And Frederik Andersen knows he now holds the team’s all-time record for goalie wins in a season.
What remains a mystery for the Leafs is their first-round playoff opponent.
Andersen made 31 saves to pick up his 38th victory of the season Saturday and Toronto closed out its schedule by defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2.
The Leafs finished with a club-record 105 points – bettering the 103 earned in the pre-lockout 2003-04 season before the shootout was introduced to break ties – but will have to wait until the Boston Bruins play the Florida Panthers on Sunday to see where they open their next playoff chapter.
A win for the Bruins over the Panthers http://www.officialcoyotes.com/authentic-adidas-clayton-keller-jersey , who have been eliminated from postseason contention, would see Boston move into first in the Atlantic Division and set up a meeting between Tampa Bay and Toronto.
A victory in regulation for the Panthers, meanwhile, would see the Leafs and Bruins square off.
Asked if he would be watching Sunday’s finale, a makeup game after Boston and Florida were snowed out in January, Andersen indicated he has other plans.
”No,” he said. ”I’m going to watch the Masters.”
Auston Matthews scored his 34th goal of the season to match his jersey number and added an assist for Toronto (49-26-7), which also set club records for overall victories and home wins (29).
Zach Hyman, Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau had the other goals for the Leafs, who are going to the playoffs for the second consecutive spring. Jake Gardiner added two assists.
Andersen’s 37 victories coming in saw him sit tied with Ed Belfour (2002-03) and Andrew Raycroft (2006-07) for the most by a Toronto goalie in a season.
Now he sits alone in first.
”It’s fun when you set goals at the beginning of the year and then you achieve some of them http://www.officialhockeypanthersshop.com/authentic-adidas-james-reimer-jersey ,” Andersen said. ”It goes without saying that there are bigger goals.”
Leafs coach Mike Babcock was pleased to see his team come through for its goalie in a game that didn’t mean anything in the standings.
”He’s been a huge part of our team,” Babcock said. ”That record is a special, special thing.”
Daniel Carr and Jeff Petry scored for Montreal (29-40-13). Carey Price stopped 26 shots for the visitors as the Canadiens wrapped up a disappointing season.
The players observed a moment of silence before the game to honor the victims of Friday’s horrific crash in Saskatchewan that saw a tractor-trailer collide with a bus carrying a junior hockey team, killing 15 people and injuring 14 others.
The Leafs and Canadiens also sported Broncos decals on their helmets.
Tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, Hyman chipped a rebound past Price just 37 seconds into the third for his 15th goal and 40th point of the season after Matthews took the initial shot.
Andersen made a good stop on Brendan Gallagher’s one-timer with four minutes to go, before the Leafs went to the power play with 3:45 left when Michael McCarron hacked Matthews to the ice with the center bearing down on what could have been his 35th goal.
But Kadri wouldn’t be denied with 2:50 left when he backhanded his 32nd over Price before Petry then scored his 12th with 40.2 seconds left in regulation.
Marleau put things to bed with his 27th on a Price mistake with 9.8 seconds still on the clock as the Canadiens limped to the finish line after topping the Atlantic with 103 points last season.
”We’re still playing the game we love,” Gallagher said. ”But the games haven’t been meaningful.
”Just never want to feel this (way) or go through this ever again.”
Down 1-0 after Matthews extended his point streak to 10 games – he now has seven goals and seven assists over that span – late in the first, the Canadiens came close when Andersen denied Gallagher twice on a power play in the second.
”He’s been unbelievable for us, probably our best player all year,” Matthews said the Leafs goalie. ”He’s kept us in games Womens Evander Kane Jersey , won us games all throughout the year and been a brick wall.”
Montreal got even with 3:56 left in the second when Carr scored his sixth on a rebound.
Matthews struck on the power play with 1:55 left in the first when William Nylander wheeled down from the point, froze Price and delivered a sweet cross-ice feed for a wide-open net to get the ball rolling on a milestone night.
Now all the Leafs can do is sit and wait to find out where they’ll open the playoffs next week as the Atlantic’s No. 3 seed – either Boston or Tampa.
”We don’t know who we’re playing,” Babcock said. ”Both teams are very good hockey clubs.
”We’re in for a great test and it should be a lot of fun.”
UP NEXT:
Canadiens: Season over.
Maple Leafs: first round of the playoffs.
—
More NHL hockey: Two weeks into the Miami Dolphins" offseason practice regimen, first-round draft pick Minkah Fitzpatrick"s running tally of interceptions is underway.
"Have I been counting them? Every DB counts them," Fitzpatrick said with a laugh after Tuesday"s workout. "I"ve got two picks and a couple of pass breakups. Just doing my job."
Contact drills won"t begin until training camp, but early indications are the Dolphins used the 11th overall pick wisely when they selected Fitzpatrick.
The safety from Alabama said he"s not fazed by reports Dolphins owner Stephen Ross wanted to trade down on draft night rather than pick Fitzpatrick.
"I heard about it," Fitzpatrick said. "He"s a businessman. He"s going to see the business side of everything. This is extra motivation to prove I"m a worthy pick and deserve to be here."
The front office wanted a playmaker to upgrade a defense that ranked fourth-worst in points allowed last season, and so far Fitzpatrick looks as if he"ll make Miami better.
"He has done a good job," coach Adam Gase said. "He has gotten his hands on a lot of balls. He seems to be all over the place. He has a great motor and a great work ethic. You can tell he takes this very seriously and puts everything he has into this."
The Dolphins" investment goes beyond a first-round choice. Fitzpatrick signed a $16.44 million, four-year deal last week.
But he said he didn"t celebrate the contract Radek Faksa Jersey , and doesn"t have any plans for the money besides buying a place to live.
"Anytime you see your hard work paying off, it"s a good feeling," he said. "But you"ve got to keep telling yourself it"s not the end goal. I didn"t come here just to be a first-round pick. I wanted to be a great player here and establish a great legacy."
Fitzpatrick said the Dolphins are dividing his practice time evenly among the strong safety, free safety and nickel back positions. He said he doesn"t have a preference and is happy to move around.
"They trust me to do that," Fitzpatrick said. "They"re not putting too much on me, but they know they can put a lot on me."
Pro Bowler Reshad Jones is certain to start at one safety spot, and veteran safety T.J. McDonald also returns after starting the final eight games last season. Defensive coordinator Matt Burke may decide to play both along with Fitzpatrick at times, and June is a time for experimenting.
General manager Chris Grier has compared Fitzpatrick to a Swiss army knife because of his versatility. And wherever Fitzpatrick lines up, he"s making his presence felt.
"He is flying around at practice," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. "He plays aggressive and plays fast Womens Anze Kopitar Jersey , and that"s what you want to see out of a DB."
Fitzpatrick played for Nick Saban at Alabama, which may be why he hasn"t found the demands of the NFL too daunting so far. In fact, the coaching styles of Saban and Gase are similar, he said.
"They"re both very passionate coaches," Fitzpatrick said. "They"re both real hands-on. The only difference is coach Saban yells a bit more."
At Alabama, Fitzpatrick had a school-record four interception returns for touchdowns. He"s confident about quickly improving his professional pick total.
"That"s going to keep going up," Fitzpatrick said. "As I get more and more comfortable, I"ll make more and more plays."
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