Spirits were high for the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into a matchup with the New York Rangers last night after erasing a 3–0 deficit to beat the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs found themselves in the same position as last week: one point behind the Florida Panthers with two games in hand. This time, however, the Tampa Bay Lightning were two points behind the Maple Leafs in third place.
The Rangers were four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets with one game in hand for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference coming in to last night. Fresh off a two-game winning streak, the Rangers were looking to gain ground in their hunt for a playoff spot.
Let’s take a look at three storylines coming out of last night’s game.
A very Knies first line
After not scoring last night, Auston Matthews has zero goals on an actual goalie in the last 10 games with the Maple Leafs—13 games if you include the 4 Nations Face-Off. Since returning from the tournament, Matthews has looked a bit off. He hit two posts in the game against Boston earlier in the week, hit a post in last night’s game against the Rangers, and almost had a very nice deflection goal:
Nevertheless, Matthews picked up an assist on Matthew Knies’ game-winner to extend his point streak to eight games:
On the game-winning goal, Marner had an excellent play to prevent the clearing attempt for an assist. Once again, Marner elevated his game in high-pressure moments. The assist ties him with George Armstrong for fifth in franchise points.
Marner’s excellent play at the 4 Nations Face-Off seems to have awakened a different player. This bodes well for the Maple Leafs as they ramp up towards the playoffs. It also bodes well for Marner and his next contract as he continues to have a career year.
Stolarz shines bright
Anthony Stolarz got his second start in a row with Joseph Woll out with an illness. Stolarz was relied on at points in the game, and he kept his end of the bargain. The Maple Leafs were massively outshot 35–17, noticeably had less offensive zone time compared to the Rangers, and just hung on with the 3–2 lead in the third period. Stolarz stopped 33 shots out of 35, finishing with a .943 SV% on the night.
As we enter the playoffs, Berube seemed to suggest that he is going to ride one goalie. So the question becomes, who will start? Both goalies have been fantastic this year. Stolarz has a .927 SV% and a 2.21 GAA in 21 games, and Woll has a .910 SV% and a 2.63 GAA in 31 games. Woll also has more playoff games than Stolarz and has generally played solidly in those games.
Maple Leafs power giveth and taketh
Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring in last night’s game with a power play goal. The Maple Leafs’ defence continues to produce offence, with goals two games in a row. Credit Nicholas Robertson for beating the Ranger’s defender to obtain possession, as well as a nice pass by Domi:
However, the Maple Leafs’ power play, while having scored goals in the last three games, can’t seem to generate sustained offensive zone pressure. The Maple Leafs have had an extraordinarily difficult time penetrating the offensive zone and setting up their power play formation all year. This leads to broken plays, which leads to shorthanded chances against, and in the case of last night, a shorthanded goal against:
The Maple Leafs now have six shorthanded goals against, which ties them for second in the league. This is not how power play coach Marc Savard drew it up. These lapses in judgment are likely an attention to detail issue by the players.
Onto the next
The Maple Leafs’ next game is against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon. While the Maple Leafs started on time last night, they need to stay out of the penalty box. The Maple Leafs have taken nine penalties over the last two games, and while they didn’t surrender a power play goal last night, it’s not a good habit to form.
Ekman-Larsson left the game in the third period with an injury. Chris Tanev missed last night’s game with an injury that is supposedly day-to-day. The Maple Leafs are now potentially without two top-four defenders entering Sunday.
We will keep an eye on who gets called up next to fill in for the ever-growing number of injuries that the Maple Leafs have incurred this year.
