By Stan Smith
I stated that I was excited to see how the players would carry the load after it was announced that Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares would all miss the last game. I was equally worried about how the team would perform in this game with Marner and Tavares back. I felt if the team played poorly, it would add fuel to the claim that the top players were the problem with this team. But, it was the top three players who came through and provided the Maple Leafs with the win.
Related: So What About the Maple Leafs’ First Line?
The Good
Auston Matthews
I almost feel I could just leave it at that, and write nothing else. Most readers would agree with me. But, where would the fun in that be?
A natural hat trick in a span of 7:49 of the second period tells part of the story. Matthews’ fifth hat trick of the season and his 31st goal in his last 30 games says more. The Toronto Maple Leafs have never had a player on their team that can score goals like Matthews can. If he keeps up the pace he is scoring at this season, he will become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer sometime next season. Matthews needs 76 goals to catch Mats Sundin’s 420 goals and he has played 449 fewer games than Sundin. He sits fourth right now and needs 21 goals to catch Dave Keon for third.
When Matthews first came into the league I marveled at how he would just beat goalies cleanly with his wrist shot. He didn’t have to wait for the perfect chance. He would just get the puck and fire it. It was almost like he was saying “Stop this if you can.” Many times the goalie couldn’t.
Last season he had gotten away from that. He was more about finding that perfect one-timer. Otherwise, he was just as likely to pass the puck as he was to shoot it. This season he has that swagger back. All three of his goals in this game were just Matthews versus the goalie. And, he beat Flyers’ netminder Samual Ersson cleanly three times on three similar shots.
Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner might not be the league’s best skater. He might be one of the most patient players in the NHL. He also “sees the ice” extremely well and knows how plays will unfold. Marner demonstrated those abilities on Matthews’ first goal. He retrieved the puck at the Toronto blue line. Then, instead of just getting the puck up ice as fast as he could, he watched and waited while Matthews circled out of the zone. He then hit him with a perfect pass at the Flyer blue line.
On the power play goal, he faked a shot and had all eyes on him before setting up Matthews’ one-timer.
On the overtime goal, he was fortunate to get the secondary assist as Timothy Liljegren and William Nylander did the legwork on the goal. Marner wasn’t even on the ice when the goal was scored. But, the patience that he, Matthews, and Jake McCabe showed leading up to the line change and keeping possession from the drop of the puck in the overtime played a key role in the goal. Marner has 22 points in his last 15 games, a 120-point scoring pace. He is edging slowly toward challenging the 100-point mark for the third season in a row.
William Nylander
He’s not scoring at the same pace he was earlier this season. However, Nylander’s goal and assist in this game give him six goals and five assists for a total of eleven points in his last ten games. He is still on a 107-point pace for the season.
Related: What Were Ridley Grieg and Morgan Rielly Thinking?
The Bad
The Maple Leafs came out slow in this game. If not for some good goaltending by Ilya Samsonov, they could have been in a bigger hole than the 1-0 hole they were in at the end of the period. Toronto had just two High-Danger Scoring Chances to seven for the Flyers. The second period didn’t start much better. Until Matthews scored his first goal at 11:06 of the second period the Maple Leafs had only mustered eleven shots on the Philadelphia net.
Usually, I only mention the refereeing if it is really ugly. They are getting an upgrade to the “Bad” section today. Not only do I note bad calls during a game, but I also record any non-calls I see as well. Looking back over my notes I counted 13 times I saw an infraction on either team that was not called. The non-calls pretty much did balance out. I counted seven for the Flyers and six for the Maple Leafs.
Coincidently there were 13 penalties called in the game (only six of them led to either team being shorthanded). The calls they did make were definitely penalties. But, they were not any more flagrant than the calls they did not make.
The Ugly
The Maple Leafs were up 3-1 and in complete control of this game before a pair of penalties were called on Toronto. These penalties led to two Philadelphia goals in a minute and one second. Fortunately, the Maple Leafs recovered enough to keep the score tied at three until regulation time ended. Allowing the Flyers that extra point made the difference in Toronto being tied with Philadelphia and being one point behind them. It is a point that could potentially come back and haunt them at the end of the season.
What’s Next?
The Maple Leafs take on the Anaheim Ducks at home on Saturday night. They then head out on the road for four games in six days, including back-to-back games in Arizona and Las Vegas on Wednesday and Thursday. I’m hoping Joseph Woll will be able to take one of those two starts.
Although the Ducks are in 30th place in the overall NHL standings, the Maple Leafs can’t look past them. Anaheim has only lost two of their past seven games in regulation. They beat the Senators 5-1 on Thursday to end Ottawa’s four-game winning streak.
Tampa Bay beat the Avalanche 6-3 to remain a point ahead of the Maple Leafs for third in the Atlantic. However, Toronto still has three games in hand over the Lightning.
Related: Reviewing the Good, Bad, & Ugly in Maple Leafs 4-1 Win vs Blues