Maple Leafs celebrate 100th anniversary by defeating Hurricanes

TORONTO-- Mitchell Marner and Tyler Bozak each had four points for the Toronto Maple Leafs in an 8-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday, the 100th anniversary of the first games played in NHL history.

On Dec. 19, 1917, the Toronto Arenas lost 10-9 to the Montreal Wanderers in one of two first-night games. The Maple Leafs wore replicas of the jerseys worn by the Arenas.
"It's definitely exciting. It was a good game for our team I thought," said Marner, who like linemate Bozak had a goal and three assists. "I think in the second (period) we got a little bit away from what we wanted to be, but it's a great win for us, especially going into tomorrow (against the Columbus Blue Jackets). I just felt like I was skating. I think our whole line was skating in general and we were creating chances for each other."
WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Maple Leafs highlights]
James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists; Leo Komarov, Patrick Marleau, Kasperi Kapanen and William Nylander scored; and Frederik Andersen made 32 saves for the Maple Leafs (21-13-1), who ended a three-game losing streak.
"It was a good night for the guys," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "Leo scored, hasn't scored in forever; Mitchy scored, hasn't scored in forever; William scored, hasn't scored in forever; Carrick scored, hasn't scored in forever; Kapanen scored, hasn't been in the League, so that part was obviously good for our team. They were all over us right at the start, but we got good goaltending and then obviously got going and scored some timely goals."

Babcock said he felt several players ending long goal droughts will help the Maple Leafs' confidence after scoring four goals in their previous four games. Komarov had one goal in his prior 21 games; Nylander had one goal in his prior 14; Marner had gone 15 games without a goal; and Carrick had gone seven.
"Oh, for sure, you can just tell by the energy that goes in their body," Babcock said. "If you're a goal-scorer who hasn't scored in a long time, it starts weighing on you."
Jeff Skinner scored and Scott Darling made 28 saves for the Hurricanes (14-12-7), whose three-game winning streak ended.
"It's a tough night for the team in general," Carolina defenseman Justin Faulk said. "We didn't do [goalie Scott Darling] any favors, and that's the bad part about what happened, is that we're down and we're still giving up opportunities, 2-on-1s, and getting outcompeted to allow for those opportunities to happen. That's real bad on us; we're the guys who are on the ice besides Scotty who kind of let that happen and not provide any help to him."
Toronto led 4-1 less than 14 minutes into the first period. Komarov scored shorthanded at 2:52 to put the Maple Leafs up 1-0, and Marner made it 2-0 when he beat Darling with a wrist shot to the blocker side at 5:33.

Skinner made it 2-1 at 9:07 when his wrist shot went past Andersen's blocker. Van Riemsdyk put Toronto ahead 3-1 when he scored on the power play 1:27 later. It was the 20,000th goal in Maple Leafs franchise history.
Bozak made it 4-1 when he took a pass from Marner in the slot and put it between Darling's legs at 13:28.
"Everyone always talks about how big and strong you have to be to make moves in the corners and get away from guys, but with his speed and agility, he knows how to use his body and get open and find ways to beat guys," Bozak said of Marner (6-foot, 175 pounds). "It's just fun to be a part of when you can be on the receiving end of a lot of those plays by him."
The Maple Leafs scored twice in six seconds in the third period to go up 6-1. Marleau beat Darling at 9:25 and Kapanen scored at 9:31. Nylander made it 7-1 at 14:05, and Carrick scored on the power play at 18:33 to put Toronto up 8-1.

Goal of the game

Bozak's goal at 13:28 of the first period.

Save of the game

Andersen's save on Skinner at 11:00 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Van Riemsdyk's goal at 10:34 of the first period.

They said it

"It was all throughout the lineup. There weren't a whole lot of players who showed up today, including myself. It was embarrassing, it wasn't a fun game to play, that's for sure. We'll have to swallow this one and go down to Nashville." -- Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal
"I loved it, I wish we played more afternoon games. It's just nice, you wake up, eat and go to the rink and play. It's nice to just wake up and have at it. For me personally, I thought it was awesome." -- Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak on the 2 p.m. local start time

Need to know

Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (upper body) missed his fifth straight game. ... Komarov's goal was Toronto's first shorthanded goal of the season. ... Kapanen played his fifth NHL game this season. … Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin played a game-high 23:34 and tied Marner for a game-high six shots. … The Toronto Arenas scored 172 goals before being renamed the Toronto St. Patricks in 1919. The St. Patricks scored 724 goals before the franchise was renamed the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1927. The goal by van Riemsdyk was the 19,104th (including shootout-deciding goals) scored by the Maple Leafs. … The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 7-4 in the other inaugural NHL game.

What's next

Hurricanes: At the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, FS-O, NHL.TV)