Frederik Andersen, Maple Leafs oust Flames
Goalie makes 26 saves for shutout, Nazem Kadri scores 100th NHL goal for Toronto
by Dave McCarthy / NHL.com Correspondent
TORONTO -- Frederik Andersen made 26 saves for his second shutout of the season to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-0 win against the Calgary Flames at Air Canada Centre on Monday.
"It was good, we came right back and played a really good game again," Andersen said. "This time we scored some good goals at the right times and we played really well defensively."
Nazem Kadri scored twice, including his 100th NHL goal, for Toronto (22-14-9), which won for the first time in three games.
WATCH: All Flames vs. Maple Leafs highlights
"It's exciting," Kadri said. "It's exciting to be able to share them with my teammates. Obviously I've put in a lot of hard work but, at the end of the day, the only reason I care about that is because it helps our team win. It doesn't really matter how it goes in or who scores as long as it's in the back of the net."
Brian Elliott allowed four goals on 28 shots for Calgary (24-23-3), which lost its third straight game.
Video: Andersen earns Monday's Pepsi Zero Sugar Shutout
The Maple Leafs ended a streak of three consecutive games in which they allowed the first goal when Mitchell Marner deflected a point shot from Nikita Zaitsev in the slot past Elliott at 18:59 of the first period to put Toronto up 1-0.
"If we don't let in that goal at the end of the first period, it's a different story, a whole different game," Elliott said. "We won a draw and it ended up back after an icing in our zone, sometimes you hurt yourself a little bit."
The Flames best scoring chance in the first came on a shorthanded 2-on-1 at 6:30. Michael Frolik set up Mikael Backlund with a pass but Andersen kicked out his right pad to make the save.
Kadri made it 2-0 when he scored his 19th goal at 7:00 of the second period. Toronto increased its lead to 3-0 at 16:55 when Zach Hyman scored his second shorthanded goal of the season, putting a rebound from his initial shot through Elliott's legs.
Kadri scored his second of the game on the power play at 2:21 of the third period to give the Maple Leafs a 4-0 lead. It was his 20th goal of the season to tie his previous career high set during the 2013-14 season.
Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau went to the dressing room briefly after taking a hit from Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov at 12:36 of the second period but returned before intermission.
Video: CGY@TOR: Kadri nets PPG for second tally of the game
Goal of the game
Auston Matthews sprawled at the Maple Leafs blueline to advance the puck to the neutral zone and William Nylander sprawled to move the puck to Kadri on the left wing. Kadri used Flames defenseman Deryk Engelland as a screen and put a shot past Elliott high to his glove-side at 7:00 of the second period for his milestone goal.
Video: CGY@TOR: Kadri buries his 100th career goal
Save of the game
Andersen made a blocker save on Kris Versteeg at 19:34 of the third period to preserve his shutout.
Highlight of the game
Andersen made a blocker save on Matthew Tkachuk in the slot at 4:55 of the second period. The rebound was put through Andersen's leg but slide just wide of the net.
Unsung performance of the game
Maple Leafs defenseman Martin Marincin had an assist, was plus-2 and blocked a team-high five shots. He led Toronto with 6:34 of shorthanded ice time. The Maple Leafs went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Video: CGY@TOR: Hyman finishes own rebound for SHG
They said it
"You don't look for offense on the PK, you look to stop the other team but our PK is aggressive so it allows for offense and turnovers. When you have a 2-on-1 or a breakaway, you're going to take it. Our aggressiveness leads to a lot of turnovers and that leads to chances." -- Forward Zach Hyman on the Maple Leafs ability to generate offense while shorthanded
"I made the pass over and you got to keep your head on a swivel. He's a big guy so got to be smarter there." -- Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau on the hit he took from Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov
Need to know
Maple leafs coach Mike Babcock said he was not sure whether defenseman Morgan Rielly would be able to return from a lower-body injury in one of Toronto's two games before the All-Star break (Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings and Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers). "I don't know that for sure," Babcock said. "The great thing about injuries is if you win, you don't have to rush guys."
What's next
Flames: At the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, RDS, SNW, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: At the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-D, NHL.TV)