Harvard's Kerfoot Scores Twice for Toronto in NHL's Return

Alexander Kerfoot (Harvard) scored twice for the victorious Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday evening as the NHL returned to action for the first time in four months. The Leafs defeated their traditional rival, the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, in an exhibition game at Scotiabank Arena as the NHL re-emerged from a hiatus that began in March due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which also canceled the remainder of the 2019-20 NHL regular season.

Kerfoot scored Toronto's second and third goals, both in the second period, against Montreal as the Leafs built leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Toronto is one of two NHL hubs, along with Rogers Place in Edmonton, that will be used during an abbreviated postseason with extra contending teams to award this year’s Stanley Cup. Eastern Conference teams will play in Ontario, while Western Conference squads will skate in Alberta, with the final round to be contested in Toronto. The St. Louis Blues are the defending champion.

The Maple Leafs will face off with the Columbus Blue Jackets in a best-of-five qualifying series that will begin on Saturday at Scotiabank Place, while the Canadiens will meet the Pittsburgh Penguins in another Eastern Conference series match-up, also in Toronto. Also on Tuesday in exhibition play, the Philadelphia Flyers edged Pittsburgh, 3-2, in overtime in Toronto, while in Edmonton the host Oilers upended the rival Calgary Flames, 4-1.

A 5-foot-10 native of Vancouver, Kerfoot, 25, played his first two NHL campaigns with the Colorado Avalanche, with whom he posted 34 goals and 51 assists for 85 points over 157 regular-season outings after signing with them as a free agent. He was traded to Toronto last July, and proceeded to tally 9-19—28 points in 65 games with the Leafs this season before it was suspended by COVID-19. 

Originally drafted 150th overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2012 in the midst of his Junior A career with Coquitlam (BCHL), Kerfoot played at Harvard from 2013 to 2017. In four NCAA seasons, he notched 36-87—123 points in 121 career outings, and also captained the Crimson to the 2017 ECAC Hockey regular-season and postseason championships, plus the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four in Chicago.