Leafs’ loaded power play gets high marks in victory
MONTREAL • Let’s peer into the crystal ball and predict what opposing National Hockey League coaches will be preaching to their players when the Maple Leafs are on the other side this season. Discipline.
And failing that, head to the penalty box at your peril.
The Leafs’ top power play unit of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly got down to business against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night, scoring on Toronto’s first power play at the Bell Centre.
In the second period, with Tavares and Rielly already on the bench, parts of the unit scored again, as Matthews took a pass from Marner and went high on Montreal goalie Carey Price.
In the first, it was Kadri scoring, with Matthews and Marner assisting.
The goals with the man advantage helped the Leafs, resembling greatly their opening-night roster, emerge with a 5-3 victory.
Not long before Kadri scored, Matthews missed an open net on a pass from Marner.
Defending against the Leafs’ top unit will be at the top of opponents’ list of preparations. And trying to properly cover Matthews at the back door? Have fun with that.
While the potential of the power play is scary, coach Mike Babcock was saying on Tuesday that the Leafs have lots of work to do in the final days of the pre-season.
Babcock was bang on, as the Leafs’ five-on-five play, especially in the defensive zone, left plenty to be desired.
A hallmark of the Leafs is their quickness, but the Canadiens, who also used a majority of NHLers, often were quicker and more determined, forcing the Leafs into a slew of errors behind their own blue line.
Frederik Andersen saved the Leafs from the fire several times last season and had to be sharp to cover up on Wednesday.
Apparently, though, the Leafs plan to dominate on all special teams once the regular season gets going.
Toronto scored goals 20 seconds apart in the first minute of the third period — with forward Josh Leivo sitting in the penalty box serving a slashing minor.
Marner’s ability to read the play, coupled with his speed, will make him a threat to score while killing penalties, and he did that when he jumped on a Jeff Petry/Price miscue and put the puck in the net at 16 seconds.
At 36 seconds, Par Lindholm set up Kasperi Kapanen, who roofed the puck over Price.
Leivo got to see one more goal from the box, as Canadiens defenceman David Schlemko ripped a shot past Andersen at 1:16.
FROM THE HASH MARKS
Igor Ozhiganov had a couple of interesting moments. He lost a step on Jonathan Drouin and then caught up to the Canadiens forward to take away a scoring chance; later, Ozhiganov took too long to make a decision along the boards and was forechecked by Michael Chaput into coughing up the puck before the Leafs recovered … Ozhiganov’s partner, Calle Rosen, has had a strong camp, but offered zero resistance as Brendan Gallagher held him to score the goal that made it 2-2 at 6:59 of the second period … The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead at the four-minute mark when Tomas Tatar scored on a screened Andersen during a Montreal power play. Tatar had plenty of time to take a shot as the Leafs’ penalty killers couldn’t get properly positioned … What if Ron Hainsey takes a step back this season, which would not be out of the question for a 37-yearold defenceman? There’s lots of depth on the Toronto blue line, but a top-four defender has to be somewhere near the top of general manager Kyle Dubas’ list. The group, as it stands now, will be hard-pressed to help lead the Leafs deep into the postseason. Having said that, defending properly at evenstrength is on the shoulders of all five players. The Leafs must improve in that area … Tavares was shaking a hand in pain after blocking a shot but did not seem hampered otherwise … Patrick Marleau scored Toronto’s fifth and only goal at even-strength … Marner finished with four points.
POINT SHOTS
Tavares on Price, with whom he has won Olympic gold (2014) and gold at the World Cup of Hockey (2016): “If he’s not the best in the world, then he’s right there. The body of work over his career, being around him with Team Canada, the impact he has on a team, it’s pretty impressive. You always have to be at the top of your game playing against a guy like him. I’ll be playing against him a little more frequently now, so I’ll definitely be doing my homework.” … The clock hasn’t started ticking on the William Nylander negotiations only now. That clock has been ticking for a while — it’s getting louder with less than a week to go before the regular season starts — and it’s a shame for the player that Dubas and agent Lewis Gross have not yet agreed on a new contract, costing Nylander the benefit of training camp. It’s not as though Nylander’s status changed over the summer. He’s the same player now that he was when the Leafs were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and his statistics have not got better or worse in the ensuing months. Argue that this sort of thing is not out of the ordinary, but it still doesn’t have Dubas or Gross smelling like roses … That Tavares didn’t consider the Canadiens when he whittled down his list to a handful teams before signing with the Leafs is a non-story. Much ado about nothing.