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The Maple Leafs looked sharp, determined and detailed — especially for a preseason game — easily handling the Detroit Red Wings in their final game of the 2014 preseason.
The Leafs‘ few days off allowed the coaching staff to work with a roster that will more closely resemble the opening night iteration and continue to refine some system tweaks that were so direly needed.
What was apparent in tonight’s game was that the points were better covered off and the swarm was only activating when appropriate. They didn’t overcommit on offensive zone forechecks and provided good structure through the netural zone with ample backpressure. Forwards supported well down low and supplied the improved defensive makeup with clean passing outlets for much of the sixty minutes.
The defense was aggressive in stepping up on players leaving the zone, in the netural zone and on zone entries, moved the puck quickly to forwards that were generally in the correct position, hitting them with passes while in flight. They were also aggressive in stepping up on the play, joining the rush and showed off impressive mobility as a group.
Detroit obviously played a poor game and were generally last on pucks, skated into the ground by a much faster team. Toronto dominated them, but how much of that was them getting to the rink late, still working through roster decisions, etc., it’s hard to say. But there’s something to be said about the Leafs getting something close to a full-roster together and playing well—even considering preseason is meaningless.
Leafs win 5-1 over the Red Wings. Outshooting them 36-21. 29ES, 2SH, 5PP. A step in the right direction.
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) October 4, 2014
Player Notes:
- Joffrey Lupul – Had a decent game, but was trying to be overly fancy at times. As always, looked more engaged in the offensive zone than he did in the defensive zone. Led the team with 5 shots on goal and was a scoring threat all night.
- Nazem Kadri – Had an up-and-down night. Took two penalties (the bad kind), but is looking a little stronger on the puck this year versus last year. Made some curious plays that resulted in dangerous turnovers. Had a couple of nice solo rushes and displayed his hands on more than one occasion.
- Josh Leivo – Left the bench a couple times injured after blocking a shot and feeling some lingering side effects shortly thereafter. He didn’t jump off the page to me, but didn’t look out of place. He has probably earned a spot on the team, but the decision also rests on who’s injured and who is going to be put on waivers.
- JVR – Another really good game from JVR. He was hard on pucks, made a number of good individual plays, caused problems in front of Jonas Gustavsson and looked composed when the puck was on his stick. Could take yet another step this year.
- Mike Santorelli – Was the best centerman for the Leafs tonight. Good on the forecheck, made smart plays with and without the puck, and showed a consistent, strong work ethic throughout the entire game.
- William Nylander – Similar to the rest of his preseason, he had flashes of offensive creativity, but played a lot on the outside for most of the evening. The only decision is whether he goes to the AHL or SEL.
- Carter Ashton – Did not have a good game. Had the puck on his stick in a number of situations that could have turned into scoring chances, only to skate himself into corners and/or mishandle the puck. Seem to be behind the play a lot or arriving late on the scene. Will likely be placed on waivers based on his preseason play.
- Peter Holland – Another player who needs to make an impression and didn’t. A little slow on back checks, didn’t stop on pucks, and struggled handling the puck whenever he had it. Had a few opportunities to create a scoring chance, but ended up killing a few plays on his own. If the Leafs weren’t so thin at center, there would be a solid chance he wouldn’t make the opening night roster.
- Matt Frattin – Another player who needed to have a big showing and showed no determination on loose pucks, made poor decisions with the puck when he had it (blind between the leg passes while facing the boards x2) and bobbled pucks all night when there was a chance to make a play. When the chips were down, Ashton, Holland and Frattin looked like the worst players on the team.
- Daniel Winnik – Solid, sound and safe minutes from Winnik tonight. Good on the puck with Komarov, hard on his board battles, and moved the puck efficiently.
- Leo Komarov – Was a noticeable force all night (as usual). First on the forecheck, made the right play with the puck when he had it, defensively responsible and played wing and center all evening (even strength and on the PK). This is a better team for having Leo on it.
- Brandon Kozun – Could make a case for Kozun being the first star tonight. Started on the third line, was promoted to the Kadri line, and played in all situations. Beautiful goal and played flat out whistle-to-whistle. A complete demon on the forecheck and forced Detroit’s D to make decisions with the puck a lot of faster than they were comfortable doing. Got knocked down a tonne and popped back up without any signs of slowing down. A great story and surely a lock to make the team. Ashton, Frattin, Holland: please take note.
- Dion Phaneuf – Two goals and nearly a hat trick. Looked a lot better in this D pairing than he has in the past, was engaged in the rush, pinched well and at the right times. Did a great job backing forwards off entering the zone by stripping and moving the puck efficiently, smothering the play or driving players wide. Hard to say if the system changes are helping (they seem to be), or if having a better D partner is helping (he did), or playing the left side is helping Dion, but so far so good. A couple of gaffs misplaying the puck, but it was on his stick a lot (played 20mins) and the good outweighed the bad.
- Stephane Robidas – It’s remarkable that this was his first game of the year. Crisp passes—hard and tape to tape—when moving the puck quickly and confidently, rushed the puck a number of times, drifted in quietly from the point and generally made the D look a lot more complete than it has in recent years. Was a big fan of the deal when the Leafs signed him and am confident in saying that Leaf fans are going to love this guy.
- Jake Gardiner – Had a good game, but was responsible for missing his lost man-on-man battle and coverage that allowed the lone goal to be set up uncontested. Had a couple of turnovers you’re always going to want to see erased from his game, but he was his effective self on offence. On the power play with Rielly, they looked dynamic and are certainly developing chemistry and confidence together.
- Roman Polak – Certainly a meat and potatoes defenceman and, getting entirely too far ahead of oneself, maybe this is the one the Leafs have been trying to find for so many years (fingers crossed). Good timing on pinches, played at a fast pace, good gap control, hit a post pinching down into the slot, and generally was engaged in the play. Noticed him on the ice, but for all the right reasons. Nasty piece of business.
- Stuart Percy – This was his best preseason game so far. Poised and made intelligent plays and beat the forecheck consistently; when he was getting bodied, he was still able to hold onto the puck and make smart, safe plays. Obviously well known as a heady player and he displayed that tonight.
- Morgan Rielly – Looks to have found another gear in his development. Had the puck on his stick a lot and looked more confident than he did for the most part last season. It’s apparent he was told to work on his shot, because he’s got some heat on his shots and is more confident shooting vs deferring to his D partner. He looked good all night long and this is certainly what the Leafs were hoping for when they said they expected him to take the next step.
- Jonathan Bernier – Cool, calm, composed. Never looked like he was playing beyond himself. Challenged shooters and rarely looked surprised by shots. There was some confusion with the D playing the puck a couple of times, but half (Percy, Polak, Robidas) of them are new players and they’ve yet to develop timing together. Looked great.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings -- October 3, 2014
| PLAYER | POS | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | S | HITS | BKS | GVA | TKA | FO% | PP TOI | SH TOI | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D. Phaneuf | D | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | 3:11 | 3:42 | 19:48 |
| S. Robidas | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | 0:02 | 4:32 | 19:26 |
| J. Lupul | L | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 3:12 | 0:00 | 17:58 |
| J. van Riemsdyk | L | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 50% | 3:12 | 1:10 | 15:38 |
| P. Holland | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55% | 2:11 | 0:00 | 16:25 |
| M. Santorelli | C | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 53% | 3:12 | 0:00 | 13:56 |
| D. Winnik | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 64% | 0:00 | 5:59 | 13:21 |
| J. Leivo | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0:00 | 0:00 | 12:35 |
| C. Ashton | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 0:02 | 0:08 | 10:47 |
| M. Frattin | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0:02 | 0:00 | 12:54 |
| N. Kadri | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60% | 2:09 | 0:00 | 16:41 |
| M. Rielly | D | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | 2:10 | 0:43 | 18:06 |
| R. Polak | D | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 0:00 | 2:49 | 21:08 |
| L. Komarov | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 50% | 0:00 | 5:04 | 12:00 |
| S. Percy | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 2:34 | 3:37 | 19:08 |
| J. Gardiner | D | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 2:49 | 0:00 | 22:39 |
| W. Nylander | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 1:13 | 0:00 | 13:19 |
| B. Kozun | R | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | 0:56 | 1:42 | 14:11 |
| GOALIE | |||||||||||||||
| PLAYER | SV-SH | SV% | PIM | TOI | |||||||||||
| J. Bernier | 20 - 21 | 0.952 | 0 | 60:00:00 |
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red Wings Advanced Stats
| Player | All Situations | ES | PP | PK | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position | CF | CA | Corsi | CF | CA | Corsi | CF | CA | Corsi | CF | CA | Corsi |
| 3 | DION PHANEUF | D | 27 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | STEPHANE ROBIDAS | D | 20 | 20 | 0 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | JOFFREY LUPUL | R | 18 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK | L | 24 | 13 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | PETER HOLLAND | C | 17 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | MIKE SANTORELLI | C | 22 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | DANIEL WINNIK | C | 5 | 12 | -7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | JOSH LEIVO | L | 9 | 12 | -3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | CARTER ASHTON | R | 5 | 6 | -1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MATT FRATTIN | R | 9 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | NAZEM KADRI | C | 17 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | MORGAN RIELLY | D | 16 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 45 | JONATHAN BERNIER | G | 57 | 47 | 10 | 43 | 37 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| 46 | ROMAN POLAK | D | 15 | 17 | -2 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 47 | LEO KOMAROV | C | 4 | 13 | -9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -8 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 50 | STUART PERCY | D | 18 | 14 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 51 | JAKE GARDINER | D | 19 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 62 | WILLIAM NYLANDER | C | 19 | 6 | 13 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 67 | BRANDON KOZUN | R | 18 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Toronto Maple Leafs 5, Detroit Red Wings 1 – Game Highlights:
