The 27-game stretch between Christmas and the NHL trade deadline began tonight, and if the Maple Leafs want to turn around their season, they need to start some sort of run to earn it.

From that standpoint, it was mission accomplished tonight, as the Leafs picked up two points courtesy of a regulation win against the Ottawa Senators. What to make of the process behind the win is in the eye of the beholder.

On the positive side, the power play popped in two goals and actually looked like they had a somewhat cohesive plan once they were in the zone. They actively worked the bumper spot — where Matthew Knies scored the 2-0 goal — and scored another goal off the rush, essentially. In their first game without Marc Savard before Christmas, they also generated a really good look off the rush, so it’s clearly something they are more open to as well. 

This game featured many examples of the Leafs using the middle of the ice on breakouts. There were some legitimately clean and crisp breakout sequences, and the Leafs handily controlled the second period as a result — particularly noteworthy considering the Leafs have been one of the worst second-period teams in the league this season.

We’ve potentially buried the lede by not immediately noting that this was one of Auston Matthews’ best games of the season, as well as Matthew Knies’. The Leafs will need their stars to carry them if they plan to get out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves.

The Matthews line scored two goals and easily could have potted a few more. Both of their goals resulted from in-zone offense as they cycled, made plays, generated traffic, drove the net hard, and were rewarded. The goals off the rush are pretty and receive all the attention, but watching them work the offensive zone for offense was a sight for sore eyes. It’s the type of offense the Leafs need to continue generating as the games tighten up down the stretch.

After scoring a power-play goal on the second unit, Knies made two beautiful plays for five-on-five goals. The first was a gorgeous through-the-legs pass to Nick Robertson, who is not missing from the slot with half the net to shoot in. Then, when Ottawa closed to within one, Knies took a nice Morgan Rielly pass and patiently waited out the goalie, pulling it backhand and tucking it into the empty net. 

Conversely, the third period was a mess, as the Leafs bled chances against and did almost everything in their power to blow a three-goal lead at home. For some reason, despite leading comfortably, the forwards did not clog up the neutral zone at all. It was an onslaught on the Leafs’ defense and Joseph Woll. 

Ottawa also controlled play and made a push against the Leafs in the final quarter of the first period. They were rewarded with a goal following an offensive-zone faceoff win against Scott Laughton, as they threw the puck to the net, and Nick Cousins collected his own rebound to shoot the puck in. The Senators carried the momentum through to the start of the second, scoring just 18 seconds into the period. Philippe Myers drifted in the neutral zone, leading to a gaping middle lane for Ridly Greig to shoot through for a breakaway pass. 

Truthfully, I didn’t think the goal should have counted. The official called it a continuation, but it shouldn’t be, considering the Leafs took a penalty on the play before the puck went in, and Woll saved the initial shot, which should have triggered the penalty call. It’s not about when the whistle goes; it’s about when the penalty was called, and the penalty wasn’t called after the fact. 

Entering the third period up 5-2, coming off a great second period overall, the Leafs should have felt really good about this game. It could’ve/should’ve been a nothing third period. 

Well, that was quickly ruled out when Ottawa scored just 14 seconds into the final frame. Troy Stecher will receive the attention for pushing up on Brady Tkachuk in the neutral zone, but that is what the Leafs want to do, and it’s what every team wants to do, essentially. The issue is that John Tavares was beaten down the ice by Dylan Cozens.

Here is the goal visualizer, for reference. When Tkachuk has the puck, Tavares is on top of Cozens, but Cozens flat-out burns him:

OEL also misplayed the 2v1, and we immediately knew the final period would be a rollercoaster. 

Barely five minutes later, Ottawa pulled within one, and Craig Berube took a timeout to reset his group. To the Leafs’ credit, Knies scored just 46 seconds afterward to restore a two-goal lead, but Ottawa got another back under four minutes later, and there was still half a period of hockey left. 

The pace of the game did slow down from there, and the Leafs benefitted from Scott Laughton drawing a penalty to basically milk the clock (although Ottawa did push up the ice and created some nervy moments shorthanded, too). Late in the game, Joseph Woll probably got a little lucky when a Claude Giroux look off the rush hit his stick knob. But John Tavares sealed it with an empty netter, and the rest was academic.

Post-Game Notes

– Unfortunately, William Nylander left the game with a lower-body injury, as it looked like his knee got a little jammed/tweaked in a sequence in front of the Ottawa net. If the Leafs had blown a three-goal lead after Nylander left hurt, it would’ve bordered on feeling like “one of those years” where essentially nothing was ever going to go right for this team. However, the Leafs held on, and Berube reported that Nylander will travel with the team. Hopefully, it’s more precautionary and some rest does Nylander well, as he didn’t even play nine minutes in this game.

