Leafs Postgame: Sensationally Stifled (3-2 Ottawa)
The first Saturday night game of the year was a bit of a dud for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hoping to take advantage of an Ottawa Senators team that was the last in the league to make their season debut, the Leafs instead sputtered in the back end of the game, culminating in a one-goal defeat to their provincial rivals.
The Rundown
The two teams traded chances for much of the first period, before newly-named Senators captain Thomas Chabot put Ottawa up with a minute remaining in the first, driving to the net on a pinch and banging home a rebounded deflection for his team’s first goal of the season, and the game’s first for either side. While there’d be an intermission in between, Auston Matthews would give the Leafs a quick response in terms of game time, tipping home a Morgan Rielly point shot to equalize just 33 seconds into the second period.
Thie middle frame was heavily tilted in Toronto’s favour, out-attempting their opponents 21-4 at 5v5. With that in mind, though, the Leafs’ follow-up came on the powerplay. With all eyes on Darren Raddysh for a point bomb, he instead sent a pass up to Kirill Marchenko for an easy backhand in the slot to give the Leafs their first lead of the game. This lasted fewer than five minutes, as another scoring chance for Raddysh had a much different result – poor support coverage from his teammates gave Michael Amadio lots of room to crash the net on a counter-attack rush and tie the game.
Things fell apart for the Maple Leafs in the third. An early powerplay offered them a few prime chances to regain the lead, but after not succeedeing, the game swung back in Ottawa’s favour – first by pressure, then by the scoresheet. Stephen Halliday, an Ajax native who broke into the NHL as a 23-year-old last season, cleaned up a loose puck in the crease at the last second of a Senators powerplay to put them back ahead with ten minutes to go. Toronto’s response from here was disappointing – a Jack Roslovic penalty to put them back on the penalty kill a few seconds later, followed by next to no offensive pressure to close out. Needless to say, not the sort of thing you want to see from a team that expects to make bigger waves this year.
Notes
- Credit where it’s due, this was a great night for Linus Ullmark in the other net. 27 saves in 29 shots is already tidy business, but several of his stops were dangerous, and kept Toronto from building serious momentum in the opening forty.
- The top line continues to control the puck, out-attempting their opponents 11-7 and faring even better by shot quality. It’s nice to see both Matthews and Marchenko get rewarded on the scoresheet – Marchenko’s goal in particular was a doozy.
- I’d be very curious as to what Daniel Alfredsson’s Money on the Board splits look like for the Battle of Ontario over the years. My guess is he’s kept more of his cash in his wallet than he’s hoped to.
- Baby steps for the second line, who avoided another fill-in but are still struggling to create to their potential. I’m not sure how much longer they can stick together, but as long as 1 and 3 are going as well as they have been, they’ll persist for at least another game or two.
- I wonder if Troy Stecher comes out for Nick Blankenburg on Tuesday.
Up Next
The Maple Leafs play the last game of their season-opening homestand on Tuesday when they host the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
Numbers Game
| Top Performers | Bottom Performers | Top Opponents |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Auston Matthews (2.85) 1G, 0A, 6 SOG, +1, 71% xG | 1. Troy Stetcher (-4.23) 0G, 0A, 2 SOG, -2, 32% xG | 1. Thomas Chabot (1.04) 1G, 1A, 2 SOG, +2, 74% xG |
| 2. Darren Raddysh (2.29) 0G, 1A, 2 SOG, 75% xG | 2. Colton Sissons (-1.32) 0G, 0A, 4 SOG, -2, 55% xG | 2. Shane Pinto (2.18) 0G, 1A, 4 SOG, +1, 71% xG |
| 3. Wlliam Nylander (1.71) 0G, 0A, 2 SOG, 64% xG | 3. Morgan Rielly (-1.27) 0G, 1A, 1 SOG, -1, 42% xG | 3. Claude Giroux (2.18) 0G, 2A, 4 SOG, +1, 58% xG |
| Shots On Goal | 29-29 TIE | Faceoffs | 28 for 65 |
| 5v5 Shot Attempts | 57-36 TOR | Hits | 29-18 OTT |
| 5v5 Expected Goals | 2.96 – 2.73 TOR | Blocked Shots | 19-10 TOR |
| Best Period (xG) | 5v5: 2nd (51%) All: 1st (67%) | Powerplay | 1 for 4 (3 shots) |
| Worst Period (xG) | 5v5: 3rd (47%) All: 3rd (41%) | Penalty Kill | 4 for 4 (7 shots) |
Table 1: Game Score via Dom, HockeyStatCards reccomended for full-game results
Table 2: Derived from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick
Heatmap: via Natural Stat Trick
