TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Mitch Marner has been getting plenty of attention on his march to the NHL鈥檚 longest point streak in seven seasons.
Ilya Samsonov joked Tuesday it was about time he got some love as well.
Marner had two assists to extend his point streak to 23 games and Samsonov made 28 saves for his second straight shutout as the Toronto Maple Leafs thumped the lowly Anaheim Ducks 7-0 on Tuesday.
Samsonov strutted to his media scrum with the team鈥檚 celebratory wrestling belt awarded to the player of the game slung over his left shoulder.
鈥淎 long time, I wait,鈥� the Russian goaltender said with a grin. 鈥淚鈥檓 enjoying 鈥� I will go sleep with this.鈥�
Samsonov, who missed 12 games in November because of a knee injury, also blanked Los Angeles last week and has gone 152 minutes 34 seconds without allowing a goal.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been awesome,鈥� said Leafs forward Alexander Kerfoot, who scored twice Tuesday. 鈥淏een there when we need them.鈥�
A character in the locker room and with the media, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe praised Samsonov鈥檚 commitment to his craft.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got lots of personality,鈥� Keefe said. 鈥淏ut I think what really stands out is just the work that he鈥檚 put in since he鈥檚 arrived in our facility and how he鈥檚 embraced the program.鈥�
Marner, meanwhile, is now three games back of Patrick Kane (2015-16) for the longest point streak among active NHLers. The winger has 11 goals and 21 assists during his red-hot run that started Oct. 27 at San Jose.
鈥淐ontinues to roll,鈥� said Leafs captain John Tavares, who scored off a Marner setup in the first period and added an assist. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to focus on playing our game and what鈥檚 bringing us success.鈥�
Pierre Engvall also had a goal and an assist for Toronto (19-5-6), while Michael Bunting, T.J. Brodie and Joey Anderson provided the rest of the offense.
Connor Timmins and Pontus Holmberg each registered a trio of assists, marking the first three-point performance of each player鈥檚 career as the Leafs put up at least six goals in a game for the first time this season.
鈥淚ncredible,鈥� Timmins, who was acquired from Arizona last month, said of Marner鈥檚 streak. 鈥淣ever gets old.鈥�
John Gibson allowed two goals on 27 shots for last-place Anaheim (7-20-3) before being replaced in the second period by Lukas Dostal, who finished with 10 stops after starting Monday鈥檚 3-0 loss against Ottawa.
The Leafs, meanwhile, have at least a point in 15 consecutive games (12-0-3) and can tie the franchise record of 16 straight Saturday at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.
Kerfoot opened the scoring at 1:58 of the first period off a pass from Engvall for his third of the season.
Marner, who had an assist against the Ducks in late October in the third game of his streak, got on the scoresheet at 8:41 following a backhand feed to Tavares for the captain鈥檚 14th after Timmins kept the puck in at the blue line.
Samsonov had to be sharp at the other end on a couple Anaheim chances, including off a scramble with Mason McTavish lurking.
Brodie stretched Toronto鈥檚 lead to 3-0 with his first of the season at 12:16 of the second after Dostal replaced Gibson.
Samsonov, who blanked Los Angeles 5-0 on Thursday, then stopped Max Comtois on a breakaway before Bunting scored his sixth off a rebound at 16:33.
Kerfoot got his second of the night at 2:37 of the third for the forward鈥檚 first two-goal game since April 2, 2019, when he was with Colorado.
Engvall made it 6-0 with his fifth at 5:42 before Anderson scored his first with 1:40 left in regulation.
UP NEXT
Leafs: Visit the Rangers on Thursday.
Ducks: Visit the Canadiens on Thursday.
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The Associated Press