– With Nylander out, Matthew Knies moved up the lineup to play with John Tavares and Matias Maccelli. The line looked decent and scored a goal in the third period, too. It’ll be a footnote now, but Knies was really in the doghouse entering this game. He was on L3 and PP2, and when the Leafs took a penalty, he didn’t feature on the penalty kill at all despite being a regular there this season. The coaching staff actually went with Bobby McMann over Knies. But credit to Knies for producing and forcing his way back up. They need more from him, and this was hopefully the start of that.

– Auston Matthews is up to 51 points in 36 games against Ottawa after his three-point night. That included an eight-shot second period where he was dominant; he hit the post on an empty-net attempt and saw a potential highlight-reel goal accidentally saved by Thomas Chabot’s stick. Matthews has rightfully received a ton of scrutiny, but he was excellent in this game and deserves kudos tonight. 

– While Matthews did play against Ottawa’s Stutzle line more than any other, it was a much more manageable seven minutes or so (compared to the previous game in which he saw around 11 and a half minutes of five-on-five time against the loaded up Sidney Crosby line). At home, the Leafs need to use their checking centers, and Scott Laughton played almost five minutes against Stutzle, opening up Matthews to take advantage of other matchups. The McMann goal came off an offensive-zone faceoff against the Greig line. Berube can’t “hide” Matthews from top matchups, but he has to hunt favourable matchups, especially when Matthews is playing with McMann and Domi.

– Chris Tanev is still working his way back into form, but he makes such a big difference with his compete in front of the Leafs net, his composure with the puck, and his ability to match up against top competition without getting dominated (he was a +2 on the night, McCabe was +3; their pairing was up 1-0 in five-on-five goals). With Brandon Carlo returning shortly, he’ll replace Philippe Myers and represent a significant upgrade there. Troy Stecher is fitting well. It’s an aging but solid unit for the time being. Morgan Rielly led all defensemen in time on ice with 22:27, and the coaching staff moved Stecher to play with him. Myers played under 14 minutes, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson played under 17.

– Nick Robertson picked up two points, Nylander left the game hurt, and Robertson still played just 8:25 on the night. It seems insane, and it shouldn’t have happened. It wasn’t on Robertson that the team was trying to cough up the lead in the third period.

– Max Domi picked up three assists on the night and was really good in the second period, although he should have gotten the puck out before Jordan Spence’s goal to make it 6-5 in the third. Domi is up to 17 points in 35 games — nothing crazy, but it’s starting to trend back into respectable territory. His nine points in 11 games this month are tied for the team lead with Matthews and Nylander, except he has played one fewer game than both. 

– You’d have to imagine Easton Cowan will return to the lineup in Sunday’s back-to-back. Nylander might be hurt, Robertson didn’t even play nine minutes, and the team overall wasn’t great this game, either. They also can’t keep scratching Cowan, and they know it. If Nylander can play in Detroit, it will be an interesting decision; Robertson stands out, given his ice time tonight, but he produced. Would they scratch Steven Lorentz again? 

– I understand and advocate for lefty-righty pairings, but again, Philippe Myers just hasn’t been NHL-calibre this season. There’s no reason to get burned as Myers did to start the second period, and he barely played afterward. The coaching staff moved Stecher up to play with Rielly, so they could keep that pairing together and reunite the Benoit-OEL pair. Benoit hasn’t been good this season, either, but he has more cache than Myers, and he’s generally been effective coming off scratches. If nothing else, Benoit will be a human missile after sitting out a few.

– Speaking of human missiles, I loved the ending to this game from Troy Stecher. Why should he sit back and take a slash from Dylan Cozens after the buzzer? Tim Stutzle was, of course, a tough guy when he was the third man in on the pile and Stecher was tied down, then was nowhere to be found once the players were back on their feet. Stecher was rightfully fired up afterward.

Stecher has been a bit of a — much-needed — emotional heartbeat for the group. He brings a certain level of heart-on-his-sleeve play, coupled with an ability to articulate himself well with the media, that makes him very endearing. It was great to see Joseph Woll get in there to defend him as well. Nobody was standing around at the end of the game; every Leaf on the ice was involved.

– I thought this was the most physical game the Leafs have been involved in this season. Both teams were finishing their checks, there were tons of scrums, OEL took a big run at Spence to end the second period, and the teams were jawing at each other. These two teams don’t like each other. You love to see it, especially when it’s accompanied by a Leafs regulation win. 

Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Game Highlights w/Joe Bowen: Maple Leafs 7 vs. Senators 5

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