SUNRISE, Fla. – Mitch Marner exhaled and said out loud what so many within the Maple Leafs organization were probably thinking.
“We’re missing half our team up front, man,” Marner said when asked what his ailing Leafs team must do to score more at five-on-five.
The score in the Leafs’ 5-1 loss against the Florida Panthers made the game itself seem far more lopsided than it was. Were the Leafs icing a lineup they hope will be ready to face teams like the Panthers in the playoffs, a 5-1 loss might have alarm bells ringing.
Instead, with six regular forwards injured, another out suspended and one more leaving the game against the Panthers with a new injury? Not cause for complete panic. But the loss will likely force head coach Craig Berube to re-jig his forward group once again.
Because what was missing against the Panthers was what’s been missing throughout their entire nine-game stretch without reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews, still out with a mysterious injury: five-on-five scoring. The Leafs’ lone goal against the Panthers came on the power play via a spectacular unassisted solo effort from Marner. Since Matthews last played on Nov. 3, the Leafs now have the dubious distinction of sitting last in the NHL in five-on-five goals: just nine over those nine games.
And so between injuries and their inability to score at even strength, the Leafs’ loss to the Panthers felt like it was coming.
Entering Wednesday’s game against the Panthers, the Leafs were 7-1 without Matthews this season. That’s a respectable run without their best player. Admirable, really, when you consider the other forwards the Leafs had lost. But only three of those seven wins came against teams clearly in a playoff spot. Three more came against sub-.500 teams.
That’s not meant to diminish their results. But when up against a difficult Panthers team, the Leafs’ continued injuries simply caught up with them.
And now the Leafs can add Bobby McMann to their list of players nursing wounds. The left winger was on a decent run of form playing on a new-look top line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner. But McMann did not return to the game for the second period with what the Leafs are calling a lower-body injury.
rough night for McMann
could be a combination of things, he also fell during his last shift of the game off a defensive zone draw pic.twitter.com/OhnbrrSZNQ
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) November 28, 2024
McMann was seen briefly postgame without a walking boot or crutches.
“It’s day-to-day right now,” Berube said of McMann’s injury. “We’re going to have to see tomorrow how he is. But he wasn’t able to continue to play tonight.”
And so with McMann questionable at best, but with Berube sounding hopeful he’ll get some of his injured forwards back in the lineup, what’s clear is that the Leafs’ forward group could look very different – Once again – against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
With Matthews possibly returning, should Berube split up the duo of Marner and John Tavares? There’s rarely any doubt about the chemistry Marner and Matthews can provide. But it’s been Marner and Tavares who have been combining well to do much of the heavy lifting on offence lately.
That decision could have a trickle-down effect.
Will Berube quickly return to his go-to first line with Matthew Knies on the left side of Matthews and Marner for heavy minutes? That could be seen as a risk considering both Matthews and Knies are returning from respective injuries.
Would Berube want to continue to keep William Nylander without a proven offensive player nearby? The line of Nylander, Pontus Holmberg and Nick Robertson generated the most shot attempts (12) and scoring chances (5) of any line at five-on-five against the Panthers. None of those attempts found the back of the net, however.
Berube tried playing Marner, Tavares and William Nylander together for 3:25 of five-on-five time against the Panthers. They generated just one scoring chance.
The loss of McMann means yet another left winger could be out of the lineup. And so theoretically, that should mean more ice time for Robertson, right? But how many more prime opportunities will Berube want to give to a player who has scored just once in 19 games this season? Robertson has been playing well lately, but Berube needs him to produce. What kind of role Berube gives Robertson in another impending shake-up could be telling.
What about relying heavily on vibes and trying William and Alex Nylander for more than a few shifts together on a line? The younger Nylander is still figuring things out with the Leafs (more on that in a bit) and neither is known for producing the kind of ugly goals Berube desires. But there’s also a clear joy the two have playing together. That kind of spark alone might lead to a fire.
We’re getting to the point where even-strength scoring has been so hard to come by that no idea should be written off.
Expect the Leafs’ next practice on Friday to present some intriguing line combinations. Because after the game, Berube himself sounded exasperated at the Leafs’ lack of five-on-five scoring as of late.
“I think that we can do a better job of getting to the net front and creating more opportunities around the net and scoring some greasy goals around the net. I don’t think that we’re hard enough around the net. I don’t think that we’re working hard enough to get to the net,” Berube said. “We’re not making it difficult enough on the goalie and creating second, third opportunities around the net. A lot of times that’s the way you’ve got to score goals five-on-five.”
The Leafs might get two players who can score those types of goals back in the lineup Saturday in Matthews and Knies. And that’s a good thing for a Leafs team that came out of Wednesday night with questions about a number of players vying for roster spots for the short-term future.
This is not the forward group anyone, much less Berube, thought they’d have for crucial games against Atlantic Division rivals.
Nikita Grebenkin took an unnecessary boarding penalty early in the first period. The Panthers capitalized with a power-play goal a little over a minute later. There’s evident energy in his game but there’s just as evident a need for that game to mature.
Alex Nylander was demoted from the first power-play unit just as quickly as he arrived. The winger saw his ice time diminish period after period against the Panthers. Berube sent Nylander over the boards for just four shifts in the third period as the Leafs were clearly trying to score and get back in the game.
Alex Steeves was one of five Leafs forwards without a shot against the Panthers.
Fraser Minten won 50 percent of his faceoffs and spent time on both the power play and the penalty kill. He’s clearly finding his way at the NHL level, but was also on the ice for three Panthers goals. Minten is going to be a full-time NHLer soon enough. Considering he came into this season with the goal of learning how to produce more at the AHL level, leaning on him to score in the NHL is a big ask.
There’s no other Marlies forwards who right now would justify a call-up to try and generate more offence, either.
“Maybe we don’t have the finishers and I get that side of it too,” Berube said. “But I’m not going to focus on that. I’m focused on what we have in the lineup and how we need to play to generate chances and score goals.”
What Berube has is a forward group he’s still trying to figure out. The Leafs coach is in a situation he couldn’t have prepared for. So as the coaching staff prepare to head west across the state of Florida, they’re likely feeling less frustration after a loss, and more the pressure of figuring out how to put the pieces of a brand-new puzzle together, and very quickly.
(Top photo of Mitch Marner: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
