It seems to be a regular occurrence that when a former Toronto Maple Leafs player returns to Scotiabank Arena, they invariably put on a show against the team that traded or passed on bringing them back. That revenge motive played out in a minor way as former Leaf Michael Carcone opened the scoring for the Utah Mammoth, but ended in the Leafs favor for a change, as winger Matias Maccelli scored the game-winner and added an assist in a 5-3 Toronto victory at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
William Nylander, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies also scored for the Leafs in their third win in a row, and Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves for his sixth win of the season, as Toronto vaulted into a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division.
“Good solid effort all around, I thought we played a smart game,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the game. “I thought (Maccelli) he was competitive all over the ice. He ended up getting one (goal), and one (assist). Just watching how he competed on pucks all night, thought he was really good…….he’s got talent and playmaking ability, that’s why we went and got him.”
Maccelli has been slow to settling with Toronto, and like many players, has been shuffled to many lines by Berube, as the Leafs head coach looks for combinations with some chemistry. The return of Stephen Lorentz and Scott Laughton put Toronto in a bit of a roster crunch, as Sammy Blais and Calle Jarnkrok were healthy scratches. It also resulted in rookie Easton Cowan being demoted to the AHL Toronto Marlies.
In spite of showing a few rookie growing pains, the 20-year-old rookie seems to be up to the task of playing in the NHL and is capable of playing with talent like Matthews and Tavares, but the youngster should not be sitting in the press box when he can be honing his skills in the AHL.
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