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Maple Leafs report cards: Whole team falls flat in dismal loss to Senators

13 November 2024Last Update :
Maple Leafs report cards: Whole team falls flat in dismal loss to Senators

Discussions about how good the Toronto Maple Leafs are when Auston Matthews is absent can officially be shelved until further notice.

In Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto showed that it was entirely capable of producing a putrid performance without its captain. Matthews probably couldn’t have salvaged the team’s rotten effort, but the Maple Leafs looked like a team that could use a world-class scorer also capable of putting in hard defensive shifts.

The Maple Leafs pick up a D-minus for an outing where they rarely threatened on offence, looked inept on defense and were outclassed in the neutral zone — exacerbating issues on both ends.

We’ll reserve the F for a game where the Maple Leafs lose by more, but it was an ugly night for Toronto. It was the first time the team was shut out at home since November 20, 2021.

Unit grades

L1 (Knies–Domi–Marner): D

There were three different iterations of the first line on Tuesday. The first (Matthew Knies, Max Domi and Mitch Marner) managed a 3.67 percent expected goal rate in just over four five-on-five minutes.

Coach Craig Berube then elevated John Tavares to the unit, and they didn’t fare much better. As a last-ditch effort, Berube tried a loaded line with the former captain centering Marner and William Nylander, which provided minimal spark.

Marner was the only constant and Toronto was outshot 12-4 in his 12:16 at five-on-five. He didn’t record an even-strength shot on goal.

L2 (McMann–Tavares–Nylander): C

Of the seven forward lines that played at least two minutes together, the original second line was the only one that outshot the Senators (6-3). They were far from dominant, but they generated a couple of honest chances and Bobby McMann slotted into the Max Pacioretty role competently for a few shifts.

Calling them a bright spot would be a bridge too far, and the line shuffling separated them before they could get any kind of rhythm going.

L3 (Robertson–Holmberg–Dewar): C-minus

The return of Connor Dewar was far from triumphant as he made close to zero impact in just 8:31 of total ice time. This line quickly became the dumping ground for other lines’ mixing and was probably at its most coherent when it consisted of Nick Robertson, Domi and McMann.

In a game where Berube was disappointed with his top guys, there might have been an opportunity to carve out some extra ice time, but none of Robertson, Pontus Holmberg or Dewar did much to earn any. The only positive here is Holmberg managed to narrowly avoid a scary injury.

L4 (Lorentz–Kämpf–Reaves): C

The fourth line was the only one Berube kept consistent throughout the game, leading all forward trios with 7:39 at five-on-five.

In those minutes, Toronto was outshot 6-3, but the group applied some offensive zone pressure and their expected goal rate (43.19 percent) was significantly better than the Maple Leafs’ average on the evening (25.45 percent).

D1 (Rielly–Ekman-Larsson): F

This offence-first pair brought middling on-ice numbers into this game, and those statistics will look uglier after an abominable performance.

In the pair’s 11:45 at five-on-five, the Maple Leafs were outshot 17-3 and outscored 2-0. Both of those goals can be at least somewhat attributed to a Morgan Rielly mistake. He got caught deep in the Senators’ zone on the first goal of the game and failed to get the puck out of his own end shortly before the second.

Goalie Anthony Stolarz also bailed the pair out a couple of times and they struggled to function on either end of the ice.

D2 (McCabe–Tanev): C

Toronto’s shutdown pair didn’t get filled in as badly as badly as Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but that’s not saying much. McCabe and Tanev didn’t do much to lower the temperature on a game that felt like it was getting away from the Maple Leafs early.

While Tanev avoided the indignity of being on the ice for a goal, he still made minimal difference.

D3 (Benoît–Timmins): C-minus

Conor Timmins had some nice moments, drawing two penalties in the first, but the third pair did little to stop the bleeding.

Simon Benoît failed to record a hit for just the third time all season, and the pair blocked just one shot between them. They also combined for more giveaways than any other pair (five) despite relatively modest ice time.

Power play: C-plus

It would’ve been unfair to expect the power play to stay as hot as it’s been in recent games, but it was no more than lukewarm on Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs had a couple of solid chances on their first power-play opportunity and almost broke through in the second period when Domi had a brilliant opportunity to score his first goal since April 22.

In the end, they couldn’t make anything happen, and the process behind that outcome wasn’t good enough to salvage a strong grade.

Penalty kill: B-plus

The penalty killers were one of the few groups that can say it had a successful night.

Keeping an opponent off the board for 4:06 is hardly a herculean feat, but Ottawa was largely kept to perimeter attempts in its limited time with the man advantage.

The Maple Leafs also benefited from some good fortune as the Senators’ second power play of the game was interrupted by a penalty call on Brady Tkachuk.

Goaltending (Stolarz): B-plus

After a goal in the first minute of the game, Stolarz locked in, saving 16 more shots in the opening period and making numerous tidy stops along the way.

The massive goaltender’s pad work was particularly impressive as his lateral movement was strong enough to nullify the Senators’ ability to whip the puck around the zone and attack from all angles.

Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, the dam broke in the second period as the Senators scored on two of their first six shots, including a relatively benign-looking attempt from Michael Amadio.

Stolarz kept the Maple Leafs in the game early, and despite his wobble in the second, he was solid between the pipes in an utterly wasted 38-save effort.

Game score

What’s next?

The Maple Leafs head to Washington and take on the Capitals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on Sportsnet.

(Photo of Connor Dewar: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)

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