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This was an improved effort by the Maple Leafs, and a more palatable defeat than what took place in Buffalo on Tuesday.

The second period was arguably the Leafs‘ best of the preseason, as it featured a decisive Toronto advantage in offensive-zone possession. The Leafs generated several scoring chances off the cycle and produced 15 shot attempts in the final five minutes of the period alone.

There’s still tonnes to clean up, but maybe it’s something for Mike Babcock and his staff to build on. The expectation level may be low, but Leafs fans won’t have much patience for losses like the one in Buffalo on Tuesday. They might be able to take their medicine if it tastes something more like tonight’s effort.


Notes:

  • Zach Hyman is making a good case to hang around for the start of the season, as he looks like he could contribute in an energy role on the fourth line. He’s been an energy provider: keeps his feet moving at all times, willing to go to the dirty areas, wins battles. He helped generate a couple chances tonight with tireless efforts down low. He made the most of his limited minutes, which is what you look for in a lower roster option. Babcock says he likes his “heavy” game, mentioned he was interested in Hyman when he was in Detroit, and that he thought Hyman looked NHL ready at Michigan last year.
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  • Richard Panik had the fewest shifts of all Leaf players tonight (12). Hyman is gunning for his spot and outshone him, frankly. Going to be interesting to see how it all shakes down after the final preseason game tomorrow.
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  • Babcock called it Tyler Bozak‘s best game of the preseason. A coincidence it came apart from JvR? Probably not. Matthias –  Bozak – Lupul / JvR – Kadri – Winnik might be worth rolling with for a few games.
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  • Good game from Daniel Winnik, who is a good opposite-wing complement for JvR or Lupul because he’s reliable on all the little things they don’t do well. We know the drill with Winnik by now: He’s not what you would call a traditional top-six forward, but he’s so efficient at managing the puck and getting to loose pucks first that he makes it work. He’s seen top six minutes periodically in his last three stops (Anaheim, TO, Pittsburgh) for a reason — he starts plays and keeps them alive. It was a good night out, including a big hand in the opening goal. Nice to have Mr. Reliable back in Blue and White.
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  • Nazem Kadri‘s best moment was his hustle back to dive and break up developing danger in the defensive zone in the second period. Still noticing he’s struggling to stay on his feet at times this preseason, and still looking for that added bit of strength and explosiveness he reportedly added in the offseason.
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  • Thought it was a mixed bag kind of night from Morgan Rielly. The bad: He ended up a dash three on the evening, had his fair share of giveaways, and seemed to be forcing it at times. He had two shifts where he was noticeably frustrated, once when he couldn’t get the puck to settle down for him (he slammed his stick afterward), and again when he missed the net entirely on a great look from between the circles. What you love about Rielly is that his vast talents inevitably shine through because he stays determined and keeps coming back. He had a couple of strong rushes, and a nice give and go with Kasperi Kapanen led to the second-period breakthrough after he generated a rebound for Mark Arcobello to finish off. At the end of the night, the Leafs generated 26 shot attempts for with Rielly on the ice on a night when no other Leaf was on for more than 20.
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  • Also, Rielly and Polak needed to communicate better on the 2-0 goal, as both backed right off Henrik Zetterberg, who did what you’d expect with time and space in the middle of the offensive zone. Roman Polak played 16:30 with a minute and a half on the PK, and was on for 11 shot attempts for and 22 against – the worst differential among all players on both teams tonight, but Babcock gave him mostly d-zone starts (38% OZS).
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  • It’s been a slightly concerning preseason from Dion Phaneuf. He has worn down late in seasons the last few years, and tends to look better out of the gates the next Fall, but he hasn’t looked all that refreshed so far. He’s a second late on a lot of plays right now, and his turnover to Brad Richards on the empty net goal was a bit embarrassing for him. Can’t really judge until the games start mattering, I suppose.
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  • The struggles continue for Stephane Robidas. He got stripped badly by Johan Franzen leading to a scoring chance Reimer bailed him out on. He has an ongoing issue with protecting himself from hits as he is getting wallpapered frequently, and you wince at the sight of him adding more mileage to an already war-torn body. The Robidas – Dion pairing was quickly abandoned, and in fairness it clearly had a limited chance of success from the start. He looked okay with Gardiner, but does the veteran’s benefit of the doubt run out soon? The Leafs don’t have a tonne of young D banging down the door yet and he’s a right-handed option, keeping him on the big-club roster for now, but he looks likely to be in and out of the pressbox at this point.
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  • As for James Reimer — thought he held the Leafs in it at points, when it could’ve been worse than 2-1 after 20. The .897 save percentage was a harsh reflection on the overall performance.

 

All Situations Possession Stats

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Mike Babcock Post Game Presser