TORONTO — The man they call Uncle Leo sat at his stall in Exhibition Stadium minutes after the Centennial Classic, the toes of his sockless feet curled into the carpet.
Leo Komarov, the Toronto Maple Leafs veteran who kick-started an eventual teenager-fuelled overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL’s 20th outdoor game, was still warming up, despite the fact he called Sunday’s weather "perfect."
"Toes were a little bit cold," Komarov, said, following Toronto’s 5-4 overtime win over Detroit, minutes after his team held on despite blowing a 4-1 lead.
"Our bench was heated up," the 29-year-old Estonian added, "so it was pretty good."
In a game that was a little slow for the first 40 minutes, it was Komarov who got the hometown club going with their first goal in the eventual win, Toronto’s fifth straight. He warmed up the Leafs offence in this outdoor game, so to speak.
Detroit led 1-0 when Komarov responded with his sixth goal of the season, a quick deflection on a pass in tight from Jake Gardiner that beat Red Wings goalie Jared Coreau less than two minutes into the third, to make it 1-1.
Right winger Connor Brown, who later scored one himself and had a three-point day in front of a hometown crowd, said he felt the momentum shift after Komarov put that one in. Goals from Mitch Marner, himself and Auston Matthews (twice) followed.
"Leo sparked us, obviously," the 22-year-old Brown said. "He’s the heartbeat in here; he’s such a lovable guy.
"A guy like that to get us started—he really got us going."
Toronto’s first goal served as a spark of energy in a game that took time to get going, in part due to sun on the ice that delayed puck drop by nearly an hour, and in part due to an uneventful first couple of periods.
"It’s always nice to get a goal, and then we got the second one right away, so we had a lot of energy and we keep playing good until a couple minutes to the end," Komarov said.
Yes, the end, when the Leafs gave up three goals in less than seven minutes before clawing back on a Matthews winner in overtime.
With the temperature just above freezing for much of the game, you didn’t hear Leafs players complaining about the cold.
Brown had the second-most ice time among forwards, with 19 minutes and 47 seconds logged, second only to Komarov. The Toronto-born winger said he kept pretty toasty.
"I was lucky I was playing enough, so I was quite warm," said Brown, who called the outdoor game experience "truly incredible."
Matt Martin, who got in a fight and then a solid verbal battle in the penalty box with Steve Ott, said the temperature was "perfect" for a game.
"It’s wasn’t hot where the ice was melting or wasn’t in good shape, and it wasn’t terribly cold, either, where you’re frozen on the bench. I thought it was a perfect game, couldn’t have gone any better."
And yes, the fight kept him warm, too.
"I imagine it gets the blood going a little bit," Martin said, with a laugh. "Yeah, it was a pretty emotional one."
Komarov grew up playing outside, so Sunday was a nice reminder of how he got started as a kid.
"I like outside, play outside, I grew up outside, so it’s nice for me," he said.
Added Komarov: "We’re happy we got two points."