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Maple Leafs report cards: Special teams breakthrough ends losing streak

6 November 2024Last Update :
Maple Leafs report cards: Special teams breakthrough ends losing streak

In the spring the Toronto Maple Leafs lost a playoff series to the Boston Bruins largely due to their inability to execute on special teams.

On Tuesday, they pulled out a 4-0 win because they scored three power-play goals and kept Boston off the board in 10:20 of penalty-killing time.

There are some demons this team can only exorcise in the playoffs, but beating Boston — with Auston Matthews on the shelf, no less — is as good as it gets for these Maple Leafs in November. Toronto gets an A+ for this one, particularly considering the losing streak the team snapped:

Unit grades

L1 (Knies–Domi–Marner): B

This group wasn’t particularly flashy, but it generally controlled the play and didn’t allow the Bruins to create much. Boston only managed four shots and 0.08 expected goals in their five-on-five minutes. That’s outstanding, even if the offensive output was modest.

While the big story pre-game was Max Domi’s elevation to this line, he had his best moments with PP2, pulling off multiple toe-drags in rapid succession.

L2 (Pacioretty–Tavares–Nylander): B+

The on-ice numbers don’t do the second line justice because it did a better job of applying pressure in the offensive zone than their shot total suggests. This trio got stronger as the game went on and produced an expected goal rate of 78.21 percent.

While Tuesday was not the best game this group has played,  they had a tidy day at the office. Craig Berube would’ve liked to see a goal from a group he continually fed offensive-zone faceoffs, but it’s unfair to expect that to happen every night.

L3 (McMann–Holmberg–Robertson): C

This trio had only played 1:22 together this season before Tuesday, but they didn’t seem out of sorts. Nick Robertson came out firing in the first period and the whole group avoided making critical mistakes.

Not much happened in their 6:21 at five-on-five with just four total shots on net and 0.4 expected goals. The Maple Leafs need Bobby McMann and Robertson to give them more offensively, and they didn’t do that in this game — but their line didn’t do much damage either.

L4 (Lorentz–Kämpf–Reaves): C

In a game with limited five-on-five time, there wasn’t much to go around for the fourth line. That said, it would be hard to claim they made the most of their few shifts.

Part of the reason the Maple Leafs employ Steven Lorentz and Ryan Reaves is to make their presence felt physically in chippy games. A game against Boston with 15 penalties called meets that criteria, but the duo didn’t seem too imposing despite combining for six hits.

Lorentz did score an empty-netter with 4:02 left in the third.

D1 (Rielly–Ekman-Larsson): A-

Morgan Rielly’s big moment came on the power play, but Oliver Ekman-Larsson shined at both ends of the ice during five-on-five play with his best highlight coming in an effort to bail out his partner.

Although the shots were close with these two on the ice at five-on-five (6-6), they did a good job of keeping the puck to the perimeter, leading to a strong expected goal rate (79.58 percent).

D2 (McCabe–Tanev): B+

Another game, another steady performance from the pair the Maple Leafs rely on to be steady. Jake McCabe was a little bit adventurous early in the game, but settled in alongside Chris Tanev to keep the Bruins down during their minutes.

While Tanev played just 16:51 thanks in part to the time he spent in the box, he made it count with three blocks and an assist on the game-clincher. The Bruins managed just one shot in the 9:10 these two played together at five-on-five.

D3 (Benoît–Timmins): B+

Tuesday was one of the third pair’s better outings in recent games. Conor Timmins made positive plays on his stick and Simon Benoît had a quietly effective outing.

In their 8:46 five-on-five minutes, the Maple Leafs conceded just two shots and 0.28 expected goals, and each played a larger role on the penalty kill than expected when McCabe and Tanev took penalties. Toronto didn’t create with them on the ice, but a stalemate game is a fine outcome for a third pair.

Power play: A+

The Maple Leafs have now scored four power-play goals in their last two games. It’s the sort of outcome that shouldn’t be too surprising for a team with the offensive talent Toronto has, but it’s meaningful for a group that had a 7.9 success rate entering Sunday’s game.

Despite the absence of Matthews, the first unit looked competent, controlling the puck in the zone and creating some excellent looks right at the net for Knies. Neither of the first two goals they scored came on pretty plays, though, as Rielly put one through traffic…

… and William Nylander banked a puck off a defender’s skate.

When they had a chance to put the game essentially out of reach with 5:47 left in the third, Knies finally managed to put one in.

It’s safe to say narratives about this team’s power play are likely to quiet down for a minute.

Penalty kill: A+

Toronto didn’t completely erase Boston in four-on-five situations, but the Bruins didn’t get much going in their time with the man advantage. Mitch Marner nullified Boston’s first opportunity by drawing a penalty of their own and Knies was notably disruptive on the second. David Kämpf even got close to scoring a shorthanded goal thanks to a beautiful feed from Marner.

The grade ticks up here due to increased degree of difficulty considering two of Toronto’s successful penalty kills came with one of their best penalty-killing defencemen — Tanev or McCabe — in the box.

Goaltender (Stolarz): A+

Anthony Stolarz wasn’t bombarded with rubber, but he faced a number of chances he wouldn’t have been faulted for letting in. His strong lateral movement earned him some notable stops on cross-ice feeds, and he was steady when the Bruins drove the net.

Just like Sunday he showed a puzzling inability to hold onto his stick, but it barely hindered him.

By stopping 29 shots Stolarz earned his first shutout as a Maple Leaf and the team’s first of the season.

Game score

What’s next?

The Maple Leafs remain at home and take on the Detroit Red Wings at 7:00 p.m. Friday on TSN4.

(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)

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