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The Maple Leafs had one of their strongest showings of the season, and were somewhat unlucky to only be ahead 2-1 after two periods despite dominating the chances in the first forty minutes.

They were able to hold off the Canucks in the third, despite a ferocious Vancouver finish, and extended their winning streak to three.

The chances favoured the Leafs, as the power-play was strong early, and a hot start to the third countered a good Vancouver finish. Overall, ES possession went to Vancouver by a modest margin, while the two teams were almost dead even in terms of zone entries, though Vancouver dominated controlled entries as they pushed for a win in the closing minutes.

TeamChances1st2nd3rdESESCloseESCh%NZEnt%ContEntOppContEnt
Tor2369814558.3%50.0%44.9%42.0%
Van1644810441.7%50.0%--

There was a moment in the third when Glenn Healey mentioned the last eight chances had gone to Vancouver. My count agrees that there was a strong stretch midway through the third, centered around a pair of Canuck power-plays, but that was an aberration, as other than that the Leafs dominated. After Vancouver got their first goal, the Leafs responded with six of the next seven chances, and despite a ton of possession, the Canucks managed only one chance in the last four minutes, while the Leafs had a strong shift that ended with Lupul’s insurance goal.

PeriodTimeSTSOTeamHowStateT1T2T3T4T5T6O1O2O3O4O5O6
118:1000VanCracknell wide from DorsettES3243440515681415232430
116:5900TorKomarov deflects Polak shotES2134364346472617203091
115:4800VanH Sedin from D SedinES21516263444222730333644
112:2800VanVrbata post from HigginsES31523344251172027304491
112:1300VanMcCann from VrbataES31523344251172027304491
111:3700TorGOAL! Van Riemsdyk from KadriES2134364346472618304753
109:2210TorKadri from Van RiemsdykES31521344351172027304453
103:1310TorLupul from KadriPP31921344347823303653
103:1210TorKomarov from reboundPP31921344347823303653
101:1910TorRielly from loose puckES21634404456172227303344
217:2910TorBozak from GardinerPP152426344251230364453
213:0010VanD Sedin from H SedinPP31921344347822233033
211:4810TorHolland from GardinerPP1524344244518202330
211:4610TorParenteau post from reboundPP1524344244518202330
211:1910TorParenteau from HollandPP1524344244518202330
211:0910TorGOAL! Parenteau from HollandPP152434424451820233053
208:3320VanWeber from CracknellES1523343642462614152430
208:1720VanBurrows wraparoundES1523343642462614152430
207:2220TorD Sedin wraparoundES21619263444222730333644
205:1120TorGrabner penalty shotSH234404656142223303336
204:3520TorFroese drivesSH22334465661727305391
203:2720VanGOAL! Hansen drivesES321344344472622303336
201:2621TorHolland wide from FroeseES3243440515661720273091
319:4421TorSpaling from HunwickES2161926344482223303336
318:1921TorParenteau drivesES152334364246182730444753
318:1121TorGOAL! Matthias from BozakES152334364246182730444753
313:1931TorMatthias drivesES31523344251172027304491
314:3931VanHansen drivesES216192634442622303336
312:3631TorSpaling from reboundES2161926344482223303336
309:2431VanGOAL! Burrows deflects Weber shotSH21634404661422233033
307:5532VanWeber from H SedinSH21623344461422233033
307:1632VanVrbata drives wideSH343640465661727303391
306:4132VanMcCann from VrbataSH343640465681727303391
305:0432VanHiggins from CracknellES2134434447512815202430
304:3732VanEdler from BurrowsES15233443445161415233033
303:5132TorLupul from SpalingES2161926344662227303336
303:5032TorWinnik from reboundES2161926344662227303336
303:4932TorGOAL! Lupul from reboundES2161926344662227303336
302:1142VanH Sedin from loose puckEN334424647562617223336

Leafs Player Data

PlayerESChFESChAESCh%ESTOIZS%NZ%ContEntOppContEnt
Lupul6185.7%14:2720.0%57.9%31.8%50.0%
Spaling7277.8%17:2412.5%54.2%34.6%36.4%
Winnik6275.0%15:0816.7%53.8%38.1%50.0%
Grabner2166.7%08:2322.2%45.8%54.5%38.5%
Froese2166.7%11:2815.4%41.9%53.8%38.9%
Van Riemsdyk3260.0%13:0562.5%48.8%50.0%33.3%
Holland1150.0%07:5628.6%46.2%66.7%42.9%
Kadri3350.0%13:3762.5%47.5%52.6%42.9%
Komarov2250.0%13:2155.6%43.6%52.9%36.4%
Bozak3442.9%11:4944.4%50.0%50.0%42.9%
Parenteau4640.0%10:5550.0%53.3%37.5%50.0%
Matthias3537.5%10:2150.0%53.3%37.5%50.0%
Hunwick7277.8%18:5012.5%54.0%33.3%39.1%
Polak7277.8%15:5831.3%47.5%42.1%42.9%
Harrington4266.7%11:0038.5%50.0%43.8%43.8%
Rielly4544.4%18:4516.7%53.7%41.4%44.0%
Phaneuf3442.9%17:3140.0%47.9%56.5%40.0%
Gardiner3537.5%17:5050.0%46.2%54.2%42.9%

Joffrey Lupul, Nick Spaling and Daniel Winnik drew a tough assignment, going up against the Sedins, and they thrived under the challenge, putting together one of their best performances of the year. They out-chanced Vancouver’s big line, with all three on for at least six ES chances, and they were able to win the neutral zone battle as well. This line has typically been decent, but not great, with tough assignments, and doing this well was a huge reason the Leafs won.

The top line was even, and Tyler Bozak also finished near that mark, creating a couple of chances each, but not really having a major offensive impact.

Matt Hunwick had another great game, as he and Morgan Rielly ended up on against the Sedins’ primarily, and teamed with the Lupul line to have a good night. Rielly ends up a lot lower in the table because his relatively few shifts with other partners often featured Canuck chances.

Roman Polak also had a strong night, as he started with Scott Harrington, but began to feature more, especially on the penalty kill, while Scott Harrington’s ice time dropped in the third period. Jake Gardiner again finished in the negative, as he and Dion Phaneuf had another relatively weak game, though their zone entry numbers were very good.