Advertisement

The Toronto Maple Leafs closed out October on a winning note, as two goals from William Nylander and strong team defense powered a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Scotiabank Arena. 

This was a bit of a sleepy, low-event contest, but the Leafs never trailed. They jumped out to a lead late in the first period, poured it on over the next 10 minutes of game time, and never let the Kraken back in it.

Matthew Knies picked up another goal (his fifth in his last six), Auston Matthews closed it out with a cheeky empty-netter, and William Nylander headlined the effort with two goals in this star-led victory for the Maple Leafs.

Your game in 10:

1.   There wasn’t a ton of action in the first five or so minutes of the game, only a couple of shots in each direction as the two teams settled in. Toronto appeared to be on the precipice of an A+ look when the Kraken turned it over inside the blue line and Mitch Marner had a free path to the net, but the turnover came because of a trip by Auston Matthews, which left the Leafs shorthanded.

After conceding several PPGs in Winnipeg on Monday, the penalty kill came into tonight looking for a bounce-back effort. The kill didn’t last very long, though; Jordan Eberle got one look all alone, but Joseph Woll made a good save, and not long after, Matty Beniers was whistled for holding Matthew Knies, bringing the Kraken PP to an end. That save by Woll was his first notable one of the night, and it was critical to get the Leafs out of an early bind.

The 4v4 play created the first good Leafs chance — a stellar pass from Max Domi cross-zone to Oliver Ekman-Larsson — but Joey Daccord made the save. The struggling Toronto PP went to an abbreviated opportunity after the Matthews penalty expired, creating one look off a rebound for Knies, but he couldn’t finish in tight.

2.    After those penalties, the two teams returned to 5v5 and began to trade looks at even strength. A weird bounce off the end-boards kicked out to a hard-checking Bobby McMann deep in the Seattle zone, who passed it to William Nylander all alone in the slot. Nylander had a prime look at the net but fired the shot high and wide. Not long after, Nylander was part of a prime transition opportunity; John Tavares found Nylander, who slid it over to Max Pacioretty, but the shot was heeled wide. That wouldn’t be the last time that line stirred the drink.

Seattle came back the other way and created some zone time, putting together a long shift that hemmed the Leafs in. The pressure was relieved once the fourth line came out for Toronto; they were in control and created one good chance for David Kämpf, who snuck behind the defense into the circle and received a pass from Pontus Holmberg. Joey Daccord got over to make the save, but it was a solid minute of zone time that helped win a little momentum back for the Maple Leafs.

3.     Time was dwindling in the first period, but the Leafs headed into the intermission with a bang. With an offensive zone faceoff with under 10 seconds left, Craig Berube put out his top line, hunting for offense. Matthews won the draw forward and zipped a pass through the seam to Marner all alone in front, where Marner made the extra pass he’s famous for. This time, it worked out, as Knies tapped it into the empty net:

Coming with just 4.7 seconds left on the clock, it was a momentum-turning end to a rather sleepy period, and the Leafs went into the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

4.     This game was evidence of the momentum created by late-period goals, as the Leafs seemed to carry over their hot finish to the first period into the start of the second. They picked up right where they left off thanks to a great shift from their best line all night, the second line of Nylander/Tavares/Pacioretty.

They generated a good shift of pressure and created some looks, and when Seattle finally dumped the puck down the ice, the Leafs weren’t done. Morgan Rielly made a quick-up to catch the Kraken off-guard during the period of the long change, creating a transition opportunity off the entry. Tavares lugged the puck in, slowed it down, and handed it off to Rielly, who whipped a dart across to Nylander, and the puck was in the back of the net quickly:

In just a couple of minutes, the game transformed from a low-event stalemate to a comfortable Leafs advantage thanks to a couple of skilled plays by their stars.

5.     The Leafs had begun to wrest control of the game, but the Kraken were gifted a chance to hop back into the contest a few minutes later. Knies was called for holding, and the Toronto PK took the ice for their first full two-minute PK of the game.

To the credit of the Toronto PKers, very little happened for Seattle. The Leafs were in command, kept the shot attempts to the outside, and allowed Woll to play his position and get them through it. They killed it off with little trouble and consolidated the 2-0 lead.

And then the Leafs added to it. Just over three minutes after the expiration of the penalty, the Toronto second line inflicted more damage. Like the previous goal, it came off a transition play following an extended offensive-zone possession.

The Leafs were holding the zone and created an A+ look for Tavares, whose wrap-around try was rejected by Daccord. Seattle cleared, but the Leafs came right back up the ice. Pacioretty was really strong on the puck just outside the blue line to gain the zone, allowing the line to go to work.

Nylander came down the wing and then spun a no-look, backhand pass to the slot for a Pacioretty shot. Daccord kicked that one out, but Tavares hopped on it and made a slick, instinctual backdoor pass to Nylander for a tap-in goal:

This was a pretty display of the chemistry and skill from a line with three current or former 40+ goal scorers. It’s early, but the line combination looks to have staying power.

