Heading into Game 6, the Toronto Maple Leafs came off their worst game in several weeks. The Maple Leafs had a second chance to close out the series against the Ottawa Senators in Toronto on Tuesday, and they dropped the ball. However, Game 6 was an opportunity to prove that this team has truly changed under Craig Berube. And they pulled through by beating the Ottawa Senators 4–2 in last night’s game to move on to the second round.
Let’s take a look at the main storylines from last night’s game, the last game in the Battle of Ontario.
The big guns showed up
We all know the horrible statistics surrounding this iteration of the Maple Leafs’ when it comes to the playoffs. We are also well aware of the lack of production from the Maple Leafs’ power play and the Core Four from Game 5 onwards.
However, last night, they showed up. Captain Auston Matthews scored on the power play to take the 1–0 lead at 18:50 in the first period. Matthew Knies went to the net and had a beautiful screen, which allowed Matthews to find the small amount of daylight between the post and Linus Ullmark’s pad:
How the Maple Leafs played the first period is what we have seen in Games 1, 2, and 3. William Nylander, the birthday boy, would add to the lead in the second period. Forty-three seconds into the second period, Max Pacioretty stole the puck off Nick Jensen and got the puck to Nylander. Nylander had a lot of time and picked his spot on Ullmark:
Nylander would also have the empty net goal in the third period after an excellent block by Scott Laughton, and was a man on a mission with the effort:
Although Craig Berube said on Wednesday that it’s a team effort, and not just on the Core Four, the Core Four finally showed up in a series-clinching game. Like it or not, given that more than 50% of the salary cap is spent on four players, this team is riding or dying by the Core Four. The Core Four finished the night with three goals and two assists, hopefully rewriting the script.
The bottom-six is a unit
Craig Berube made minimal changes to the line-up, notably promoting Max Pacioretty to the second line, and not dressing a healthy-scratched Nicholas Robertson. This decision was controversial, given how the team played in Game 5. However, Berube looked like a genius.
Pacioretty had an assist on the Maple Leafs’ second goal. However, it was his goal in the third period that ended up being the game-winning goal, which he will now be remembered for. The Senators tied the game 2–2 midway through the third period. The Senators had the momentum, and Maple Leafs fans could feel the hope leave their souls.
The fourth line later in the game consisted of Pacioretty–Pontus Holmberg–Max Domi. While the line did not look good collectively for stretches of the game, they were able to get some offensive zone time for well over a minute. Building on this momentum, Domi gets the puck from behind the net to Pacioretty, and Pacioretty rips it:
With this goal, Pacioretty scores his fourth career series-clinching goal. He also finished the night with a team-leading seven hits. The former Montreal Canadiens captain, a heated rival, who wears 67 for the Maple Leafs…This is their year; the stars are aligning.
The other line that has not received nearly enough love has been the Steven Lorentz–Scott Laughton–Calle Järnkrok line. One of the moves Berube made was making this fourth line in Game 5 the third line in Game 6. And they showed why they deserved it.
The third line were animals on the forecheck all game. They hemmed the Senators in their own end several times in this game. Notably, in the third period, they cut off valuable minutes by hemming in the Tim Stützle line. This line has a good combination of speed, skill, and physicality. Järnkrok also has some offensive upside that can make them dangerous at both ends of the ice.
Has this team actually changed?
The Maple Leafs are now 2–14 in series-clinching games, winning the Battle of Ontario series 4–2. However, are the Maple Leafs different? Do they stand a chance against the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Florida Panthers, in Round 2?
I think there is no question that the effort last night was overall an improvement over the effort in Game 5. However, once the Maple Leafs went up 2–0, they noticeably sat back. They played not to lose instead of playing to win for the latter half of the game. There were several instances where the Maple Leafs, instead of getting the puck out, elected for small chip passes that were consistently intercepted.
This team played a different game all year, noticeably near the end of the season, to clinch the Atlantic Division. They then played a dominating first three games of this series. They followed this up by playing a not-as-good, but still somewhat decent, Game 4. Then Game 5 was a horrible game, followed by a decently played first half of Game 6.
I think this recent inconsistency at key moments in the series has brought PTSD back for many Maple Leafs fans. It’s easy to point to the long history and say, “See? This team is not different”. However, both special teams and the Core Four came through in last night’s game. They bent, but did not break, and give them credit, they closed out the series. If the Maple Leafs can return to the Game 1–3 form we saw in the Battle of Ontario, then they absolutely have a chance against the Panthers.
Before the series began, General Manager Brad Treliving said, “The past is the past.” The Maple Leafs have a fresh slate heading into the second round. All they have to do is seize the opportunity and write a new chapter.
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