Holy Mackinaw!

During an evening to celebrate Joe Bowen’s iconic career as the voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team pulled out their most dramatic victory of a turbulent season, storming back to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson cut the deficit to 2-1, before Auston Matthews tied the game, then celebrated as if to ask the crowd if they had been sufficiently entertained. And sometimes you need some bounces. Dakota Joshua capitalized on a huge rebound from Spencer Knight and tucked it home for the game-winner, eight seconds after Matthews’ equalizer, sending a dormant Scotiabank Arena crowd into a raucous explosion.

It was a rather uneventful start to the game, with both periods engaged in low-event hockey. Wyatt Kaiser opened the scoring for the Blackhawks, deflecting a point shot from Dominic Toninato where he was afforded plenty of room to wind up. And during a much-maligned power play, William Nylander committed a brutal turnover on the entry, which was pounced upon. Louis Crevier sent Ilya Mikheyev in transition, who found Jason Dickinson for a 2-0 Blackhawks lead. It appeared that Craig Berube’s challenge to his leadership group was soundly ignored, and the broadcast caught Berube screaming at his team after registering one shot on goal through the opening 12 minutes of the game.

Berube and Matthews rejected the premise that the Leafs started slowly, despite their shot total, or the boos from factions of the crowd.

“Actually, part of the first period wasn’t a terrible start. It was a good start to the game. We gave up a short-handed goal. A tough one. The second period was a little better and the third was our best period,” Berube said post-game.

“It’s a nice win,” Matthews said post-game. “I think other than maybe the last 10 minutes of the first period, I thought we played pretty solid. I think it just got away from us after 10 and a couple bad breaks.”

Joshua was awarded the team belt, given to the Leafs’ best or most impactful player in a winning effort.

Toronto was thoroughly outplayed for most of the contest, and it cannot be rendered an afterthought after staging a comeback that may have given the audience whiplash. There are several things for the Maple Leafs to clean up, although the group appeared to be relieved to secure the two points, and move onto Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals.

It was a tale of two contests for Auston Matthews. For large stretches of the game, Matthews appeared to be going through the motions. A particularly lackadaisical effort during the second period generated some boos and frustration from fans and the press alike. TSN’s broadcast revealed during the second intermission that Matthews possessed the puck for 11 seconds through the first two periods. It was jarring to see, and it certainly spoke to the idea that Matthews was either playing through injury, or is completely disengaged from the stakes at hand.

And then came the third-period flurry. Matthews won a faceoff, with ten minutes remaining in the third period, Ekman-Larsson fired it through traffic and into the net. It may have taken a deflection, but in any event, it spurred the Maple Leafs’ comeback efforts.

Toronto responded to new life in the building, and Matthews evidently was keenly aware of the well-earned criticism lobbied at him, after he was largely absent throughout the first 40 minutes of the game, coming off a week where he lost individual matchups to Macklin Celebrini and Connor McDavid.

With just over three minutes remaining, with the Leafs on the power play, William Nylander stole the puck from Ilya Mikheyev. Matthews picked up the loose puck, turned and fired it past Spencer Knight for the game-tying marker. Toronto’s captain then motioned to the crowd, as if to suggest that he’s tuning out the noise, a suggestion that he rejected post-game.

“It was great, it was great to see, it was great for him, and it was great for our team. I thought that line drove play tonight. Which is what I wanted to see, whether they scored or not,” Berube said of the Maple Leafs’ top line.

“The boo birds were coming down, rightfully so. I think after that first goal, the crowd really got into it, which is great, and then after the second one, the place was rocking,” Matthews said post-game.

Although you could look to the stat sheet to find evidence that Matthews and his linemates drove possession, it is disproportionately inflated by the third-period outburst. Toronto needs more from Matthews and the rest of its leadership group, three points out of a playoff spot at the time of this filing. It was a tale of two games for Matthews, and he did just enough in the end to secure the victory for his club.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been the Maple Leafs’ best defenceman all season, and you could make the argument that he’s been the team’s most consistent player throughout December. Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring, showed the resolute toughness that the group often lacks, and he does all the small things well for a Maple Leafs team that tends to struggle with the smaller details of the game.

“I think his game has been very consistent from the get-go. There hasn’t been a lot of dips in his game. He’s been very consistent and defending, producing, all of the things we ask of him,” Berube said post-game.

“I’m just trying to help in any way, really,” Ekman-Larsson said. “Trying to defend hard. Trying to make plays when I have to. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I think just trying to get the team playing good and win games, it helps my game a lot too.”

Ekman-Larsson has displayed the veteran leadership the Maple Leafs need, with some Stanley Cup pedigree. It was another stellar showing from the 34-year-old defenceman, during a season where he’s been one of the few consistent components.

Joseph Woll returned to action after missing the past four games due to a lower-body injury sustained on December 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was a stellar return for Woll, who made 23 saves on 25 shots, and appeared to settle down throughout the game.

Wyatt Kaiser scored the game’s opening goal through traffic, but it was certainly one that Woll could’ve stopped, although no one would fault him for Jason Dickinson’s short-handed marker.

“I thought he got better as the game went along,” Berube said of Woll, post-game. “A little more comfortable in there, but it was good to see that he held us in there and we got a win. We got a win and a big part of it was him.”

Woll has been stellar all season and if he can operate as a true No. 1, it will allow Dennis Hildeby to also enter the rotation with a larger volume of starts, perhaps in a true tandem set up. Berube indicated that he wants to see both goalies play more often, with Anthony Stolarz out indefinitely. Perhaps we’ll see the blueprint for this rollout throughout the week, as Hildeby appears to be line to start Thursday’s game.