6.     The Leafs now held a 3-0 lead and continued to do a good job of protecting it, suppressing looks for the Seattle offense. Woll made a study rebound save on Jaden Schwartz, and the team was able to hang in there despite getting hemmed in for an extended period by the Matty Beniers-led top line for Seattle. It wasn’t ideal to see the top line (Matthews & Co.) tilted by the opposition, but they didn’t concede a goal. They also received a little help from the iron not long after, as Eeli Tolvanen hit the post.

Taking the lead to the locker room required closing out the second period with one more penalty kill after Nylander was called for closing his hand on the puck during a board battle. This kill was as solid as first one in the second period, with one specific note: this was a good kill for Pontus Holmberg. His role as a favorite of coach Craig Berube has caught some by surprise, and he hasn’t lived up to the faith shown in him on the PK at times early in the year. On this kill, though, he was positionally sound and active with his stick to good effect, both in the neutral and defensive zones.

7.     The third period was an opportunity for the Maple Leafs — who didn’t close out multi-goal leads convincingly against LA or Winnipeg — to shut a game down comfortably and put it on ice. Attempting to show off their low-event bona fides didn’t start too well, with Marner diving to block a centering pass for the Kraken that was potentially dangerous on the opening shift of the period. Not long afterward, Nylander committed a sloppy turnover that created a look for Oliver Bjorkstrand, but Woll made the save.

The Nylander turnover does merit a little discussion, especially with his quote about desiring more playing time making headlines recently. This was a good Nylander game overall — scoring two goals, with opportunities for more — but that turnover was a small example of the need to be more dialed-in and detail-oriented when the game situation demands it.

8.      Through two periods, the Maple Leafs saw just 1:22 of power play time, coming after the expiration of the 4v4 time in the first period. Finally, in the third period, they got an opportunity to use the full two minutes to get some reps on the struggling power play.

The opportunity came after a nice sequence from Nick Robertson, who attempted a couple of dangles entering the Seattle zone but was eventually poke-checked. The Leafs jumped back on it, and Robertson drove the net and drew an interference call on Adam Larsson. While the scoring hasn’t been there — one point in 10 games — Robertson now leads the team in penalties drawn with five, as he’s done a commendable job of courageously driving to the inside of defenders into the tough areas of the ice.

Toronto went to the PP, and while they didn’t score, this was an excellent power play. The first unit based around Nylander and Tavares created multiple Grade-A looks; Nylander nearly connected with McMann in front for a goal and, Tavares set up Domi, who rang the iron.

The two good looks for Tavares-Nylander unit was followed up by Matthews-Marner creating a look of their own. This one came for Pacioretty in the slot, where he was staring into an empty cage, but the shot was blocked by the stick of Yanni Gourde. The two minutes expired with the Leafs coming up empty, but the process was there even if the results weren’t. For this scuffling Leafs power play, it’s progress.

9.     The Leafs continued to defend extremely well and remained in total control of the game. Moneypuck lists the Kraken as generating just 1.24 expected goals in all situations across the full 60 minutes, and most of those looks came in the first two periods.

The third period, when Seattle should’ve been making a push to get back into a 3-0 game, were nonexistent. The best two 5v5 looks before empty-net time came were both for Toronto — a Nylander/Tavares abbreviated 2v1 and a wrap-around try for the Domi-led third line that Daccord turned away.

With 5:30 left in the third period, the Kraken pulled the goalie, hoping to get something going. They didn’t make much progress for the first couple minutes of 6v5, as the Leafs held the puck in the offensive and neutral zones. The Leafs couldn’t hit the empty net despite Domi’s best efforts to set up Nylander for a potential hat-trick goal.

Time ticked off the clock, but Toronto couldn’t put it away. Finally, the Kraken held the zone and scored a goal to get on the board with a shot from Tolvanen that went through a multitude of bodies and found the far corner, spoiling Woll’s shutout in a stellar second start of the season.

10.   After Seattle pulled the goalie again, they gained the offensive zone and held the line well, denying multiple clearing attempts before finally the Leafs squibbed it out. The put-away goal was clinched by Matthews, who took possession of the puck from just inside his own blue line, smartly assessed the risk of immediately trying for the empty net, and instead banked it off the boards around the center line in a geometrically calculated fashion, splitting the posts perfectly.

With the win, the Leafs closed out October with a 6-4-1 record, which is ultimately just fine. This wasn’t their A+ game, but it was a solid effort and a well-managed game that should give the team confidence heading into the weekend road trip to St. Louis and Minnesota. They created enough offense with high-skill plays by their stars, performed well on special teams, received strong goaltending, and suppressed chances effectively in a well-rounded, professional victory against a mediocre opponent.

Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Game Highlights w/ commentary from Joe Bowen & Jim Ralph

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR