Holl scores again, Maple Leafs shut out Rangers

NEW YORK -- Justin Holl became the first defenseman in Toronto Maple Leafs history and sixth in NHL history to score a goal in his first two games when they defeated the New York Rangers 4-0 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Holl scored at 8:42 of the first period to give the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead. He scored in his NHL debut, a 5-0 win against the New York Islanders on Wednesday.
"It's definitely surreal. It's hard to put into words," said Holl, who was an emergency call-up from Toronto of the American Hockey League hours before the game Wednesday. "It's a huge honor. ... I'm just trying to play as well as I can every night and put the team in the best position to win. ... I will just keep playing as long as they tell me to."
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Rangers highlights]
Curtis McElhinney made 25 saves for his second shutout of the season to help Toronto extend its shutout streak to 142:17.
"I thought we did a great job in front of the net. ... Just a good, good performance from everyone tonight," McElhinney said. "I think the biggest thing is you've got to give a little bit more credit to the people that are around you than anything. There's a couple of [shots off] posts tonight as well so you get some lucky breaks and have some good defensive plays."
James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Marleau and Zach Hyman scored for the Maple Leafs (30-18-5), who won their fourth straight game and have outscored opponents 9-0 since the All-Star break.
The Rangers (25-21-5), playing their first game since the break, lost for the fourth time in their past five games (1-4-0). It was their first game in a week.
"We had two really good practices prior to this, so we should have been better than this," New York coach Alain Vigneault said.

Van Riemsdyk made it 2-0 at 15:23 of the first, taking a pass from Connor Brown and scoring five-hole on Henrik Lundqvist. It was his 20th goal of the season.
Marleau made it 3-0 52 seconds into the second period, scoring after a Nazim Kadri shot deflected off Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei and came to Marleau in the slot.
"We've got to continue to play a high percentage, especially early in the period," New York captain Ryan McDonagh said. "Trying to thread the needle and make a high-risk play usually doesn't work out in the beginning of the period. I think we can be a little smarter there, too."
Hyman scored on a backhand around Lundqvist at 3:05 of the second for a 4-0 lead.
Lundqvist was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots. He was replaced by Ondrej Pavelec, who made 19 saves.

"We just couldn't get it done," said Lundqvist, who was also pulled in his previous start at the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 23. "We played a skilled team and they just made us pay on a few chances they had. My last two starts, I have to be better."
Toronto swept the season series against New York for the first time since 2003-04, outscoring the Rangers 15-7 in the three games. The Maple Leafs won 8-5 at home on Oct. 7 and 3-2 in New York on Dec. 23.
"I think for the majority of the time, we're playing the right way and doing the right things and then burying our chances for the most part," Marleau said. "I think we can get a little bit stronger in those areas for a little bit longer, but right now we're doing a good job of getting our game going."

Goal of the game

Holl's goal at 8:42 of the first period.

Save of the game

McElhinney's save on Rick Nash at 6:09 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Van Riemsdyk's goal at 15:23 of the first period.

#

They said it

"We are deeper than we have been. We have four lines and let's be honest, all of the kids that we have brought up have been good. We seem to have some good depth." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"I think we let our guard down, even a few minutes within a period. A team like that will make you pay. We don't have enough time and enough games here that we can afford to let down our guard and let down our structure and our playmaking ability when we have the puck." -- Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh

Need to know

The other five defensemen to each score a goal in his first two NHL games are Sprague Cleghorn (1918-19, Ottawa Senators), Rick Lanz (1980-81, Vancouver Canucks), Marcus Ragnarsson (1995-96, San Jose Sharks), Taylor Fedun (2013-14, Edmonton Oilers) and Alex Grant (2013-14, Ducks). ... The Maple Leafs had shutouts on consecutive days for the second time in their history. ... New York forward Pavel Buchnevich left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. There was no update. ... Forward Cody McLeod played 12:12 in his Rangers debut. He was claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Jan. 25.

#

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, TVA Sports, CITY, NESN, NHL.TV)
Rangers:At the Nashville Predators on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, MSG, NHL.TV)