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This game was an abject waste of everybody’s time. On top of being one of the poorer-played games we’ve ever seen out of two NHL teams, the refs’ eagerness to call everything and anything made it a choppy, special-team-dominated affair. 18 minor penalties and one major penalty were assessed in sixty minutes of truly uninspiring hockey.

The teams split 11 shots in the first period despite six penalties being assessed. The Maple Leafs won last night after allowing 38 shots on goal, and lost tonight after allowing just 17.

The biggest positive after this eighth game of preseason: Just one more to go. Preseason’s too long and water is wet.leafs-wings-quick-stats

Take the following notes with a grain of salt given the nature of the game.

Quick notes:

  • The Leafs powerplay – really, really bad as the oh-fer eight would indicate. Completely lost without Kessel on the half wall, they generated very few scoring chances even on their 5 on 3s. Struggled over and over to gain the zone with possession or while still onside. Special teams were obviously the difference in this game (Wings were 2 for 8).
  • Brandon Kozun – Despite minimal ice time (8:51), he got himself into some offensive chances by stretching the ice with his speed, but ended up shooting it into the bread basket on two partial breakaways. Threw a dirty hit from behind on Stephen Weiss; not a good play, but he was showing the urgency you’d expect from someone with a lot more at stake than the established players. Threw a nice no look pass out front to Kadri for the Leafs‘ only good chance of their four first period powerplays.
  • Jake Gardiner – Was flying and ripped a couple of great stretch passes. Play was generally going the right way with him out there. Rielly and Gardiner have both had good preseasons and while that doesn’t mean much per se, those two taking a step forward is going to be of crucial importance as far as this team’s playoff chances go.
  • Joffrey Lupul – Looks more comfortable in the offensive zone when operating on the left side, where he likes to shield the puck on his forehand working out from the corner. We knew this already, but it’s usually pretty obvious every time he plays on RW. Interested to see where Carlyle slots him in opening night.
  • Dion Phaneuf – While generally a bit lacking in refinement so far this preseason (passes seem a little off, bobbling the puck in the PPQB position), he rang the crossbar twice with really nice wrist shots. Has gotten his fair share of offensive looks in the preseason and that’s a good thing.
  • Matt Frattin – Good first two preseason games, but has quieted right down since. Sat on the bench a lot this game, seeing just over eight minutes of ice, after playing just 12 minutes the other night. He’ll likely get a chance to start the year with the big team regardless, and I think the Leafs would be remiss not to give him a healthy opportunity to start the year, but we know from 2012-13 that Carlyle won’t hesitate to scratch him if he doesn’t like the consistency of his efforts. [quote_box_center]Frattin has had a mediocre camp,” said Carlyle. “Frattin needs to find a way to regenerate some enthusiasm. I feel sorry for him right now. The puck is not his friend. It’s going away from him versus bouncing for him.
    “He’s a guy who has to be physical. And usually when he’s physical, goals follow him around. – Randy Carlyle on Matt Frattin[/quote_box_center]
  • Not much ice for Mike Santorelli either (12 minutes), but he did win 7 of 12 draws. Pretty quiet preseason but he does cover the ice well and will need to step up and be a cog at C for the Leafs this season.
  • Roman Polak – Decent game. Prone to throwing the puck away, but he clogs lanes, outmuscles people down low and holds the offensive blueline reasonably well. Not too shy to creep in off the point and isn’t so slow that it’s suicide. Did so while shorthanded in the second period and nearly got caught, but Komarov also should’ve scored on that play thanks to the rebound he generated.
  • Peter Holland – Looked pretty good breaking up plays killing penalties. Saw over five minutes of SHTOI. Has to win more than 14% of his draws. Found Nylander with a beautiful pass to the backpost in the 2nd that should’ve been converted.
  • Individual assessments were hard to make in a game this bad and penalty laden.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red WIngs Shot Chart

NO.PLAYERPOSGAP+/-PIMSHITSFO%PP TOISH TOITOI
3D. PhaneufD0000022-8:566:5225:52:00
19J. LupulL000-1411-7:100:0019:13
21J. van RiemsdykL000-1011-7:540:3318:15
24P. HollandC000001014%6:055:0619:17
25M. SantorelliC000000158%1:382:1812:12
26D. WinnikC0000202100%0:006:0212:09
32J. LeivoL0000410-0:000:029:49
39M. FrattinR0000003-0:000:518:35
42T. BozakC000-102159%7:220:2017:01
43N. KadriC000-102142%6:090:0215:58
44M. RiellyD000-1041-6:492:1823:04
46R. PolakD0000231-0:035:1315:32
47L. KomarovC000000233%0:554:4011:53
50S. PercyD000-1002-5:433:4617:10
51J. GardinerD0000022-8:490:3023:56
55K. HolzerD0000412-0:343:1115:10
62W. NylanderC0000030-6:180:0014:00
67B. Kozun

 

Game Highlights:

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Alec Brownscombe is the founder and editor of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He's published five magazines on the team entitled "The Maple Leafs Annual" with distribution in Chapters and newsstands across the country. He also co-hosted "The Battle of the Atlantic," a weekly show on TSN1200 that covered the Leafs and the NHL in-depth. Alec is a graduate of Trent University and Algonquin College with his diploma in Journalism. In 2014, he was awarded Canada's Best Hockey Blogger honours by Molson Canadian. You can contact him at alec.brownscombe@mapleleafshotstove.com.