Bobby McMann of the Toronto Maple Leafs made history Tuesday when he posted his inaugural NHL hat trick for Toronto against St. Louis Blues at Scotiabank Arena in a 4-1 win.
McMann entered the night with two goals in 36 career games and completed his hat trick by banking off his boards from inside his zone into an empty net to score 4-1 at 18:21 of the third stanza.
“That was pretty neat!” he exclaimed as the puck flew past them into the net with dramatic speed and pace, landing right where he intended. I don’t know if its angle was correct; nonetheless, seeing it come through was incredible! “
McMann had initially anticipated being a healthy scratch but did not find out until 4:00 p.m. that he would play after it became evident that forward John Tavares had. Mitchell Marner would both miss due to illness.
McMann said she expected she was out based on Monday’s practice lineup but still made sure to care for both business and her body, anticipating she might play tonight based on what coach Sheldon Keefe informed her, informing her some players were sick with flu and could likely play. At that point, she told McMann to stick with his normal routine – which McMann did.
William Nylander also scored, while Ilya Samsonov made 14 saves to help the Maple Leafs (27-16-8) recover after defenseman Morgan Rielly received his five-game suspension for cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig.
Keefe commented on their performance afterward: “I thought guys played well; we kept things pretty basic, which was needed once we gained the lead; once that had taken place, we needed players to step up in different ways, and Bobby stood up tonight with two major goals plus an empty netter – an awesome finish on an otherwise somewhat uncertain day for our lineup (Bobby himself didn’t know until arriving at the rink whether he would even be participating!). Terrific end to what could have been an otherwise unusual day.”
Alexey Toropchenko scored, and Jordan Binnington recorded 28 saves to lead the Blues (28-22-2) to their seventh straight win and second in two weeks.
“We weren’t skating enough, supporting each other enough, winning battles, or being committed enough in forecheck,” St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn said of their loss tonight. “We know we need to improve significantly more.”
“Our goalie played well and kept us competitive, but unfortunately, not enough people stepped forward tonight willing to play ethically.
McMann gave the Maple Leafs their initial lead at 5:33 of the first period. After winning an initial puck battle along the right boards and defusing Schenn’s pass as he made an attempted play towards goal, McMann scored on Binnington from just outside his crease – beating Binnington by only inches!
“Our energy was lacking today,” Blues coach Drew Bannister stated. “Without moving our feet, no pucks could be recovered; that led us into more defensive stances, which forced us back from taking an offensive edge. It just wasn’t happening for us.”
At 16:25, Nylander gave the Blues their only lead as his centering pass was deflected off defenseman Matthew Kessel’s stick and floated past Binnington’s blocker for an easy score.
At 5:36 of the second period, Toropchenko cut it back to one goal via a deflection off Nathan Walker’s shot from below the right hash marks, shortly after Bennington successfully stopped Noah Gregor on an attempted breakaway at 3:52.
McMann extended their lead to 3-1 at 8:02 of the third period when Kessel blocked TJ Brodie’s initial shot but fell right onto McMann’s skates; from there, she used her body momentum and roofed an accurate glove-side shot from below the left circle.
“It’s heartening to witness someone like that working hard every night, forechecking hard and playing harder, being recognized and rewarded,” Brodie observed. “It is always rewarding.” Also Read: Super Bowl: Kansas City Chiefs Secure Historic Three-Peat
Toronto defeated St. Louis 13-4 in shots taken during the third period.
“Everyone was great!” Brodie declared. “There was lots of energy. We got pucks, put in forechecking moves, and claimed victory!”
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