Heading into last night’s game against the Utah Hockey Club, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ injury list grew. The latest member of the IR is Matthew Knies, who after a controversial hit by The Vegas Golden Knights’ Zach Whitecloud in last Wednesday’s game was unable to suit up against Utah.
Filling in for Knies, the Maple Leafs signed Alexander Nylander to a one-year, $775K contract on Friday. Nylander made his debut against Utah on a new third line with his fellow Toronto Marlies’ second-liners, Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten.
Let’s take a look at the storylines coming out of tonight’s game.
Auston Matthews needs to drive his own line
During the Matthews era, we have rarely seen, if at all, the “big three” (Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Mathews) spread out on separate lines. But after the three weeks Matthews has been injured, there is a case to do just that when he gets back.
In the seven games without Matthews, here are the stats for Marner, Nylander, and Tavares:
| Player | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitch Marner | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| William Nylander | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| John Tavares | 4 | 5 | 9 |
Marner has stepped up in Matthew’s absence big time. He was dancing in the offensive zone all night against Utah, generating chances, and living up to the name “Mitch the Magician”. Marner has noticeably shot more this year than in seasons past, including a snipe to tie the game at 1–1:
While Tavares has lost a step this year, as expected with an aging player, he has stepped up in Matthews’ absence, and has shown great chemistry with Marner, especially with the brilliant pass from behind the Maple Leafs’ goal line to spring Marner for the breakaway goal above.
William Nylander clearly runs his line, playing with a combination of Nicholas Robertson, Bobby McMann, Pontus Holmberg, and his brother, Alexander Nylander tonight. Nylander has also stepped up his defensive game, by forechecking harder and stripping the puck off opposing players more frequently, something that has been a criticism of his game throughout his time in Toronto.
With the whole Maple Leafs’ team buying into Craig Berube’s north-south and forechecking game, along with how this team has won games without Matthews historically (41-20-2 coming into last night’s game), and that loading the two lines has not worked effectively come playoff time for years, there is a case to try a different approach and spread out the star talent.
A tale of two Swedes
With Alexander and William Nylander playing tonight, this marks the first time two brothers have played for Toronto in the same game since the Peter and Miroslav Ihnačák brothers played together in 1987. Fortunately, the results were much more favourable in this game, with the Maple Leafs winning 3–2.
Alex came off a decent season with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2023–24 season, scoring 11 goals and four assists for 15 points in 23 games. Like his brother, Alex has a skill for finding the back of the net. With the Toronto Marlies this year, he has scored eight goals and four assists, for 12 points in 14 games playing on the second line.
Alex started on the third line with Grebenkin and Minten, which a week ago was the second line for the Marlies. Nylander had a fairly decent first game with the Maple Leafs, often getting the opportunity to play with his brother.
While Alex was held off the score sheet, he had several chances to score, including hitting the post in the third period. He wasn’t perfect, and there were some plays you would want him to be a bit smarter with the puck, but you can see the skill and shot that netted him 11 goals last season with the Blue Jackets.
The kids quietly strike back
As we noted in our Golden Knights post-game review, Minten came off the best possible season debut, scoring his first NHL goal, which ended up being the game-winner, and looked poised and confident.
Last night, Minten had several chances, but could not convert these chances to goals in tonight’s game. On one of the Leafs’ power plays, Minten picked up a helper on Marner’s goal, though it wasn’t a primary assist.
Although Grebenkin did not register a point in his NHL debut for the Maple Leafs against the Golden Knights, he looked like an NHL regular. He was physical by finishing the game with four hits, and used his size and strength to protect the puck to generate offensive zone chances.
In last night’s game, Grebenkin was not too noticeable, being held off the score sheet once again. He also did not generate as many offensive chances as he did last game, but again showed his tenacity by finishing with three hits on the night and should have drawn a penalty in the second period due to his forechecking.
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With the Maple Leafs hanging on to win 3–2 over Utah, the Maple Leafs are now 7–1 without Matthews this year, which alone is an impressive feat. With Matthews expected to be back for Wednesday’s game against the Florida Panthers, so begins the salary cap gymnastics and possible trades that will have to be done at the forward group.
With Florida’s recent struggles, the Leafs sit atop the Atlantic Division at 13–6–2, three points ahead of the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. Wednesday will be a test, so hopefully the team can keep the good times rolling.
