Maple Leafs’ Sparks shuts out Oilers in league debut

Rookie goaltender records 24 saves as Toronto rolls

TORONTO — When Garret Sparks was told that he had become the first Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender to earn a shutout in his NHL debut he had tears in his eyes.

The emotion was there for all to see on the huge television screen on the scoreboard over center ice.

The 22-year-old was named the game’s first star on Monday after making 24 saves. Sparks’ effort combined with center Leo Komarov’s two goals gave the Maple Leafs a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

“My process has always been to take it five minutes at a time, one period at a time and chip away at a game,” said Sparks, whose parents were in the crowd. “After I came out of the first unscathed, I wanted to have a good second and I got a couple of lucky posts there.

“Going into the third period (the shutout) is definitely on your mind. You just want to be on and make sure that if they’re going to beat you, they have to really beat you.

“The guys in front of me tonight kept everything to the outside and they kept it manageable. I really have them to thank for it.”

The victory behind a goaltender called up from the American Hockey League Toronto Marlies ended the Maple Leafs’ three-game losing streak. It was Toronto’s first shutout of the season.

Center Nazem Kadri added a goal for the Maple Leafs (8-11-5) and left winger James van Riemsdyk had three assists.

“He was good, very poised and calm,” van Riemsdyk said of Sparks.

“Good for the kid,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “Life’s about opportunity and how you respond to that opportunity and obviously he must have some swagger about him, some confidence about him because he was solid.

“He made some good saves. He was 6-foot-3 on every shot, which is a good thing for a goalie. He played well. We got a win.”

Babcock said, however, that injured James Reimer would start the next game in Winnipeg on Wednesday if he is fit to play.

The Oilers (8-15-2) hit goal posts twice in the second period and ended a five-game road trip with a 1-3-1 record.

Oilers goaltender Anders Nilsson made 23 stops.

“When I look at the trip as a whole, we had a lot of key players underperform,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. “The young fella (Sparks) had a great game tonight. They were better than us in different areas and when that happens we lose again. ... Nothing offensively, nothing sustained, nothing hard at all.

The Maple Leafs took the lead early with a power-play goal by Komarov at 6:45 of the first period. He chipped in a pass into the slot from van Riemsdyk for his career-best ninth goal of the season with Oilers center Leon Draisaitl serving a hooking penalty.

The Maple Leafs were playing a tight defensive game but Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz snuck up to find an opening only to ring a shot off the post with 13 minutes to play in the second period.

Edmonton hit the post again with six minutes left in the second on a shot by center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

The Maple Leafs were outshot 8-3 in the first period but by the end of the second each team had 16 shots on goal.

The Oilers started the third period on a power play after defenseman Matt Hunwick took a hooking penalty at 19:02 of the second period. But the Oilers failed to generate an attack, while giving up a pair of two-on-one Maple Leafs’ breakouts that nearly put them further behind.

The Maple Leafs scored at 7:33 of the third period when Kadri deflected a shot from the point by defenseman Jake Gardiner for his third goal of the season.

The Oilers went on the power play at 15:02 of the third when Gardiner took a tripping penalty. Sparks was tested immediately by left winger Taylor Hall and made the save.

Islanders 5, Avalanche 3 — At New York, Cal Clutterbuck scored the tiebreaking goal 1:52 into the third period, and Casey Cizikas added an unassisted goal less than seven minutes later as the New York Islanders beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-3. Kyle Okposo scored in the first, Mikhail Grabovski scored in the second, and center Ryan Strome added an empty-netter with 47.9 seconds left for the Islanders, who began a three-game homestand by winning for the third time in four games. Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss made 24 saves.

Rangers 4, Hurricanes 3 — At New York, the Rangers jumped to a threegoal lead and survived a strong push from Carolina to snap a three-game losing streak. Goals from Derick Brassard and Oscar Lindberg, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello proved just enough for goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 33 saves.Jordan Staal, Victor Rask and Chris Terry scored for the Hurricanes.

Ducks 4, Canucks 0 — At Anaheim, Calif.,John Gibson stopped 25 shots to earn his first shutout of the season in Anaheim’s rout of Vancouver. Corey Perry, Shawn Horcoff, Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg provided the goals for the Ducks, who broke a twogame losing streak.