Elliotte Friedman takes a sly dig at Toronto as Utah HC players walk to Scotiabank Arena owing to heavy downtown traffic

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Nov 25, 2024 03:54 GMT

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NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman took a sly dig at the Toronto Maple Leafs before their game against the Utah Hockey Club.

The Leafs hosted Utah at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, but the players from Utah faced a significant challenge getting there due to heavy traffic in downtown Toronto.

Utah's bus got stuck, forcing the team to abandon it and walk through the busy streets to reach the arena on time.

Friedman reacted to the situation on X/Twitter, posting:

"Not a surprise to anyone who lives here."

In a TikTok video shared by Utah, defenseman Maveric Lamoureux explained how their bus wasn't moving, leading to the entire team walking along the street.

The defenseman also noted that this was the first experience for many of them as they had never encountered a situation like this before.

"Walking pre-game to get to the rink because there's way too much traffic," he said. "The bus is not moving at all, so it's pretty much the whole team walking the street..."So I think that's a first for everyone. (Have) never seen that before."

The Toronto Maple Leafs secured a 3-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club to take a three-point lead atop the Atlantic Division.

This marked the fourth straight victory for the Leafs, who improved their record to 13-6-2 and 28 points after 21 games. The Leafs will be up against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET.

How Toronto Maple Leafs downed Utah Hockey Club

Logan Cooley opened the scoring for Utah, putting them ahead 1-0 on the powerplay at 17:48 of the first period, the only goal scored in that period.

In the second period, Mitch Marner leveled the score for the Toronto Maple Leafs with a wrist shot at 5:15. Four minutes later, he scored again on the powerplay, giving the Leafs a 2-1 lead.

William Nylander increased their lead to 3-1 before the end of the second period. In the final period, Jake McBain scored early for Utah at 1:51, but they couldn't find the net again, resulting in a 3-2 win for the Leafs.

With the defeat, the Utah Hockey Club remains fifth in the Central Division with 19 points after 21 games. They'll continue their Canadian road trip to Centre Bell to face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.