Marner runs point streak to 23 games, Maple Leafs blank Ducks

TORONTO -- Mitchell Marner extended his point streak to 23 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

Marner had two assists, giving him 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) during the longest streak in Toronto history. He is the 12th player in NHL history with a point streak of at least 23 games.
"He's playing great, continues to roll and one of the top wingers in the game and plays in all situations for us," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "I think as a team and [he] himself would just say we're just trying to focus on playing our game and what's bringing us success and getting the results we want as a team. He obviously plays a major role for us, so he's continuing to play great, and we're just trying to focus on our game and getting better, and feeding off the good things we're doing."

Ilya Samsonov made 28 saves for his second straight shutout for the Maple Leafs (19-5-6), who won their fourth in a row and extended their point streak to 15 games (12-0-3). Alex Kerfoot scored twice, Tavares had a goal and an assist, and Conor Timmins and Pontus Holmberg each had three assists.
"First period, a little bit hard for us," Samsonov said. "… But we turned game in the second period. For me, it's playing much easier.
"Everybody feels comfortable right now because we play really hard. … That's really important for us."

Samsonov has a shutout streak of 152:34. He made 29 saves in a 5-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
John Gibson made 25 saves on 27 shots for the Ducks (7-20-3) before leaving the game at 10:48 of the second period. Lukas Dostal made 10 saves.
Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said Gibson sustained a lower-body injury but had no further update on him.
The Ducks have lost nine straight on the road (0-6-3).
"That performance in the third was embarrassing, myself included," Anaheim forward Troy Terry said. "It's the whole team. We have a young kid (Dostal) who has played a handful of games, and he's going in there and we left him out to dry.
"It's unacceptable. This year, everyone knows how hard it's been, but all we have is each other and that's been the message. Sometimes games aren't going to go our way. But to not play for each other, it's unacceptable."

Kerfoot got his 200th NHL point when he gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 1:58 of the first period, one-timing a pass from Pierre Engvall at the right hash marks.
Tavares made it 2-0 at 8:41 when he tapped in a backhand pass from Marner at the top of the goal crease.
"I thought we gave them just too much room in the first period," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "A little too easy access to our zone, to the middle of the ice. But Samsonov was excellent in that period, and it allowed us to settle in."
The Ducks outshot the Maple Leafs 16-14 in the first period but had 12 shots in the final two periods.
TJ Brodie's first goal of the season made it 3-0 at 12:16 of the second. He scored with a wrist shot from the left face-off dot.
Michael Bunting extended the lead to 4-0 at 16:33 and pushed his point streak to nine games when he backhanded a shot over Dostal's outstretched pad after collecting the rebound of Marner's point shot. Bunting has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) during his streak.
Kerfoot's second of the game increased the lead to 5-0 at 2:37 of the third period. He took a pass from Mark Giordano and shot from the slot.
"That's big obviously," Kerfoot said. "I haven't put many pucks in the net so far this year so it feels good to get some. I feel like we did a lot of good things tonight so we just have to keep that rolling."

Engvall made it 6-0 at 5:42, and Joey Anderson scored at 18:20 for the 7-0 final. It was Anderson's first goal since March 6, 2020, for the New Jersey Devils.
"I'm embarrassed the way we let Lukas down in the third," Eakins said. "It's the one thing that this team hasn't done this year. They've always worked for each other and we had a few players that decided they were just going to play by themselves and it cost us."
NOTES:The Ducks used 11 forwards and seven defenseman after forward Max Jones sustained an upper-body injury during warmups. There was no update. ... Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews extended his point streak to eight games with an assist on Brodie's goal. He has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) during his streak. ... Timmins set an NHL career high for points in a game. … Giordano's assist was his 400th in the NHL. He's played 1,054 games. … Kerfoot hadn;t scored twice in a game since April 2, 2019, for the Colorado Avalanche against the Edmonton Oilers.