SIMMONDS INJURY MAY CLOUD LEAFS’ RUN OF SUCCESS
Saturday’s win over the Vancouver Canucks was Wayne Simmonds at his best, but it might have been the last the Toronto Maple Leafs and their stirred-up fans see of him for a while.
After scoring twice, the winger departed the game in the third period after blocking a shot with his hand. While coach Sheldon Keefe said there wouldn’t be an update until Monday morning, Sportsnet’s elliotte Friedman tweeted Sunday that early indications are he could miss six weeks. That would mean a likely bone break, though the Leafs, who had the day off, were not talking until Monday.
If Simmonds is sidelined longterm, it would be a setback to him and the team, after the Scarborough native had worked his way up from the fourth to the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. He has been scoring and asserting himself physically. His five goals are just three shy of his 2019-20 total with New Jersey and buffalo. The 32-year-old had recently declared himself in the best shape of the past few years.
If Simmonds is gone, Keefe’s options at second line include Jimmy Vesey, who spent some time there last month at left wing before moving to the third unit with Alex Kerfoot and Ilya Mikheyev. The fourth line of Travis boyd, Jason Spezza and Nic Petan has played well, but the shuffle to replace Simmonds on the roster could see the Leafs elevate Pierre engvall or Joey Anderson from the taxi squad.
Toronto is already without a couple of newcomers up front with long-term injuries: Joe Thornton (fractured rib) and rookie Nick robertson (leg).
ZONED IN ON DEFENCE
There’s a difference between a team having to score its way out of defensive trouble versus playing its way out of its zone and getting goals as a reward.
The Leafs are grasping the latter concept, though this season is barely a month old.
“We’re trying not to get too ahead of ourselves,” said Auston Matthews, who is on a seven-game goal streak, adding two more on Saturday.
“In the past we’ve played well and get away from what we did to get to that point. Lately, we’ve not let our foot off the gas.
“(Vancouver) had their possession time and had their chances, but we really stuck with it, stayed inside, forced them outside.”
After taking seven of a possible eight points on an Alberta road trip, the Leafs are a win away Monday from sweeping a three-game home series against the Canucks. Already atop the division and the NHL with a record of 9-2-1, it’s their best 12-game start to the schedule since 1993-94.
but rather than rely solely on Matthews-mitch Marner production numbers, or overtax netminder Frederik Andersen, the Leafs have been coming out of their end with a plan and seeing it through all 200 feet.
“We’re not panicking, we’re talking to each other, coming out with the puck cleanly,” Marner said. “When we’re doing that well, it transforms into our offence. We’re coming over the (opposing) blue line, everyone’s doing their part going to the net and when our d-man jumps in, we have someone covering high. When everything like that works well, our team is going to excel.”
No one’s happier that the team is sticking to the script than Andersen, who had one first-period shot against him in a recent win in Calgary and just one in the first nine minutes Saturday. by the end of that period, the Leafs were up 2-0 en route to a 5-1 win, with Vancouver managing a very late powerplay goal to spoil Andersen’s shutout.
“We obviously wore them down a bit,” the dane said. “Good habits and again, a good start, jumping on them hard and not giving them much.”
MORE FROM NO. 34?
Matthews’ seven-game goal streak, four shy of the franchise record, has included nine of his 10 goals this season. That was the most goals in the NHL before Sunday and Keefe thinks he could’ve scored more. He takes a bit of the blame for that.
“All season, but certainly these last two games, he’s really had jump and if anything, I’ve got in his way a little bit. Maybe not reducing his minutes, but disrupting his flow. In times I’d normally get him out there in offensive-zone starts and shifts in succession, I hold him back to get in a 1-to-4 type of rotation (to involve all lines, especially with the team’s comfy leads of late). “In both these games, he could’ve had four or five, he was really feeling it. He was doing it in all zones earlier in the season, now he’s getting consistent rewards around the net.”