The Anaheim Ducks walked into Scotiabank Arena hoping to build on their 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Considering Lukas Dostal started and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ tendency to play behind their opponents, that was a possibility.
In case you forgot, Dostal was Anaheim’s goaltender who made 55 saves before coming close to losing the Leafs to the Leafs in their most frustrating loss of the season. But there is a big difference between wanting reality and having it become reality. The Ducks may have hoped for a good result, but the Leafs wanted it more, and they got it.
The final score was consistent with the overall tone of the game, and there was no moment where that changed as the Leafs took over the game. The team scored from up and down the lineup on 5-on-5 and power plays, and Martin Jones had an easy night stopping 19 of 21 shots.
3 stars
1. Auston Matthews
We look at Matthews’ accomplishments that have not been accomplished this century. He scored back-to-back hat tricks for the second time this season, bringing his total to six. Mario Lemieux was the last player to score this many points in a single season, back in 1996. Additionally, Matthews recorded two assists in addition to those three goals, earning him his first career five-point game. In terms of scoring goals, there is no better player this season. Matthews is two spots away from No. 50, and we’re keeping an eye on the 70 number he’s on track to reach.
2. Bobby McMann
Injuries and the team’s strong performance have given McMann time to show that his AHL production has NHL flare. He started on the power play and scored his sixth goal of the season in the first inning, outscoring Radko Gudas en route to his seventh.
McMann puts everything that made him successful to good use. His speed, skill, and effort are what made him remarkable, and of all his raw accomplishments, his most impressive play was a turnover in the offensive zone in front of Nick Robertson’s goal. I thought it was his effort to force it.
3. Tyler Bertuzzi
He finally did it. Bertuzzi ended a 19-game goal drought. At first it looked like his bad luck would continue, but he finally scored his seventh goal of the season.
simple shout
Max Domi
There were two helpers on the night who got into two scuffles with Gudas, the second of whom was on defense after McMann’s second goal.
timothy lilgegren
His 3-point night at the blue line played a big role in keeping Leo Karlsson off the scoresheet late in the game.
ryan reeves
He had been involved with Gudas once or twice, but no one would answer the door.
killer instinct
The Leafs had an 18-3 shot advantage after the first period. The man advantage helped, as seven of them were on the power play, but the Ducks couldn’t get anything going at 5-on-5. The best scoring chances were deflected shots from Karlsson and Alex Killorn, but both went wide. Frank Vatrano’s power play gave them some life back, but it was 4-1 at the end of the first period. This is where this game gets particularly interesting.
The Leafs controlled the game with a three-point lead. Will they be able to leave it alone? Can they hold the Ducks to that one goal?
Not only did the Leafs hold Anaheim to that one goal, they also scored five goals of their own. The Ducks had momentum in the middle frame and had 10 shots on goal, but still fell short of the Leafs’ four goals. They were still sharp defensively and didn’t give Anaheim many dangerous chances.
challenge
I thought it was a good thing that coach Sheldon Keefe challenged Carlson’s goal even though the score was 8-1. Jones made the first save, and the rebound immediately hit Carlson, who buried it. The lawsuit the Leafs contested was against Ryan Strome, who interfered with Jones’ attempt to return to the crease to stop Karlsson. Jones stopped 14 of 15 shots and was hitting .933 at the time. Had the goals counted, his save percentage would have dropped to .875. It may not be important to the overall look of the game, but it is important to Jones.
power in play
The Leafs took advantage of a fairly passive Anaheim power play. The top unit had all the time and space to pass, shoot and retrieve the puck. Bertuzzi replaced John Tavares on the top unit and scored a few goals himself, while Liljegren handled the point duties and had the key assist on William Nylander’s 4-1 goal (his 500th career NHL point).
In addition to Nylander, McMann, Matthews, and Bertuzzi also scored on the power play, converting four of five chances, and Anaheim allowed only one power play goal.
Defenseman Marner
Keefe, always one to try something new, single-handedly took out a defenseman midway through the second period and Mitch Marner joined the defensive group. This wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Marner play defense (Keefe tried a little bit last season), but it always gets more interesting the more we see it. He had a few RBIs with TJ Brody and then went on to play 5-on-5 on Jake McCabe’s right side.
Marner isn’t used to holding the point offensively, but he still didn’t look out of place on the blue line and had some good breakout passes from the zone.
Kill another defender
The only negative of the night was the Leafs losing William Lagesson to injury. It appears to have happened on his first shift, and Keefe says it may take a while for them to figure out what it is and how long he’ll be out.
game score
Final grade: A+
This trifecta was the perfect way to respond to a 5-3 loss to the Senators. Since then, the Leafs have gotten much better defensively and are not taking their scoring ability for granted. Trailing 4-1 after the first and 8-1 after the second, the Leafs gave Anaheim no chance of a comeback. Aside from the usual suspects, the team got solid performances from the entire defensive corps (including Marner), with Max Lajoie having a solid night with 20 minutes of ice time, Matthew Knies, Domi, and Nicholas Roberston. The same was true. Saturday’s game was the Maple Leafs’ best game, not about skill and effort, but about skill and effort.
What’s next for the Leafs?
The Leafs travel to St. Louis for a game at 1:00 pm ET on Monday.
(Top photo: Klaus Andersen/Getty Images)