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Maple Leafs report cards: Stolarz, PK rescue dreadful team effort for overtime win

11 December 2024Last Update :
Maple Leafs report cards: Stolarz, PK rescue dreadful team effort for overtime win

The Toronto Maple Leafs played a dreadful game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.

They also won 2-1 because hockey is a deeply unfair game. The correlation between what’s deserved and literal results is fuzzy over the long term. In a single night, it can be non-existent — and that was the case against the Devils.

New Jersey absolutely dominated the Maple Leafs through two periods and played them relatively even in the third, but Anthony Stolarz dragged his team to overtime. Then Auston Matthews did what he does best after struggling to turn chances into goals all night.

It’s tough to know what the worst grade appropriate for a win is, but that’s what Toronto gets here. Let’s say a C-.

Unit grades

L1 (Pacioretty–Matthews–Marner): C

This line did absolutely nothing until Craig Berube broke it up less than halfway through the second period. In just over four minutes of ice time, the group didn’t manage a shot on net and were on the ice for just two attempts.

Things got livelier when Matthew Knies joined Matthews and Mitch Marner, but not by a significant margin. William Nylander also mixed in for a few shifts in the second period, which provided more of a jolt.

It was an odd game for Matthews because he got more than his share of chances, but many of his best came on the penalty kill. Pacioretty was quiet throughout the evening outside of a bone-rattling hit on Jack Hughes.

We’ll bump the grade up slightly because whatever line Matthews is on is L1, and he delivered the winning goal.

L2 (Knies–Tavares–Nylander): D-

Like the first line, this trio played barely five minutes together and were outshot 6-1 in that time. After Pacioretty joined in the second period, that new group was on the ice for the Devils’ only goal — thanks in large part to an ugly turnover from John Tavares:

In the 12:30 that Tavares and Nylander shared the ice at five-on-five, Toronto was outshot 11-2 and earned 21.44 percent of the expected goals. That’s as bad as it gets.

L3 (Lorentz–Minten–Domi): C-

On an individual level, Max Domi had his moments in his return to the lineup. The veteran stood out by making a concerted effort to get the puck to the net with six shot attempts and 0.48 expected goals.

That said, like the rest of the team, this group didn’t put the Devils under much pressure. The line mixing replaced Steven Lorentz with Pontus Holmberg, but that didn’t change the complexion of the line significantly.

L4 (Holmberg–Dewar–Reaves): C+

The possession numbers on this line weren’t great, but through two periods, it had more extended shifts in the offensive zone than any other. The fourth line didn’t radically change the game, but it put in an honest effort.

Connor Dewar deserves a little extra credit for being the driving force behind Toronto’s only goal and Ryan Reaves seemed to have a little more juice than usual.

D1 (Ekman-Larsson–Tanev): C

Every defence pairing got filled in on Tuesday, but the top pairing looked like the most competent of the bunch — albeit more as individuals than as a group.

Other than Chris Tanev’s high-sticking call, these two didn’t commit many overt blunders, and the veteran got in his quota of shot blocks (5). Meanwhile, Oliver Ekman-Larsson had nearly four more minutes of ice time than any other defender (24:24).

Berube mixed up his pairs to fit different situations more than usual on Tuesday, resulting in Tanev playing with Simon Benoit more than Ekman-Larsson, and those minutes got dicey at times.

D2 (Rielly–Myers): D+

This pairing struggled in 11:34 together as the Devils outshot the Maple Leafs 9-3 and scored their only goal. Myers wasn’t in position on the play, putting Stolarz in a tough spot during a night he was under siege.

It’s tough to expect a fill-in like Myers to thrive alongside Rielly, and after this game, Toronto has been outshot 42-29 and outscored 4-2 in their time together.

D3 (Benoit–Timmins): B-

Connor Timmins ended up with OEL for much of the night while Benoit spent time with Tanev, but he had a solid night individually outside of a couple of adventurous moments.

When these two were together, Toronto had a 2-1 shot advantage, which was a minor miracle in the context of the night. Timmins provided their top highlight bailing out his regular partner.

Power play: F

The Maple Leafs recorded one shot in their six minutes with the man advantage and allowed the Devils to get three the other way, including a couple of legitimate chances. The downside of a five-forward group was showcased on Tuesday, even if New Jersey didn’t make Toronto pay.

The second unit got slightly more puck movement than the first, but that wasn’t a high standard to meet.

Penalty kill: A+

Saying the Maple Leafs were more dangerous on the penalty kill than at any other time in the game sounds like hyperbole, but it was true in terms of process and results. On a night when the team couldn’t get anything going offensively, Holmberg delivered on the kill.

That wrister may have had no business going in, but it was far from Toronto’s only notable attempt when down a man. Matthews also found himself alone in front twice in four-on-five situations, and Marner just missed threading a pass through, which would’ve made it three opportunities.

Although the captain wasn’t able to convert on those chances, the penalty kill was extremely successful overall. Toronto held the NHL’s top-ranked power play to a relatively modest eight shots in eight minutes, making it difficult for the Devils to get set up and executing composed zone clears consistently.

Goaltender (Stolarz): A+

The literal results (38 saves on 39 shots) were excellent, but Stolarz was even better than they suggest. The goaltender shut the door on an overwhelming Devils attack that produced 4.53 expected goals and gets extra points for keeping the Maple Leafs in a game they should’ve been losing early.

Stolarz handled chaotic scrambles around the net, hard mid-range shots and chances off the rush with aplomb. He also showed the ability to run on pure instinct when Timmins nearly banked a puck into his net on a seemingly benign clearing attempt:

Stolarz was the best Maple Leaf, and the gap between him and the second place was comically wide.

Game score

What’s next?

The Maple Leafs host the Anaheim Ducks at 7:00 p.m. Thursday on Sportsnet Ontario.

(Photo of Anthony Stolarz and Philippe Myers: Luther Schlaifer / Imagn Images)

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