It was a tough night for the Toronto Maple Leafs both on and on the ice, as a shockingly red crowd got to watch the shockingly-white Montreal Canadiens deliver a 4-2 defeat to the Blue and White on Saturday night.
Preface: Due to the site being hit with a botnet attack on Saturday, this is being published on Monday, meaning we already know what happens next against New Jersey. The issues have since been fixed, and this is a back-dated article for the sake of completing the schedule.
The Rundown
Alex Newhook, who showed us in the playoffs that he has an affinity for scoring weird goals on national television, opened the scoring for the Canadiens by attempting a cross crease pass to Kirby Dach. Instead, it bounced off Jake McCabe’s skate, again off Sergei Bobrovsky’s skate, and into the back of the net to give Montreal a 1-0 lead just six minutes in.
Eight minutes later, we’d see him again, as a deflection off of a Kaiden Guhle shot deflected five-hole past Bobrovsky, who was firmly committed to the high-glove shot. Less than ideal. Things got worse before they got better in the second period, as a bad pass by Gavin McKenna sent Chris Kreider on a breakaway, and the veteran forward made no mistake.
The Leafs made a bit of a push back in the third. William Nylander buried his eleventh of the season the powerplay, blasting a one timer off the left wing past Jacob Fowler to end his shutout bid. A minute later, Gavin McKenna created a flurry of chances off of an offensive zone faceoff, first setting up Dakota Joshua, then taking his own shot, and finally getting his own rebound to bring Toronto within one. Unfortunately for the Leafs, though, they would be made to pay for a Troy Stecher penalty a few minutes later, as Zachary Bolduc blasted home an insurance marker from the point. Despite the Leafs’ final pushes, they were never able to get any closer.
Notes
- The Leafs might have a Jake McCabe problem. The 33-year-old has fallen off a cliff both on and off the puck in a way that is unfortunately not uncommon for physical defencemen in their thirties, but is just starting year two of a five-year extension signed in 2024. This isn’t going to end well for them, but it might not mid very well for them either unless they can figure out a deployment for him that makes the most of his current toolset.
- On the flip side, a nice bounce-back game for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has felt similar this season, going from one of their most positively impactful defenders to, well, very much looking 35 years old. He didn’t contribute to the scoresheet in this one (or in 16 of the other 17 games up to this point), but he was decently mobile and the puck was generally in better spots with him on the ice.
- A tough game for turnovers, particularly from Gavin McKenna. Nice to see him get a goal back, though, given the mistakes that led to goals one and three. He’s an eighteen year old rookie, so we’re all willing to give him some grace, but they’ll need this to be a part of his game where he shows a bit more responsibility. Not so much that he stops trying to make big plays, but just cleaning up little unwise touches.
- A tough night at the draw for Toronto. I’m not usually one to spend too much time looking at faceoffs, but rough nights for Nick Paul (1 for 6), Teddy Blueger (1 for 5), and John Tavares (3 for 11) were all noticeable.
- I understand that the Canadiens are good right now, that it’s a Hall of Fame weekend with Carey Price getting inducted, and that every Leafs season ticket holder probably knows a Montreal fan friend that would appreciate going to a game once or twice a year, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Scotiabank Arena this swallowed up by an opposing team in the crowd, particularly a rival. Hopefully ownership is paying attention to that.
- The Leafs really can’t afford to keep giving up so many points to Atlantic Division opponents, especially ones on tears like Montreal, who now have points in ten consecutive games. A mushy-middle team like Toronto can’t afford to cede ground in the toughest division in the league – if they keep doing so, the sun will go down on this season early.
Up Next
The Maple Leafs have a quick turnaround ahead of them, facing the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night. Surely there won’t be a bunch of sudden absences in that one, right?
Numbers Game
| Top Performers | Bottom Performers | Top Opponents |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (3.55) 0G, 0A, 0 SOG, +1, 83% xG | 1. Jake McCabe (-3.50) 0G, 0A, 1 SOG, -3, 44% xG | 1. Alex Newhook (3.73) 2G, 0A, 2 SOG, +2, 81% xG |
| 2. Auston Matthews (2.29) 0G, 1A, 3 SOG, 72% xG | 2. Darren Raddysh (-1.49) 0G, 1A, 1 SOG, -2, 52% xG | 2. Oliver Kapanen (2.86) 0G, 1A, 0 SOG, +2, 81% xG |
| 3. Colton Sissons (1.84) 0G, 1A, 2 SOG, +1, 62% xG | 3. Chris Tanev (-1.40) 0G, 0A, 0 SOG, -1, 30% xG | 3. Kirby Dach (2.18) 0G, 1A, 1 SOG, +2, 56% xG |
| Shots On Goal | 28-28 TIE | Faceoffs | 19 for 50 |
| 5v5 Shot Attempts | 48-43 TOR | Hits | 24-19 NYI |
| 5v5 Expected Goals | 2.5-2.3 TOR | Blocked Shots | 21-11 TOR |
| Best Period (xG) | 5v5: 1st (59%) All: 2nd (64%) | Powerplay | 1 for 4 (9 shots) |
| Worst Period (xG) | 5v5: 3rd (39%) All: 1st (50%) | Penalty Kill | 1 for 2 (2 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
