Ducks win in Randy Carlyle's return to Toronto

TORONTO --Defenseman Cam Fowler scored the winning goal on the power play with 6:52 left, and goalie John Gibson made 33 saves to help the Anaheim Ducks defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Monday in coach Randy Carlyle's first game back at Air Canada Centre.
"I think a lot of people have made a bigger deal out of it from a personal standpoint," said Carlyle, who was fired by the Maple Leafs on Jan. 5, 2015. "Yeah it's nice, but the bottom line is our hockey club needed the win more than I needed the win, and that's really why we're here."
Gibson got the better of his former goaltending partner in Anaheim, Frederik Andersen, who made 25 saves for Toronto. It was the second time in Andersen's past 13 games that he allowed more than two goals.

WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Ducks highlights
"We knew we had to have a good game, and I put a little extra pressure on myself to make sure I was there for them, and it worked out," Gibson said.
The Maple Leafs (12-12-7) outshot the Ducks 11-8 in the first period. Their two best chances came while shorthanded. Forward Connor Brown stole the puck behind the Anaheim net and centered it in front to Leo Komarov, but Gibson made the save at 11:11. Less than a minute later, Gibson stopped Zach Hyman on a breakaway.
Anaheim (17-11-5), which is second in the NHL on the power play (25.0 percent), was 0-for-3 with the man-advantage in the first period.

Auston Matthews put Toronto up 1-0 at 7:27 of the second period with his 15th goal, ninth in his past 12 games.
Ryan Getzlaf's shot deflected in off Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly's skate for a power-play goal to tie it 1-1 with 1:59 left in the second.
"We don't have enough discipline," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "The bottom line is you've got to have better discipline or you hurt yourself. The last two games, guys sat on the bench because we took too many penalties. Any way you look at it, that affected tonight's game.
The Ducks took a 2-1 lead at 1:21 of the third period when Nick Ritchie put in the rebound of Ondrej Kase's shot after a Maple Leafs turnover.
Babcock shuffled his lines midway through the third period, and it paid off with the tying goal. Nazem Kadri's shot deflected in off Ducks defenseman Korbinian Holzer to make it 2-2 at 11:42. It ended Kadri's eight-game goal drought.
Anaheim defenseman Kevin Bieksa left the game after he was hit in the face by the puck early in the second period. Carlyle said Bieksa had a swollen lip and was kept out for precautionary reasons.

Goal of the game

Matthews slipped in front of Ducks defenseman Josh Manson at the top of the crease and redirected defenseman Nikita Zaitsev's shot from the blue line past Gibson.

Save of the game

Andersen was able to drag his right pad to stop Rickard Rakell's deflection of Getzlaf's shot in the slot 22 seconds into the second period.

Highlight of the game

Gibson made three saves on Matthews in four seconds with Toronto on the power play in the third period. First, he stopped Matthews' one-timer from the slot at 3:33. He then made saves on Matthews on two rebound tries, at 3:35 and 3:36, before covering the puck to keep Anaheim up 2-1.

Unsung performance of the game

Anaheim center Ryan Kesler won 17 of 25 faceoffs (68 percent), including against Toronto's Frederik Gauthier cleanly back to Fowler to set up the game-winning goal.

They said it

"Obviously not the right time to do that. It's tough when somebody hits you in the head, your first reaction is to get back. But I've got to be smarter, that's not something that's a part of my game." -- Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman on his roughing penalty that led to Cam Fowler's game-winning power-play goal
"You could just kind of tell early on in the game that [goalie John Gibson] was locked in. I've seen that look before, and it was going to take a special shot for him to get beaten tonight. He kept us in the game, gave us momentum when we needed it, he was awesome for us tonight." -- Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler
"[Auston Matthews is] a pretty dynamic young player. The thing that I notice about him is the strength that he has around the puck; nobody seems to be able to pull the puck away from him. He can make moves inside, outside on people, and he's only 19 years old. That kid's got a bright future." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle

Need to know

Toronto forward William Nylander was moved from right wing, where he has spent most of the season, to play center between James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner. Nylander was filling in for Tyler Bozak, who missed the game with a lower-body injury. It was the first time this season that Bozak missed a game. ... Fowler's goal was his 22nd on the power play in his NHL career, tying him with Fredrik Olausson for second among defensemen in Ducks history. … Anaheim was 2-for-5 on the power play. Toronto was 0-for-3.

What's next

Ducks:At the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, RDS, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, TSN4, NHL.TV)