Hutchinson makes 31 saves, Maple Leafs shut out Oilers again

EDMONTON -- Michael Hutchinson made 31 saves, and the Toronto Maple Leafs shut out the Edmonton Oilers for the second consecutive game in a 3-0 win at Rogers Place on Monday.

William Nylander and Morgan Rielly each had a goal and assist for the Maple Leafs (17-4-2), who were coming off a 4-0 victory against the Oilers on Saturday and have won three games in a row and six of seven.
This was the first time the Maple Leafs had shutouts in consecutive games against the same opponent since Nov. 11-13, 1954 against the Detroit Red Wings.
"Coming out, when you're playing the same team in these miniseries, it's hard to beat a team twice in a row," Hutchinson said. "For us to come out and battle like we did and get the result that we did, it was huge. It's great to be able to celebrate with the boys with that win and just enjoy this moment."

Toronto center Auston Matthews missed a second straight game with a wrist injury. He is day to day.
The Maple Leafs and Oilers will play the last of a three-game series here Wednesday.
"We're in a little rut," Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said. "Teams get into a little rut, and it seems that nothing you shoot is going in the net, not even point shots or deflections. We can usually find one or two of those in a game, but it's not going in for us right now."
Mikko Koskinen allowed three goals on 10 shots before being replaced at the start of the second period by Mike Smith, who made 13 saves for the Oilers (14-10-0).
"I think once they got up three, we were getting our looks, and whenever they get a chance, they just kind of throw it into the neutral zone and have their guys skate on to it," Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "For us, we have to get those pucks back. If our [defensemen] are going to put pucks on net, we have to find a way to get those loose pucks, maintain more [offensive] zone time and slowly break them down from there."
Toronto scored on its first two shots on goal during the three-goal first period.
Zach Hyman made it 1-0 at 7:19. He took a cross-ice pass from Rielly and lifted a backhand cutting across the goal mouth.
Nylander made it 2-0 at 10:20. He won a race to the puck in the Edmonton zone and scored on a backhand.
"I think our goalies played outstanding in both games, which helped [the shutouts] happen," Nylander said. "We've been working on our defense, and it shows a little bit in these games, which is great."

Rielly scored on the power play at 18:07 to make it 3-0. His shot from the point hit defenseman Darnell Nurse in front and squeezed in through the pads of Koskinen.
"They've been playing a really good checking game, staying on top of us and capitalizing when they have their opportunities," Nurse said. "They hop out to the lead and they checked well and were in front of us all night. For us, we just have to keep playing. We've gone through stretches where we've played really well, putting wins together, and sometimes you're going through two games like this."
Hutchinson made 14 saves in the third period. It was his first shutout of the season and sixth in the NHL.
"Any time you get a shutout in the NHL, it's a special moment," Hutchinson said. "They don't happen too often. It was a lot of fun watching [Campbell] get a shutout last game and coming off injury and playing well. For myself, I thought the guys battled and played hard in front of me all night tonight and made my job as easy as possible."
Jack Campbell made 29 saves to earn the shutout Saturday in his first game since Jan. 24 because of a leg injury. He was unavailable Monday after aggravating the injury.
"Obviously, you go through your rehab and you go through your practice sessions, and he was feeling really good, but game conditions are a whole different beast, and it didn't respond in a way that he or our training staff were hoping," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "So just being more cautious with it, but just hoping that another day here today, and tomorrow things will feel better. Just have to take it a day at a time."
Joseph Woll backed up Hutchinson. Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen missed a fourth straight game with a lower-body injury.