Spezza gets hat trick for Maple Leafs in win against Canucks

TORONTO -- Jason Spezza got his first hat trick in almost five years for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

"No hats tonight, but I got a water shower walking into the room, the guys got me good," Spezza said. "It was a nice night, the puck was following me, and I haven't had too many of those nights the past couple of years."
Spezza scored his third goal to put Toronto ahead 6-2 at 4:34 of the third period when he cut around Alexander Edler in the left circle and tucked in a shot past Thatcher Demko's outstretched left pad. It was his eighth NHL hat trick, and first since April 9, 2016, when he played for the Dallas Stars.
"Even more than getting the hat trick, it makes me proud to see how happy the guys were for me," Spezza said. "Those are moments you never forget."

Mitchell Marner had a goal and two assists, Auston Matthews scored twice, and William Nylander had three assists for the Maple Leafs (8-2-1), who are 5-0-1 in their past six games. Frederik Andersen made 16 saves.
"We were a rested team (their last game was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 30) playing against a very tired team who has had a very tough schedule," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "So frankly, I expected us to be really good here today and make it hard on Vancouver. Now the challenge is to regroup and do it again (on Saturday)."
J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, and Demko made 30 saves for the Canucks (6-8-0), who lost for the third time in four nights.
"I thought to be honest we looked like a tired team tonight playing against a fast, skilled team," Vancouver coach Travis Green said. "And we were a day late, a second behind everywhere on the ice. Not happy with the game. No one in that room is. That wasn't a good game. They're a good team. They're fast. They're skilled. When you're a step off and a step behind, they can make you look like we did tonight."
Miller cut it to 6-3 at 8:14 of the third, but Marner scored blocker-side at 11:37 for the 7-3 final.
"For us to feel sorry for ourselves and think it's going to come easy for us, it's not," Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. "It's not our goaltenders' fault. We give up too many Grade A opportunities. It's disappointing. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. We weren't good tonight."
Matthews gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 2:56 of the first period when he cut around Miller and scored five-hole from in close. It was Matthews' sixth straight game with a goal and extended his point streak to eight games (eight goals, three assists).
Tanner Pearson tied it 1-1 at 6:24 when he jammed in a rebound at the side of the net. Spezza made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 10:15.
"[Spezza] means a lot to this team, more than anybody knows," Matthews said. "That was fun to watch tonight, vintage Jason Spezza. He put on a show and he deserves it. He works so hard every day. At this stage of his career, the dedication he pours into his game and into the team is pretty incredible."

Matthews extended the lead to 3-1 at 3:04 of the second period when he scored from a sharp angle off a pass from Marner from behind the net. Horvat scored 22 seconds later to cut it to 3-2.
Spezza took a pass from Nic Petan and shot over Demko's glove at 8:44 to make it 4-2, and John Tavares scored his first even-strength goal of the season to push the lead to 5-2 at 17:56.
"We keep hanging our goalies out to dry," Miller said. "It's unacceptable. We've done enough talking. It's time to play, and play better."
Maple Leafs defenseman Travis Dermott left the game with a lower-body injury at 2:21 of the first period after appearing to injure his left leg in a collision with Canucks forward Tyler Motte along the boards.
"We're not expecting it to be anything too major," Keefe said. "We'll see how he is at practice on Friday and make a plan from there."