By Stan Smith
The Toronto Maple Leafs came out of a tight-checking, hard-fought, physical game in Montreal against the Canadiens with a 3-2 victory. What were the good, bad, and ugly aspects of the game?
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The Ugly
For the third time in four game reports, I will start with the ugly because the first shift of the game was ugly for the Maple Leafs. If this were a baseball game, Ilya Lyubshkin would have struck out his first time at the plate. His first strike was a swing and a miss trying to keep the puck in the Montreal zone. His second strike would be getting the puck back on his stick at center ice but putting a backhand pass attempt right on the stick of Juraj Slafkovsky. His third strike was when he stepped up and delivered a hard body check on Slafkovsky at the Toronto blue line. But, he allowed Slafkovsky to get the puck to Cole Caufield. Caulfield broke into the Toronto zone 2-on-1 with Morgan Rielly the only player back.
I have to give Lyubushkin credit though. At least he was trying to do something. That is more than I can say for the forwards on the shift. Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Tyler Bertuzzi did not skate back to help with much of a sense of urgency. All three seemed mesmerized watching Caulfield skate into the zone with the puck. That left no one to pick up Mike Matheson who received a pass from Caulfield behind everyone. Matheson went forehand to backhand and tucked the puck into the Toronto net behind Ilya Samsonov.
Just 38 seconds into the game the Canadiens were up 1-0.
The Bad
Speaking of the Matthews/Nylander/Bertuzzi line, they were the worst line for the Maple Leafs. When they were on the ice at 5-on-5, they gave up 69.8% of the shots taken, 75.7% of the Expected Goals, 76.2% of the Scoring Chances, and 66.7% of the High-Danger Scoring Chances. They were matched against the Canadiens’ top line of Nick Suzuki, Caulfield, and Salfkovsky for most of the game. Unfortunately, they spent the majority of their time chasing them around the ice.
Joel Edmundson had an auspicious first game for the Maple Leafs. At 5-on-5 he was on the ice for four Scoring Chances For and eight Against. He was also on for one High-Danger Scoring Chance For and three Against. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Maple Leafs had just 17.6% of the Expected Goals.
The Good
The third lines of John Tavares, Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok and the fourth line of David Kampf, Bobby McMann, and Matthews Knies more than made up for the poor showing by the Matthews’ line. Domi led the way with the goal that put the Maple Leafs up 2-1 in the second and an assist on the game-winner by John Tavares.
McMann opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs when he broke in 2-on-1 with Knies just 39 seconds into the second period and fired a shot past Montreal goalie Sam Montembault.
Although Knies did not figure into the scoring, being separated from Matthews and Mitch Marner enabled him to use his offensive abilities to drive play more instead of conceding to the elite linemates he usually plays alongside.
TJ Brodie
TJ Brodie was awarded the secondary assist on Domi’s goal. Brodie was on the ice for all three of Toronto’s goals and finished the game at plus-three in plus/minus. He was also Toronto’s best defenseman statistically. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Maple Leafs had 74.3% of the Expected Goals, 66.7% of the Shots, and 70% of the Scoring Chances. They also had two High-Danger Scoring Chances For and zero against with Brodie on the ice at 5-on-5.
Sticking With A Defensive First Strategy
It might not make for exciting hockey. However, the skaters continue to buy into Head Coach Sheldon Keefe’s defense-first strategy. According to Naturalstattrick.com, at 5-on-5 the Maple Leafs gave up just five High-Danger Scoring Chances in the game.
Ilya Samsonov was the beneficiary of the team’s defensive play. However, he also came up with some big saves to improve his record to 12-3 since his return to action and 17-5-6 overall this season. After losing the starter’s job to rookie Joseph Woll earlier in the season, Samsonov might just be winning it back with his performances of late.
What’s Next?
The Maple Leafs get four days absent from any games. They can use those days to help mend bumps and bruises and hopefully get Mitch Marner back. Marner is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He fell awkwardly on his knee in the last Boston game and looked to be in pain. He finished the game, but if I were to guess what his issue was I would have to think it was his knee.
Toronto pays a visit to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Thursday night and then returns home to prepare for a visit by the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
Related: The Good, Bad & Ugly in Another Maple Leafs 4-1 Loss To Bruins