The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off a 5–2 win against the Detroit Red Wings with a Mitch Marner hat-trick heading into last night’s game against the Washington Capitals. Even though the Maple Leafs have had a busy December—and filled with several games with questionable efforts—the Maple Leafs still sat tied for first in the Atlantic Division with 46 points.
Heading into the game last night, the Capitals welcomed the return of the Russian Machine: Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin has 44 goals in 60 career games against the Maple Leafs and looked to inch close to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record. Unfortunately, in contrast, the Maple Leafs are still without captain and last year’s Rocket Richard winner, Auston Matthews.
Let’s take a look at three storylines coming out of last night’s game.
Matt Murray is not an answer
Matt Murray has had an interesting story this year. His last NHL start was on March 25, 2023, against the Carolina Hurricanes in a 5–3 loss. Murray shared the crease with several netminders for the Toronto Marlies as he continued to build his game back up.
Posting a 0.931 save percentage with Marlies, he was called up for a game earlier this year against the Buffalo Sabres posting a 0.889 save percentage and allowing three goals on 27 shots. Last night was Murray’s first home start since April 2, 2023, before being injured in a game against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Maple Leafs started the game off well, with the Mitch Marner line having an excellent shift followed by an excellent fourth-line shift. The Maple Leafs scored the first goal and looked like they picked up where they left off against the Detroit Red Wings.
However, just over a minute and a half after scoring, Andrew Mangiapane tied the game with a weak goal against Matt Murray. Just over four minutes later, Jakob Chychrun scored to take the 2–1 lead on a goal Murray would probably want back.
It is deflating when your goalie lets in two goals that they should have had. The Maple Leafs tied the game in the second period, only to give the lead back to the Capitals two minutes later. While Murray shouldn’t be blamed for the third goal, it would have been nice to have a game-saving stop. Instead, the Maple Leafs cannot tie the game, and the Capitals score on their power play in the third period to make the game 4–2 and out of reach.
It is clear that after allowing another three goals plus in a start that Murray is not an answer for the Leafs in net, especially when the Maple Leafs have other options such as Dennis Hildeby or Artur Akhtyamov waiting in the wings.
The Maple Leafs defence is not threatening
Words cannot describe how offensively challenged the Maple Leafs defence corps has been for the last several years. The Maple Leafs had two power plays in last night’s game, and you can see that the defence is consistently looking to pass the puck.
Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are the two players you would look at on the Maple Leafs’ back end for offence. However, the last time Rielly scored a goal was November 11, 2024, against the Boston Bruins. That is 22 games without a goal. Eckman-Larsson is worse with not scoring a goal since October 24, 2024, against the St. Louis Blues.
Things look worse on the power play for the defence. The last time Rielly had a power point was on November 13, 2024, against the Capitals. The Maple Leafs’ power play is 19th in the league with 20.8% heading into last night’s game against the Capitals. If the Maple Leafs want additional options on the power play, the defence should be generating more offence and become a threat. Instead, the power play is left up to the forwards and teams have less to worry about.
The Leafs are getting secondary scoring
Perhaps the one positive in the recent play of the Maple Leafs is that they are finally getting secondary scoring. In the 5–2 win against the Red Wings, David Kämpf scored his first of the year with an assist from Steven Lorentz. Nicholas Robertson scored a goal with assists from fellow linemates Bobby McMann and Max Domi.
In this game, Bobby McMann scored to tie the game 2–2. With that goal, McMann has four goals and four assists for eight points in his last ten games. For comparison’s sake, Robertson has five goals and three assists for eight points in his last ten games. Domi has three goals and three assists for six points in his last ten games.
McMann—after being scratched on opening night and battling through injuries in late November—has been on a tear with a 0.5-point pace per game. With the remaining games, he is on pace for a career-high of 33 points. The Maple Leafs will need secondary scoring if they hope to go for a deep playoff run this year, and McMann is an important part of that.
Closing out 2024
As the Maple Leafs look to play their final game of 2024 against the New York Islands on New Year’s Eve, the Maple Leafs look to remain at the top of the Atlantic Division. It’s time to regroup after this 5–2 loss to the Capitals and close out 2024 on a high note.
