Boy, did the Maple Leafs ever need a win like this.
Not once did Toronto trail in this game, and they cruised to victory in the final 10 minutes. It wasn’t perfect, but for tonight, we’ll enjoy the two points in regulation for the first time since the Leafs‘ November 5 win over Utah.
It was a sleepy start to the night. Through the first six-plus minutes, the only event of note was Anthony Mantha fanning on a wide-open shot right in the slot. The Leafs didn’t come close to creating anything, and then, for the second straight game, they scored on their first shot on net. Again, it was a defenseman scoring the goal, this time Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The goal came off a broken play where OEL tried to rip a pass to Easton Cowan in the slot. It deflected right back to OEL, who had time and space in the slot to look up and pick a corner. Before the sequence, Matthew Knies did well to hold onto the puck on the wall and allow the Leafs to complete an offensive-zone change from the far bench.
The goal picked up the pace of the game, and shortly afterwards, Dakota Joshua laid a big hit on Matthew Dumba. The Penguins pushed for some offensive-zone time of their own, leading to a Dakota Mermis penalty when defending Evgeny Malkin down low.
It took Pittsburgh just eight seconds to tie it on the power play. They won the draw and tried funnelling the puck to the slot, where they benefited from a broken play of their own. The pass was disrupted, but the puck bounced in the air, and Ben Kindel — quickly becoming a Leafs killer — batted the puck in from below shoulder height.
It was a bang-bang play, one you can’t really fault Dennis Hildeby for. If anything, you’d like to see Troy Stecher box out Kindel rather than allow him to skate into traffic with the puck, but it’s a bit of a “sh*t happens,” quick broken play. At this point, both teams benefited from a lucky bounce preceding a goal.
Just three minutes later, the Leafs restored their lead on a pretty goal. As John Tavares sped through the neutral zone, Nylander hit him with a little seam pass in stride. Tavares tried a power move to the net, shovelling the puck with one hand. The initial play was stopped, but Morgan Rielly got to the puck and rimmed it low behind the net to Easton Cowan, who pulled out and found Nylander high. While you fully expected a clean goal here for Nylander, he faked the shot and touched it back to Cowan, who had to collect himself after his pass and simply shoot it into an empty net. A pretty goal for a line that has shown real signs of gelling and growing together in a short period of time.
Pittsburgh made another push to tie it, but Hildeby showed really well for the rest of the period. He stopped a clean Tommy Novak look in the slot as well as a Crosby deflection in front on another Pens power play. On a Leafs power play at the end of the period, the five-forward unit rolled out and gave up a breakaway, but Hildeby came up big. It will get lost in the shuffle of a 7-2 game, but the final stretch of the first period was quietly very good from Hildeby to preserve the Leafs’ lead at the first intermission.
Those saves proved particularly pivotal when the Leafs opened the second period by scoring twice in the first five minutes to extend their lead. Both came courtesy of the Leafs’ third line and were the perfect example of third-line type goals.
On the first one, Bobby McMann sped into the zone on the forecheck, won the puck back, cycled it to the point, and went to the net. OEL and Rielly played pitch and catch on the point, where Rielly did well to sift a shot through for McMann to apply a nice tip on against the grain. Joshua didn’t collect a point on the play, but he planted himself in front of the goal and drew a lot of attention in the process, freeing up McMann for the tip.
Joshua received his due reward on the very next shift by notching a goal of his own. It started with some hard work down low, where Joshua won a battle for the puck below the goal line and cycled it up to McMann on the half-wall. McMann sent it to the point to Stecher, who — as a right-handed shot — was able to take it clean and send a puck toward the net. Kris Letang blocked the initial shot, but Nic Roy pounced on the loose puck and whacked it toward the goal. Joshua got there first, spinning to fire a shot that beat Artus Silovs through the five-hole. The Penguins pulled Silovs after the Leafs’ fourth goal on just nine shots total.
There was a small push from Pittsburgh after the goalie pull, and Hildeby, notably, made a nice shoulder save on a 2v1 breakdown between Roy and Philippe Myers. However, after sustaining some zone time, the Penguins took an undisciplined penalty after the whistle, and the Leafs finally scored a power-play goal.
It wasn’t the top unit converting, but they did create real chances, and the second unit finished the job. After McMann sent a puck to the net, Domi hustled to the rebound, poking it free off Jarry. Domi quickly saucered a pass to Roy in the slot for an empty-net tap-in.
