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The Leafs’ disappointing season finished with one of their stronger performances of 2015, against a playoff-bound Montreal team.

The Leafs out-chanced Montreal in the first period, and despite blowing a lead in less than twenty seconds, they finished the period ahead after Casey Bailey’s first NHL goal. The two teams were again essentially even in chances during the second period, but a late Canadiens goal left the game tied going to the third. Montreal then seized control of the game, out-chancing Toronto 9-0 in the first ten minutes of the third, but couldn’t get a goal. Toronto managed to even things out over the final stretch of regulation. Neither team managed to score the rest of the way, and the game went to a shoot-out, which Montreal won.

StatusOverallEven StrengthES Close
TeamTORMTL%TORMTL%TORMTL%
16460.0%6460.0%6460.0%
27558.3%5362.5%5362.5%
361037.5%5550.0%5550.0%
42340.0%1233.3%1233.3%
Total212248.8%171454.8%171454.8%

The Leafs had a strong start, out-chancing the Habs 11-7 through two periods, and held onto that advantage in the third. Montreal had a number of power-play chances in that third, but all went for naught.

ClubStPTimeTScOscNoteTorontoMontreal
MTLES119:4500Galchenyuk wraparound4281212345142711767931
TORES118:0200Bailey from Holland243720445145812225767931
MTLES116:3400Gallagher wide from Plekanec42812135745142711267431
TORES116:0200GOAL! Kessel wraparound428121335745142711267431
MTLES115:4610GOAL! Desharnais from giveaway154318445145511521767931
MTLES111:5411Eller from De la Rose243719335745812225286431
TORES105:5611GOAL! Bailey deflects Phaneuf shot2437192345511521267431
TORES104:2021Kadri wide from Brewer1543182345142711767931
TORES102:1521Bailey drives2437202345812225286431
TORES101:5521Lupul wide from Holland1524192345812225647631
MTLES219:0121GOAL! Plekanec from Markov42812134445142721767931
TORES216:3222Lindstrom drives wide154318445145511521767931
MTLES215:5122Flynn from loose puck24371944514517328286431
TORES214:5722Bozak from Van Riemsdyk428121445145812225767931
TORES214:4922GOAL! Bozak from Van Riemsdyk428121445145812225767931
TORPP213:0732Lupul deflects Phaneuf shot wide154319344451425266431-
MTLSH211:1432Plekanec from Galchenyuk242035745-142711767931
TORSH210:3732Holland drives222423345-142711767931
MTLSH209:5932Desharnais from loose puck221823345-511521262831
TORES201:3832Phaneuf from loose puck428135145-1411767931-
TORES201:1832Kessel drives wide4281334445-2751262831-
MTLES200:0932GOAL! De la Rose from giveaway15422135145811525767931
MTLES318:2933Eller deflects Pateryn shot24371935745328125286431
MTLES317:2833Wiese deflects Markov shot wide22282033514517228767931
MTLSH314:4633Gallagher wide from Beaulieu2218335145-142711286431
MTLSH314:3433Gallagher drives2218335145-142711286431
MTLES312:4133Smith-Pelly from rebound of Desharnais shot15431835145511521286431
MTLSH311:2633Markov from Plekanec2218334445-142711767931
MTLSH311:2533Markov from rebound2218334445-142711767931
MTLSH311:1733Galchenyuk deflects Subban shot2218334445-142711767931
MTLES310:0633Gallagher drives42812134445142711747631
TORES309:3933Kadri drives154319335145812225267431
TORES308:2633Kessel drives42812134445142711767931
TORPP305:2033Lupul drives wide431921351458125267431-
TORES303:1433Kessel wide from faceoff42812134445141711767931
TORES303:0733Bozak deflects Rielly shot post42812134445141711767931
MTLES302:5733Plekanec from Gallagher42812134445141125767931
TORES302:4133Van Riemsdyk from Kessel42812135145142125767931
MTLPP403:2133Eller drives428121345-81266431--
TORPP402:5133Phaneuf from Kadri424319345-14266431--
MTLES402:0533Desharnais drives1524445145-5115767931-
MTLES400:3933Plekanec from Subban431833345-1427267631-
TORES400:1533Gardiner from Kessel4281445145-1411267631-

Player-by-Player data:

PlayerOverallEven StrengthES Close
ForAgainstDiffTOIForAgainstDiffTOIForAgainstDiff
Brewer52312:1641311:20413
Phaneuf1211128:5699020:53990
Lindstrom54117:2944014:49440
Panik29-714:1023-111:4323-1
Lupul63315:1933011:54330
Booth22012:3421109:57211
Van Riemsdyk87120:0076114:51761
Sill17-609:3101-106:3101-1
Holland55015:1044011:51440
Orr01-106:0601-106:0601-1
Erixon49-519:3733014:57330
Bailey33009:0133009:01330
Bozak117422:16106417:091064
Kadri63320:0733016:42330
Rielly109128:0696322:12963
Gardiner98125:4386221:53862
MacWilliam14-313:5813-210:5513-2
Kessel106421:41105517:001055
Bernier2122-165:001714350:5617143

With big changes potentially afoot for this roster in the off-season, this could be the last time we see this top line together. If it is, they at least made their farewell a good one, with a strong offensive performance. The top line generated the majority of the Leafs‘ chances, and Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel finished as the top Leaf players in chance differential. The other two top lines were about even, with both Nazem Kadri and Peter Holland ending up exactly even. For Kadri, as well as for Joakim Lindstrom, finishing even was a strong performance, as they had among the highest defensive zone start ratios on the team. Colton Orr, who was called up for a final game with the Leafs, played only a few minutes, and had little impact in terms of chances.

Hope for the future on the blue line rests with Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly, and both had strong games to finish off their 2014-15 seasons. Gardiner had the most defensive zone start percentage of the defencemen, but still managed to be on for a good number of chances, and finished in the positive. Rielly also had a fairly defensive ZS ratio, but was the best on the blue line at ES, +3, while leading the team in ES ice-time. Eric Brewer seems certain to have played his last Leaf game, and had a strong night, on for just one Habs chance at ES. Dion Phaneuf, whose future is much more up in the air, was even in a high-event night, on for a lot of chances at both ends. Tim Erixon managed to finish even, despite getting tougher zone starts than usual, while Andrew MacWilliam was in the negative at a team worst -2.

Cumulative numbers this season:

OverallPos#Even StrengthES Close
ForAgainst%TOIForAgainst%
LindstromF19475048.5%09:44323051.6%
KadriF7335337348.6%14:5820921249.6%
PolakD5628634645.3%17:5417418848.1%
RiellyD8144748847.8%17:0824527447.2%
GardinerD7940844747.7%18:1422326146.1%
PanikF7620822647.9%10:2211513546.0%
BernierG5876589946.0%44:1347555945.9%
KomarovF6219520448.9%12:0110212445.1%
PhaneufD7039247645.2%17:2323228644.8%
SillF21303446.9%07:17151944.1%
SmithF5412915345.7%09:18769843.7%
KesselF8242550745.6%15:0524331543.5%
LupulF5521429442.1%13:1712015943.0%
BozakF8240648945.4%14:5522129642.7%
BrewerD189212243.0%17:41547442.2%
HollandF6217625440.9%11:429713641.6%
Van RiemsdykF8238451642.7%14:5322331941.1%
ReimerG3541852644.3%41:3419528240.9%
CarrickF16233241.8%07:07152438.5%
BoothF5914720441.9%10:318413538.4%
KozunF20284637.8%07:26132237.1%
RobidasD5219226741.8%14:449316336.3%
ErixonD15357133.0%12:43244932.9%
MacWilliamD12265631.7%12:38143628.0%

I’ll have more on the season with a summary post later in the week, but these are the final numbers for the guys who finished the season in the Leafs organization. You can see how poorly Erixon and MacWilliam did, as they are way below the rest of the team at the bottom of the table. A contributor to the Leafs’ struggles down the stretch is how bad that third pairing was. Leo Komarov finished the season as the best Leaf at ES overall, while Joakim Lindstrom is the only current Leaf to out-chance opponents at ES Close while on the ice this year.