The Toronto Maple Leafs have not been up to their usual standard of play over the last eight games. It wasn’t until halfway through the second period on Sunday that the Maple Leafs remembered their identity, and John Tavares, powered by his mystic amulet no doubt, scored a hat trick to propel the Maple Leafs to a 5–3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
However, heading into last night’s game against the Dallas Stars, the Maple Leafs’ injury woes continued. Half of the best goalie tandem in the league, Anthony Stolarz, is out for four-to-six weeks recovering from knee surgery.
The Maple Leafs also sent down Fraser Minten, who had a strong 11-game stint while activating David Kämpf from IR who made an appearance against the Stars after missing 12 straight games.
Let’s look at the storylines coming out of another 5–3 win, this time over Dallas.
The third line is on a heater
This is the second game in a row with Bobby McMann, Max Domi, and Nicholas Robertson as the third line, and the second game in a row they went on an absolute tear. In Buffalo, the line finished with six points between the three of them, with Domi and Robertson each scoring a goal.
In last night’s game, both Robertson and Domi scored a goal again; Domi to tie the game 1–1 59 seconds after the Stars scored, and Robertson to give the Maple Leafs a 3–2 lead. McMann also had a goal, started by a nice interception by Robertson to take away a pass going to his brother, Jason Robertson:
Each one of these three players has either been healthy scratched, or injured for longer stretches. Yet, the third line finished with four points on the night for another excellent performance.
With Robertson picking up his game recently, by not only scoring, but also by being strong defensively, he is making the case to not be healthy scratched again. And there is a lot to like. He plays hard and can score goals. But it comes down to consistency, something which Robertson has struggled with. Regardless, the Maple Leafs have shown patience with his development, where in years past, they would not. Hopefully, Robertson can find consistency and be a mainstay in the lineup.
The Brick Woll is built
With the injury to Stolarz, Joesph Woll is going to be looked at to stabilize the net for the next month. Heading into the game, Woll was third in GAA at 2.24 and fifth in SV% with .918.
Woll made several big saves, including this one to maintain the Maple Leafs 4–2 lead:
The Maple Leafs did not make it easy for Woll, giving up four power plays on the night where Woll had to be sharp. But as we have seen all year, the Maple Leafs defence was good at forcing the Stars’ players to the perimeter, getting into the shooting lane to block shots, and having active sticks in the passing lanes to intercept passes.
With Woll’s injury history, many Maple Leafs fans are concerned about who could take over the crease if Woll gets injured. Matt Murray is putting himself in the conversation after posting a 27-save shutout against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. There is also Dennis Hildeby who has played four games this year with the Maple Leafs.
Regardless of what will happen, Woll finished the night with a .927 SV%, demonstrating that at the moment, he is up to the task of taking over the crease until Stolarz can return.
First-line defensive woes
Many Maple Leafs fans would expect to see a loaded line of William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner when they’re down late in a game, or on a power play. Tonight we got our first glimpse of a loaded line for virtually the whole game.
The line as you would expect did generate offence. Notably, Mitch Marner created a goal with an absolutely beautiful pass to Mathews, who made a saucer pass to a streaking Nylander, and Nylander sniped it home:
However, there was what many Maple Leafs fans were expecting. The line would not fare too well defensively.
The trio was on for two goals against. The first goal was when the Stars opened the scoring with Matthews and Jake McCabe having a miscommunication. The second goal was at the very start of the second period, where Evgenii Dadonov walked in and tucked it past Woll.
The line did look better defensively as the game went on, however, there is clearly work that needs to be done. With the second and third lines showing insane chemistry over the last couple of games, perhaps head coach Craig Berube has some patience to experiment longer.
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With the win tonight, the Maple Leafs claim first in the Atlantic with 42 points, tied with the Florida Panthers with one game in hand. The Maple Leafs continue their busy December schedule by having a rematch with the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo on Friday and then back home to host the New York Islanders on Saturday.
