NEW YORK CITY – When Gerry Holl saw his 26-year-old son, Justin, score a goal in his NHL debut Wednesday in Toronto, the proud father was struck with disbelief as he sat on his couch in Minnesota.
“Are we in a dream?” he wondered.
Indeed, Mr. Holl. Even better: It’s a recurring one.
The younger Holl — a late-blooming American Hockey League emergency call-up defenceman who skated for the ECHL’s Indy Fuel but three seasons ago — opened the scoring Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, and his Toronto Maple Leafs never glanced back.
With their decisive 4-0 road victory over the New York Rangers, a bubble team that was granted six days to rest up for this one, the Leafs extended their longest winning streak since mid-November to four.
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They’ve outscored the opposition by a combined 16-3 over that span, and that’s with No. 1 defenceman Morgan Rielly sidelined.
“We want to bring the kids up when they’re ready,” head coach Mike Babcock said. “A lot of times we bring the kids up in the National Hockey League before they’re ready. They’ve got no confidence. If you get them here when they’re overripe, they got a better chance of staying.”
Perhaps more impressive than is the manner in which this young bunch has eased into a groove with Mitch Marner promoted to the top six, fleet-of-foot Kasperi Kapanen and Leo Komarov buzzing around on a more trusted fourth line, and rookie replacements Holl and Travis Dermott creating (and finishing) scoring chances from the back end.
“Now we’ve started to score, we’ve got into a rhythm. We’re playing way quicker,” Babcock said.
“Part of that’s confidence, part of that’s work ethic, part of that’s personnel. Bottom line is, the faster we play, the more pressure we put on the other team.”
Backup Curtis McElhinney had to be sharp early, stoning trade bait Rick Nash in the slot and flashing the leather on Brady Skjei, but the ice was essentially tilted toward the home net for 60 minutes.
Holl struck first with a screened shot. Connor Brown set up newish linemate James Van Riemsdyk with a nice pass that led to a backhand five-hole deke of Henrik Lundqvist and JVR’s 20th in his contract year.
The second period brought a second wave of the Leafs’ high-paced attack. Patrick Marleau dusted off his slap shot, fooling Lundqvist blocker side just 52 seconds into the second frame. A couple minutes later, Zach Hyman deked the King forehand-backhand in tight, prematurely ending the future Hall of Famer’s night.
In his three 2017-18 starts versus Toronto, Lundqvist has lost them all and only hung around for the final buzzer once. His career save percentage versus the Leafs has now dipped below .900.
“They use their speed and their transition game to hurt us,” Lundqvist said.
Holl’s career stat line now features two goals in two games in two nights. He’s the first Leafs defencemen in 100 years of organizational history to accomplish such a feat.
Justin was recalled under such tight circumstances Wednesday, Gerry had to join the club’s annual father’s trip a game late. But he was in the most famous cathedral in sports Thursday to see what dreams look like in real life.
Defenceman Jake Gardiner smiles thinking back to his days as a kid honing his nimble stride on the frozen ponds of Minnesota’s Lake Minnetoka with Holl and their dads.
“It was funny last night. Justin Holl, being from Minnetonka, [my dad John] kinda looked after him a lot when I was a kid. We got to the airport, and [my dad said], ‘Does Justin know where he’s going?’ ” Gardiner recalled, laughing.
“I’m sure he’ll figure it out,” Jake, 27, told his dad, possibly rolling his eyes. “We’ve got guys that’ll take care of him. Don’t worry.”
Feel free to call it Dad Strength. The Leafs are now perfect with the men who brought them into this world high-fiving in the suites and wearing custom caps produced exclusively for the mini holiday.
“It’s a blast every single time. It’s probably my dad’s favourite part of the year,” Gardiner says.
“I mentioned potentially bringing my brother this year, and he kyboshed that pretty quick. Speaking for all the dads, they just get super excited.”
The Leafs will escort their fathers to Boston Friday for a day off before facing the divisional rival they’re chasing, the Bruins, Saturday at TD Garden.
“When your dad is here, your family is here, you always try to play good. It’s important you put your best foot forward. You want your parents to be proud of you,” Babcock said.
“I’m 54 and I still want my folks to be proud of me, so why wouldn’t these guys?”
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