PHILADELPHIA — It’s been a long road to his first NHL goal, but Conor Timmins is finally on the board.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman took a shot from the right point and beat Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart for a goal that put his team up 3-1 in the second period.
It was Timmins’ first shift after he was involved in an awkward collision in front of the Flyers’ net with Wade Allison. He went straight to the dressing room to be assessed but returned to the bench. After waiting for a few shifts, he took the ice and made no mistake on his shot that beat Flyers goaltender Carter Hart.
The 24-year-old Timmons has been quite productive in his relatively short tenure in Toronto. Acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forward prospect Curtis Douglas on Nov. 23, Timmins had eight assists in 13 games heading into Sunday’s contest.
With a fully healthy lineup on defense, Timmins found himself on the outside looking in, but Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe praised the defenseman’s play.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Keefe said last week last month.
Before Sunday’s game, Keefe said some of his players were banged up and TJ Brodie was the only player who did not take part in the team’s warmup.
Timmins scored his first NHL goal in his 53rd game. His career has spanned four seasons with three different clubs as the defenseman dealt with various injuries.
More to come…
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