Heading into the game against the Vegas Golden Knights, there were several storylines. Auston Matthews remained out of the line-up and is receiving treatment for his upper body injury in Germany. Despite being out since Nov. 5, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Bobby McMann, and Matthew Knies have been holding down the fort, helping Toronto with a now 6–1–0 record without their star centre.
The biggest happenings tonight were Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin going from playing on the second line with Alex Nylander on the Toronto Marlies to playing with the Maple Leafs, with Grebenkin making his NHL debut. The Leafs certainly wanted to keep both in the AHL longer, but with so many injuries, they were forced to call them up.
So, let’s take a look at how they did.
Fraser Minten scores his first NHL goal
Unfortunately, Minten was injured during this season’s training camp with a high ankle sprain. He started the season with the Toronto Marlies, scoring two goals and two assists for four points in five games before being recalled by the Maple Leafs to fill in for a recently injured David Kämpf.
Minten centred a third line with Nicholas Robertson on the left and fellow rookie Nikita Grebenkin on the right. You could see the chemistry with Grebenkin as they tried several give-and-goes in the first period. Midway through the first, Minten rushed off the bench to accept a beautiful pass from William Nylander to score his first NHL goal:
Minten noticeably looked confident and poised; generating offence and contributing to sustained pressure in the offensive zone on most shifts.
On the Maple Leafs’ two power plays, Minten took Knies’ spot as the net-front presence and did a good job at keeping the puck in to maintain pressure. Although Minten did not receive a point on the Nylander goal on the first power play, he rushed back to apply pressure on the shorthanded Golden Knights’ two-on-one chance.
Minten had the ideal season debut. Scoring the game-winning goal, being noticeable in a good way, and looking like an NHLer, there’s really nothing to complain about. With Kampf out until mid-December, Minten is going to get an extended run. This was a fantastic start.
Nikita Grebenkin looked like an NHL regular
As we noted in our preseason standouts, Grebenkin stood out with his physical play drawing upon his experience playing in the KHL against grown men. Grebenkin ultimately started the year with the Toronto Marlies after not doing so well on the scoresheet in the preseason, registering zero points.
In the minors, Grebenkin has been playing well. He has four goals and six assists for 10 points in 13 games. With the recent injury to Max Domi—who was not looked good at all recently—Grebenkin was recalled by the Maple Leafs and started on the third line, centred by Minten.
Grebenkin played as we remembered him in the preseason. He was physical and used his size and strength to protect the puck. He also broke up a two-on-one play quite skillfully:
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Grebenkin also stepped up taking Knies’ spot on the first line for most of the remaining game after Knies was injured and leaving the game as a result of a bad hit by Zach Whitecloud. Besides being physical by laying the body, and a forechecking machine, Grebenkin almost got his first NHL point on a nice play with Nylander with sustained offensive control:
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Although Grebenkin did not register his first NHL point, he looked like an NHL regular. The Maple Leafs need more players like Grebenkin. Not shy about physical contact, willing to forecheck, and skillful, he can do everything on the ice. Grebenkin looks to have picked up where he left off in preseason and hopefully will force management’s hand to give him another look.
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