<p>The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Wednesday night to secure a crucial two points and split the season series against them. Joseph Woll was at the forefront of the effort, stopping 38 of 39 shots to lock down the win, but overall it was a full team effort that required a buy-in from everybody, and that&#8217;s what happened.</p>
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<p>Captain Auston Matthews commended his team&#8217;s effort in the victory.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was just a gritty win,&#8221; Matthews said. &#8220;Joe [Woll] was great for us tonight, they&#8217;ve got some high-end skill over there, I thought we did a good job of, when we needed to defend, we checked hard, and Woll was there to back us up too.&#8221;</p>
<p>Matthews opened the scoring with the first of two flukey goals scored by the Leafs, with Steven Lorentz capturing the game-winner on one of the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-react-steven-lorentz-bizarre-goal-kelly-sutherland">funniest goals</a> you&#8217;ll see this season. Although the captain&#8217;s goal wasn&#8217;t as entertaining, it was a lucky bounce that deflected off the skate of the Colorado defender in an attempt to dish the puck in front to Matthew Knies.</p>
<p>&#8220;Yeah, I was trying to find Kniesy there on the back door, but got a fortunate bounce. I&#8217;ll take it.&#8221;</p>
<p>On Lorentz&#8217;s goal, Matthews gave his teammate props for having an underrated shot and making the best of a flukey opportunity to score the eventual game-winner.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a pretty good shot,&#8221; Matthews slyly quipped. &#8220;Nice little break for us there, but yeah, pretty tough angle there, he got it off pretty good.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Leafs hit the road following the game to travel to Manhattan where they&#8217;ll take on the New York Rangers, who are fighting for a chance to make the playoffs. Coming off of a recent stretch that saw them play seven out of eight games on the road, Matthews said that it was nice to collect themselves at home and relax a little bit before hitting the road again. But, in that same breath, there&#8217;s no time for them to let up, with 14 games remaining in the season and a wide-open race in the Atlantic Division.</p>
<p>&#8220;Yeah, it&#8217;s been nice to be home for a little bit, spend some time with my dog, sleep in my own bed,&#8221; Matthews said. &#8220;So, yeah, it&#8217;s been good just to have this stretch of games here. Going back on the road, that&#8217;s life, and these are important games for us, so we&#8217;ve gotta be ready.&#8221;</p>
<p>Puckdrop against the New York Rangers is set for 7:00 pm Eastern.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Wednesday night to secure a crucial two points and split the season series against them. Joseph Woll was at the forefront of the effort, stopping 38 of 39 shots to lock down the win, but overall it was a full team effort that required a buy-in from everybody, and that's what happened.
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Captain Auston Matthews commended his team's effort in the victory.

"It was just a gritty win," Matthews said. "Joe [Woll] was great for us tonight, they've got some high-end skill over there, I thought we did a good job of, when we needed to defend, we checked hard, and Woll was there to back us up too."

Matthews opened the scoring with the first of two flukey goals scored by the Leafs, with Steven Lorentz capturing the game-winner on one of the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-react-steven-lorentz-bizarre-goal-kelly-sutherland">funniest goals</a> you'll see this season. Although the captain's goal wasn't as entertaining, it was a lucky bounce that deflected off the skate of the Colorado defender in an attempt to dish the puck in front to Matthew Knies.

"Yeah, I was trying to find Kniesy there on the back door, but got a fortunate bounce. I'll take it."

On Lorentz's goal, Matthews gave his teammate props for having an underrated shot and making the best of a flukey opportunity to score the eventual game-winner.

"It's a pretty good shot," Matthews slyly quipped. "Nice little break for us there, but yeah, pretty tough angle there, he got it off pretty good."

The Leafs hit the road following the game to travel to Manhattan where they'll take on the New York Rangers, who are fighting for a chance to make the playoffs. Coming off of a recent stretch that saw them play seven out of eight games on the road, Matthews said that it was nice to collect themselves at home and relax a little bit before hitting the road again. But, in that same breath, there's no time for them to let up, with 14 games remaining in the season and a wide-open race in the Atlantic Division.

"Yeah, it's been nice to be home for a little bit, spend some time with my dog, sleep in my own bed," Matthews said. "So, yeah, it's been good just to have this stretch of games here. Going back on the road, that's life, and these are important games for us, so we've gotta be ready."

Puckdrop against the New York Rangers is set for 7:00 pm Eastern.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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Auston Matthews commends Maple Leafs’ ‘gritty’ win vs. surging Avalanche

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