Before we get started… Wanted to let you know Roman Polak has played 666 games.

One thing probably weighing on the Leafs though — Andersen did leave the game after getting clipped in the mask with a skate, and with his history of head injuries, I don’t blame anyone for being concerned. Hopefully Andersen is okay and the Leafs were just being cautious.

(via corsica.hockey)

Strictly speaking, the Ducks won the Corsi battle. Part of that is like, score effects and stuff. But this was a messy game in general, with both teams turning over the puck far more than they’d probably like.

The Leafs capitalized on their chances, Andersen and McElhinney stood tall against some barrages of Ducks shots, and that’s all she wrote.

The game gets off to a sloppy start for both teams, with a handful of turnovers on either side. It frankly hasn’t been the prettiest hockey, but any real dissatisfaction disappeared after the Matthews wraparound goal.

Auston does a nice job beating out like… all of the Ducks in their defensive zone, but this play starts with Jake Gardiner moving the puck through the neutral zone. William Nylander receives Gardiner’s pass and deftly gets it to Zach Hyman, who bumps it up for Auston — and the rest is history.

It also doesn’t hurt that Ryan Miller inexplicably just… doesn’t make any real effort to move from post to post. But hey, it’s all good. We won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Nothing doing for the rest of the first, although the Leafs do get a few golden opportunities. By the end of the period, things were getting a little chippy, so we’ll see how this one plays out.

I had barely unmuted my stream before Getzlaf banged one through Andersen. And no, I didn’t love my phrasing there either, but I’m gonna leave it. Didn’t even take the Ducks a minute into the second to tie the game. Related: This hasn’t been the Kadri line’s strongest night so far.

So that’s a crummy start to the period.

Luckily, William Nylander has got my back. A nifty wrister puts the Leafs back on top.

Unfortunately, we don’t get much time to celebrate, because the Ducks score twice in under three minutes to take a 3-2 lead. If you care (which I don’t, particularly), Rakell and Kase are your Ducks goal-scorers.

And then Corey Perry (looks like unintentionally, for once) clips Freddie in the mask with his skate.

Freddie goes off, presumably because he got whacked in the head and is injured, or maybe the concussion protocol is working for once, and Curtis McElhinney comes into the game.

This is basically the point where things either unravel completely, or the Leafs dig in and get work done. Today? They dug in and got work done.

After a brief scare on the power play in which the Ducks get a 2-on-1 rush, the Leafs turn the tables and go the other way. Naz finds Marner and just like that, it’s a tied game.

Then Uncle Leo deflects a Jake Gardiner point shot to make it 4-3, and the Leafs leave the second period up by one.

Whew. If you were keeping count, that’s SIX goals in twenty minutes — three for each team.

Okay, so McElhinney leads the Leafs out. Which is… concerning. Not that I don’t have the utmost faith in my dude McElhinney after his performance in Dallas — sh*t.

That’s Rakell again, and McElhinney could’ve maybe sealed the post there.

BUT HAVE NO FEAR, WILLIAM NYLANDER AND HIS BEAUTIFUL HAIR AND SLICK HANDS ARE HERE! Gardiner’s played a great game in general and I’d say he’s had a direct hand in four of the five Leafs goals so far tonight. This stretch pass to catch Nylander on a break is the flashiest of his assists tonight — it’s a real beauty.

Incidentally, has anyone checked on Dylan Fremlin today?

Then, after the Leafs survive what felt like about ten minutes in their own zone, Kasperi Kapanen blasts off and burns Brandon Montour up the left wing. Auston drives the net and taps in Kapanen’s pass through the crease. Believe it or not, that’s Kapanen’s FIRST assist in the NHL.

That about wraps it up for this one. Zach Hyman’s empty netter really seals the deal, and the Leafs win 7-4 in a wild one.

The mood after one period of Polak being back? Jon has it covered.

Wise words from DragLikePull:

Apply this tweet to literally any moment of this game, tbh:

*Taylor Swift voice* THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE. THINGS. DAR. LING.

Truly a beautiful sight, nature is amazing: