Two for two: The other half of the Toronto Maple Leafs split-squad beat the Senators by the same 4-1 scoreline on Wednesday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Player Notes
Patrick Marleau (#12) – This is Marleau’s 21st training camp/preseason. He was smart all over the ice, but he wasn’t pushing himself too hard, nor does he need to. He got himself on the scoresheet with a nice setup on the Matthews 1-0 goal. Marleau finished right near the top of the fitness testing when he showed up to camp this Fall at age 39. He hasn’t lost even the half stride that would make life in the NHL difficult at his age. He’s still got it — the separation speed and hockey IQ that has enabled him to thrive in the league and play at such a high level for so long late into his career.
Auston Matthews (#34) – He was sloppy and trying too hard at times in the opening 20. He had some trouble figuring out where his two linemates like the puck; it all looked rather choppy feeding pucks onto Ennis’ backhand all night. He was skating well, though, and he found his breakthrough in the second period. It is going to be very interesting to see Nylander back on that line with Matthews and Marleau. They missed the quick transition plays that he and Nylander are famous for and feed off of.
Tyler Ennis (#63) — He had three big defensive stops in the first that stopped either a goal or high-danger scoring chance. Great work with successive cutbacks down low to open space on the Matthews goal from Marleau, which he did a lot of the heavy lifting on. He’d be a better fit on his proper side, which is the plan once Nylander joins the fold.
Ennis had other chances he couldn’t convert: a nice pass to Matthews for a tap-in/redirect that went off the post as well as a net drive/wrap around that he wasn’t able to bury on. He’s excellent at digging for pucks in the offensive zone and playing the puck in his skates. Good debut, but the line lacked fluidity to their puck movement and were guilty of some bad turnovers in bad places.
Andreas Johnsson (#18) – He was skating fine and was engaged, but he didn’t do a lot with the puck. His line didn’t in general; granted, they were tasked with some heavier checking roles against good players. Johnsson was singled out by Babcock after the game as a player that has more to give. Considering he wasn’t dangerous offensively at any point in the game against the Ottawa Senators B squad, you can understand why.
Par Lindholm (#26) – Nice debut. He has the right stance when he doesn’t have the puck — weight positioned back on his heels, he wiggles / changes direction to gain speed or trim it off and to steer play efficiently. He’s a good skater who is strong on his feet and should fit in well on a really fast Leafs team; he didn’t look like he was water skiing behind Johnsson — who is quick — or Kapanen, who is among the top-ten fastest players in the league. He has good anticipatory skills on the defensive side of the puck. The game didn’t seem too fast for him on the smaller ice.
Kasperi Kapanen (#24) – He had some power play time on the halfwall, but he seemed to regularly run himself out of options and make the play he had to make rather than the one he wanted to make. He was thrown out on the penalty kill whenever possible which is a role he will be expected to play in the regular season. The line didn’t lack effort, but their play with the puck was sloppy. Again, it’s the first game of the preseason. Like Johnsson, Babcock somewhat called him out after the game as he left something to be desired in terms of making plays.
Pierre Engvall (#47) – Very noticeable all night as a big man (6’3) with a powerful stride. He’s committed in his battles and skilled at controlling the puck through sticks and legs. He plays a North American power game — able to initiate contact and drive through checks — mixed with some Swedish possession-style curl-ups, pass backs, etc.
Engvall’s an interesting player that caught our eye as a potential future NHLer back when he played the final regular-season games on the Marlies. He’s an archetype that the Leafs sorely lack in their system and he could arguably be a Leaf this year if not for a log-jam of players in front of him who have put the time in and are more familiar to the coaching staff.
Frederik Gauthier (#33) – Before he left the game injured, he looked a bit out of time with the tempo of the play. He is not a pretty player to watch, but he still makes smart defensive plays that are subtle and help his linemates out. The lack of ability to play uptempo is always a struggle with The Goat. Does he pass through waivers if he gets sent back down to the Marlies?
Josh Jooris (#36) – Ugly, choppy skater with poor offensive instincts. It’s the first game of the preseason and it takes some time for players to get their legs and game underneath them, but there was very little to like about his game, starting with the penalty kill; he was guilty of collapsing back off the point for no good reason — Engvall, too — and allowing the Senators to move the puck around as they pleased.
Adam Brooks (#77) – Brooks is an interesting little player. He is not an NHLer at this stage, but he’s been a late bloomer each step of the way on his development path. He was a slow starter for the Marlies last season and Sheldon Keefe eased him into the lineup, but he’s smart. He needs to become stronger and faster; that, allied with his good mental makeup and drive, might allow him to play at the highest level one day. He struggled with the stronger, faster players, but he had a number of good touches that made him look like he belonged — at least in a preseason game.
Jeremy Bracco (#59) – A great cross-ice feed for Matthews on the power play and a nice finish on the Rosen pass, but otherwise it was a struggle playing against bigger players for the diminutive and not-quite-fast-enough forward. Some skating instruction would move his career along a bit quicker if his feet could keep up with his mind and great passing vision. He’s regularly locking his knees from a standstill and is not able to explode onto loose pucks like he should be able to. He is shy of contact and backs out of plays if he knows he’s getting pancaked, which can negatively impact his shifts. Simply not competitive enough on loose pucks or when fighting through checks.
Martin Marincin (#52) – One step forward, two steps back. It’s preseason for everyone and Marincin was no exception. He was late to close in front of the net (along with Zaitsev) for the Senators power play goal, which is notable — if Marincin is going to make the team, penalty killing would be a big reason why.
Calle Rosen (#48) – An inauspicious start including a bad turnover turned into a nice game once he got his legs underneath of him skating with the puck and pushing the play up ice. Nice passes and good reads through the neutral zone. He struggled to maintain control of the puck under a heavy forecheck, but he seemed to deal with it better as the game wore on. Beautiful setup on the Bracco goal.
Travis Dermott injured his shoulder in the first game of the preseason versus Ottawa and it’s not known how long he will be out for and how it will impact his camp. Rosen’s strong play and the unknown nature of Dermott’s injury might open up one more training camp battle now for the bottom pair LHD spot — once assumed a lock for Dermott.
Connor Carrick (#8) – A rough night for Carrick. He was moving the puck slowly and passes were getting through him. He was getting beat to the net and beat off the wall. We’ll see how the rest of camp goes — these players are easing their way back into the season — but Carrick is a bubble player and needs to play with more urgency. Not a great first preseason showing.
Rasmus Sandin (#78) – Slippery and poised against the forecheck; he makes clever little reads and bump passes to get himself out of danger. His pairing alongside Liljegren had a few nice sustained o-zone shifts where they worked the puck around and threw pucks on net. He didn’t look intimidated in the face of NHL opposition. A jump right into the AHL might not be out of the question, but the evaluation period is just getting started.
Timothy Liljegren (#37) – Liljegren looks thicker this year, but he still lacks for hockey strength and explosiveness in his stride. He got spun around early in the game on the forecheck and noticeably whiffed on pucks in the first half of the contest. He did make some subtle, smart plays alongside Sandin.
Frederik Andersen (#31) – Really sharp 40 warmup minutes for Andersen. Here’s hoping it translates into a strong preseason overall followed by the strong start to the regular season that’s eluded Andersen since his arrival in Toronto.
