The Maple Leafs were hard done by in this 3-2 regulation loss to Detroit, but they also need more out of the top of their lineup.
The Leafs were again guilty of some sloppy puck play in the early parts of this game. They started with a couple of icings by the top line, then Matias Maccelli tossed up a pizza into the middle of the defensive zone for a grade-A chance against (bailed out by Anthony Stolarz). It wasn’t exactly the tone-setting start the Leafs were looking for in response to their ugly loss on Saturday, but they did settle into the game from there.
Successive penalties late in the first — Morgan Rielly for cross-checking, Simon Benoit for a puck-over-glass — led to a 5-on-3 power-play goal by Dylan Larkin right at the end of the first period for a 1-0 Detroit lead. Still, the Leafs outshot the Red Wings 12-2 at five-on-five in the period.
Despite continuing to heavily outshoot the Red Wings — who went down to 11 forwards halfway through, after a core piece in Lucas Raymond left the game following a crunching hit on the boards by Chris Tanev — the Leafs remained frustrated offensively throughout the second period and early in the third. Auston Matthews was well on his way to his game-leading eight shots on goal, but he could not solve Cam Talbot, and even tried a shot-pass off the far pad at one point with a clean look available.
Five minutes into the final frame, a turnover high in the offensive zone off a faceoff trapped Brandon Carlo and led to a 2v1; Morgan Rielly sagged off JVR to take away the pass, and JVR finished beautifully in tight to open up a 2-0 Detroit lead.
To their credit, the Leafs didn’t go away quietly. Two strong plays on the puck along the wall from their two power wingers in Bobby McMann and Matthew Knies created the 2-1 and 2-2 goals inside a six-minute span. McMann, one of the Leafs’ bright spots throughout the game, set up Knies at the backpost for the 2-1 goal. Knies then made a similarly strong play to beat a defender along the boards and set up Calle Jarnkrok for his third goal in three games to start the season.
All of the momentum was in the Leafs’ sails until a late odd-man rush for Detroit led to a Toronto icing, a lost defensive-zone faceoff, and a Mason Appleton game-winning goal with under a minute to go. The Leafs had loaded up Knies-Matthews-Nylander for several shifts by this point, and the Red Wings’ initial odd-man rush came about due to a lax backcheck by Nylander, who got beat down the ice with Morgan Rielly in deep. The Leafs survived the initial threat, but Rielly, with some time, slammed the puck down the ice for an icing vs. flipping it out into open ice.
To have this game back in a tied position — with the Leafs outshooting the Red Wings more than 2:1 — with a minute left in regulation and all of the momentum seemingly on the home team’s side, only to leave without even a point was a gut punch from the Leafs’ perspective. But there is not much time to dwell on it with the Predators in town tomorrow night.
Post-Game Notes
– Hard to blame Craig Berube for trying to spark something offensively and hoping William Nylander would spring to life at some point/be a difference-maker with the game on the line, but #88 certainly didn’t earn shifts with Matthews and Knies on the merits of his play. He didn’t put a shot on goal through 40 minutes and wasn’t engaged when the puck wasn’t on his stick (which it won’t be very often when you’re not engaged without it!). While he put a few shots at the net in the third, he played a notable role in the game-losing goal sequence late on. Nylander appeared to take the preseason off entirely from a competitive standpoint and needs to find more urgency to start the season, particularly away from the puck.
– The starting shift was a little shaky for the top line, but Easton Cowan settled in and influenced the play/his linemates positively overall with his pace, playmaking, and puck-hounding. The Leafs have struggled to move up the ice cleanly to start the season, and Cowan’s hockey IQ and problem-solving in tight areas with the puck helped their cause. The top line was up 10-0 in shots on goal in their five-on-five minutes with Cowan on the right wing. Cowan’s best moment was springing Matthews free on goal with a nice play through the neutral zone, but Matthews could not solve Cam Talbot all weekend despite 14 shots on goal. Cowan finished at 14:05 in time on ice (one shot, three hits), earned a shift at 6-on-5 in the final moments (where he had a chance in front and got cross-checked high, with minimal teammate response), and deserves another look up there.
If Steven Lorentz is ready to return tomorrow (as Berube alluded to as a possibility), Nick Robertson played 8:04 tonight, and Cowan received a 6-on-5 shift with the team down a goal as a reward. It’s pretty clear who would come out. The only other possibility would be Dakota Joshua, who was down at 9:18, but it’s doubtful the Leafs’ coaching staff will go there yet as he acclimates to the team.
– Hate to repeat the above stat, but Auston Matthews firing 14 shots on goal in the last two games, particularly from some of the positions he’s been in, and not scoring a goal is tough from the Leafs’ perspective. The positive is that he is moving well on the ice and getting his shot off, but the Leafs need him to find his pre-2024-25 confidence and clinical finishing, or they’re going to be in tough to score enough this season. All of Tavares, Nylander, and Matthews have yet to beat an opposition’s goaltender through three games. It’s hardly surprising that they’re 1-2-0 with that stat in mind.
– Good thing the Leafs didn’t toss aside Calle Jarnkrok this past offseason. He’s looked good on the PK, has influenced his five-on-five line positively (his 68% shot share leads the team, outside of Cowan’s one game), and he has now scored 38% of the team’s non-empty net goals through three games.
– The second line had an awful night in Detroit, but Bobby McMann should be in the team’s top six right now based on his start to the season. In terms of impact, he’s been in the team’s top two or three forwards in two out of the three games so far, and the Leafs really need his speed on the ice for at least 14-15 minutes of the game. There aren’t four wingers on the team playing better hockey than McMann right now, and it’s not like Nylander, Matthews, and Tavares are off to a roaring start offensively/don’t need the support while McMann helps drive a line down the lineup.
Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts
Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts
