Hildeby gets 1st career shutout, Maple Leafs top Lightning

TORONTO -- Dennis Hildeby made 29 saves for his first NHL shutout, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

Hildeby was playing in his 15th NHL game. He is 2-2-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in nine games (five starts) this season.

"I had a lot of fun out there. It was a good win. (The shutout) feels good. It’s a puck that you’ll look back on at the end of your career," Hildeby said. "My father is very happy about that right now because he collects them all. Not only my dad, but my mom, brother and all the relatives out there. They’re watching every single game, just keeping me updated and texting me. They’re having a lot of fun right now and that makes me very happy."

Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs (14-11-4), who are 4-0-1 in their past five games.

“Solid game,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “Goalie was good. Overall, I think we did a good job. They’re a talented group over there. I think we did a good job of limiting them of real high quality chances. I thought our checking game was good tonight.

“Just structure, defending the middle of the ice against them. We talked before the game, it’s a very good rush team over there, and we wanted to keep it to the outside as much as possible. I thought we did a real good job of that. It wasn’t a high event game, but I’m OK with that.”

Jonas Johansson made 22 saves for the Lightning (16-11-2), who have lost four in a row and were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 11-14, 2023. Tampa Bay lost 2-0 to the New York Islanders on Saturday.

“It was tough coming in after the first period without the lead,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “I thought we did a lot of good things and then, I don’t know. It was one of those ones where it looked like whoever scored first was going to win, and that’s pretty much how it ended. A little unfortunate for us because we’ve been playing pretty well and unfortunately losing, and tonight I thought we took a step back honestly. It was a little disappointing, especially the desperation level we should have after losing three straight. Thought it was a winnable game but it wasn’t.”

The Maple Leafs kept it scoreless at 4:31 of the first period when Troy Stecher fought off Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point in the crease and prevented the puck from crossing the goal line after Nick Paul's initial shot got behind Hildeby.

“Oh yeah, it was a great play,” Hildeby said. “It was one of those times where I felt a little off. Maybe I wasn’t doing what I’m supposed to, but he got it done there, so I’m very thankful for that.”

The Maple Leafs went up 1-0 at 16:26 of the first period. Rielly got to the puck in the slot after Easton Cowan’s intended pass for William Nylander went off Yanni Gourde’s skate. The defenseman's stick was initially lifted from behind by Jake Guentzel, but Rielly stayed with the play and dove to slip a backhand past Johansson’s outstretched glove.

“There was some luck there,” Rielly said. “I was trying to shoot it and next thing you know there’s a chance there. I was just trying to get up in the play there, that’s all.”

Johansson said the way the play developed led to him being out of position.

“It was kind of a broken play there,” Johansson said. “I probably got some lucky saves sometimes, too, so it evens out in the end, I guess.”

Matthews shot into an empty net at 19:59 for the 2-0 final.

“There’s no easy game in this league, but certainly the way they’re playing and the quality of team they’ve been for a long time and again this season, so divisional games are always important,” Maple Leafs forward John Tavares said. “I think it was an excellent win tonight, something we can continue to build off of. We’ve been working real hard at our game and staying with it. We haven’t had much practice time, but guys have dug in real well and things are building.”

NOTES: Point, who missed seven games with an undisclosed injury, and Nikita Kucherov, who missed one game with an undisclosed injury, each returned for Tampa Bay. ... Maple Leafs defenseman Dakota Mermis left the game at 3:00 of the third period after taking a knee-on-knee hit against the boards from Gage Goncalves, who was assessed a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct. Toronto forward Bobby McMann was issued a match penalty for high-sticking during the ensuing scrum.