regulation over three games against the Calgary Flames, earning a convincing 5-1 victory Wednesday.
| Team | Points over last week |
|---|---|
| Vancouver Canucks | 5 (2-0-1) |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 5 (2-1-1) |
| Ottawa Senators | 4 (2-2-0) |
| Montreal Canadiens | 2 (1-0-0) |
| Edmonton Oilers | 2 (1-1-0) |
| Calgary Flames | 2 (1-2-0) |
| Winnipeg Jets | 2 (1-2-0) |
The stars
Forward: Auston Matthews is making a case for the Hart Trophy and the Maurice "Rocket" Richard this season. The Maple Leafs superstar scored five times and collected four assists in four contests this past week, burying two goals Thursday for a league-leading 16 in 17 games.
Defenseman: Tyson Barrie deserves recognition despite a small sample size. The Edmonton Oilers rearguard didn't dominate on the scoresheet (two assists) but he did take on a heavy workload, leading all NHL blue-liners for the week by averaging 29:19 of ice time across two games; he played a whopping 30:48 in Monday's loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Goaltender: It was a high-scoring week in the North Division, with more than a few games resembling 1980s barn burners. That was due partly to poor goaltending, as no netminder in the division has had an exceptional run since Feb. 12. Braden Holtby did excel in his one game, though. The Canucks puck-stopper turned aside 35 of 36 shots in Wednesday's aforementioned win over the Flames, putting together a strong outing after a less than stellar start to his season.
Canadian of the week
Mitch Marner had a very good week with two goals and four assists in four games, but Mark Scheifele outperformed him in fewer outings, notching three goals and two assists in three contests. The Jets center tallied in all three of his team's games, and he logged nearly 23 minutes of action in a loss to the Oilers on Wednesday.
The moments
Two days before the Senators rallied to stun the Maple Leafs, Brady Tkachuk provided some heroics of his own.
TKACHUK! BRADY TKACHUK! SENATORS SCORE WITH 9 SECONDS LEFT TO TAKE THE LEAD!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/Pch210sB3V
— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) February 13, 2021
It took some time for Evgenii Dadonov to gel with his new teammates, but the Senators winger has found his groove. That fact was fully evident during Monday's wild win over Toronto, as he tied the game with 2:01 left in regulation before winning it in overtime.
EVGENII DADONOV COMPLETES THE COMEBACK IN OT! pic.twitter.com/ZSuIKigIpD
— NHL (@NHL) February 16, 2021
Speaking of overtime winners, Johnny Gaudreau wasted little time netting one on the power play in the Flames' victory against the Canucks on Monday. Canucks forward Brock Boeser tied it up with his team shorthanded in the final minute of regulation before Gaudreau responded less than 30 seconds into the extra frame.
Johnny Gaudreau in overtime! Flames survive the late Boeser goal with a power play tally to win it!#Flames pic.twitter.com/xG6xcD59oE
— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) February 16, 2021
Quote of the week
Flames head coach Geoff Ward did not mince words when asked about his team's inability to establish momentum this season after the 5-1 loss to Vancouver.
"Inconsistent I think is probably the best way (to describe the four-game set against the Canucks), but we've been talking about it for a while now," he said.
He added: "It's time to put this thing to bed and take charge and take control of what we can. We certainly can control the way we start, we certainly can control how we pay attention to details, how hard we compete, how much we care. All those things are certainly within our control. It's time for us to start giving a shit about it."
Stat of the week
The Senators' remarkable comeback was a historic one for the franchise, as Ottawa overcame a four-goal deficit to win for the first time after previously going 0-237-3 when falling behind by four.
Games to watch
The two best teams in the division will meet again when the Montreal Canadiens return from a week off to host the Maple Leafs. The Canadiens beat Toronto 2-1 when they last took the ice. Elsewhere, the Flames and Oilers will revive the Battle of Alberta in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday.
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