Heading into the third period up 5-1, you’re looking for a sleepy period if you’re the Leafs. It didn’t start out that way, though, as the Penguins made a push and scored inside the first five minutes of the period.
Twice, with the puck on his stick, Matthew Knies lost it deep in the Leafs’ zone. Kevin Hayes bumped it low to Sidney Crosby, who was all alone against Hildeby and pulled it backhand for a nice finish. It was a sloppy play by Knies, following a rush sequence where four Pens rushed up the ice while Matthews and Knies were caught deep.
The Leafs received a monster save from Hildeby on a deflected point shot, followed by Malkin missing a chance backdoor in the slot. At this point, the result wasn’t really in question, but it was a little uncomfortable from the Toronto perspective and not the ideal way to salt the game away.
Then, Auston Matthews quieted the game right down with a vintage goal. As we’ve noted a million times by now, Domi and Matthews have some natural chemistry. They raced down the ice on what was actually a 2v3 rush, Domi cut in with some speed, and Matthews pulled behind for a pass and ripped a vintage Matthews shot. It’s the kind of shot/finish from Matthews that inspires hope in the fan base.
The 6-2 goal settled the game right down, and for good measure, Nick Robertson made an example of Matt Dumba for attempting to step around him with the puck. Robertson poked it free and ripped a goal five-hole to round out a 7-2 final.
Post-Game Notes
– The biggest development in this game was several Leafs getting off the schneid. Bobby McMann hadn’t scored or recorded a point in six games. Dakota Joshua scored his first goal since October 25th. It was Nic Roy’s second goal of the season, and his first came in game #2, way back on October 11. He also picked up an assist and is now up to seven points in 22 games this season.
– Alec noted Matias Maccelli‘s lack of speed negatively impacting the Joshua-Roy pairing last night in Washington, and swapping in the pace of Bobby McMann on the line tonight made a night-and-day difference. McMann was the F1, allowing Joshua or Roy to provide the heavy F2 on the forecheck. Deploying McMann against lower matchups is also generally a positive for the Leafs if they can swing it, and with Cowan producing regularly right now, it gives them the luxury, so to speak.
– Fresh off a healthy scratch of his own, Max Domi responded with two assists. I won’t sit here and suggest it was a perfect performance, but he produced, showed some jump, and was a factor offensively. They need him to be one, and he still looks like the best fit for the Matthews line to me when he’s rolling, given his playmaking abilities.
– This was also Dakota Joshua’s best game as a Leaf by a mile. He laid a big hit, scored, caused havoc in front, and had a noticeable overall presence on the ice. He is a big and strong player, but the key for him is moving his feet; he’s not a naturally gifted skater, and if he isn’t keeping them moving, he’s not involved enough. It was surprising that Joshua didn’t even clock 13 minutes TOI, given his play and the scoreline. Hopefully, he can build off this performance, though.
– Jake McCabe – Troy Stecher were technically out-attempted 9-20 in their minutes, but I didn’t think they were tilted when the game was in the balance, and they won their minutes 2-0 in goals. They executed some smooth breakout sequences, and McCabe was a lot better back on the left side, as expected. Stecher led all Leafs with 23:52 of ice time, picked up an assist, and finished at plus-three.
– The five-forward power-play unit gave up another breakaway and didn’t score yet again, although they were dangerous. At some point, they have to pour in goals to justify the risk the other way.
– Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s point streak is now at nine games and counting, and he’s up to 20 points in 25 games this season. Unfortunately, his last shift came with 15:30 left in the game, and he played just 13:56 overall. If there’s one negative from this game, it’s that he might be injured. Hopefully, he’s alright, as he’s been great this season, and the Leafs’ defense can’t afford another injury.
– It might sound weird in a game where the Leafs scored seven, but Dennis Hildeby was really good. There were several key moments where the Leafs held a small lead and Hildeby kept it that way. Last season, he looked out of his depth in the NHL, but it’s so far, so good this season. He has been, at a minimum, perfectly serviceable. Given that Anthony Stolarz appears nowhere near returning, it’s a big development to date, as Hildeby should be seeing some steady NHL action in the coming weeks.
– The forward lines made sense in this game, and every line scored a goal. You can quibble with certain things, but at the end of the day, the Leafs have been changing their forward line combinations night in and night out. At some point, they have to roll with something, and there was enough there from each line tonight to run back the same group on Tuesday in Florida. Steven Lorentz, Scott Laughton, and John Tavares were the only Leafs forwards who didn’t record a point in the game.
Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts
Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts
