Open 2016 with solid victory over Blues
Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri summed it up best when he assessed this juncture of the season and how the tempo ramps up dramatically around the NHL.
“This is the point in the season when you turn it up a notch and see what you are capable of,” Kadri said between periods of a Saturday night’s tilt between the Leafs and St. Louis Blues.
Toronto encountered a Blues team every bit as well-coached as it is, and the result was an entertaining 4-1 Leaf win in Toronto’s first game of 2016.
The game — which gave the Leafs a 15-15-7 record, their first even record of the season — was definitely another measuring stick of just how good this club is.
An even though they just climbed past the Buffalo Sabres and out of last place in the Atlantic Division, there is an unmistakable sense of structure and defensively responsible hockey. Many previous coaches wanted as much but just couldn’t deliver.
“Our systems allow us to play with layers. We have great communication and we all know where each other will be.” LEAFS’ PETER HOLLAND
Now, Toronto is just beginning to discover what it can do after spending a miserable first month of the season adjusting to a new coach in Mike Babcock, who is unlike any the core group in the dressing room has experienced before.
“We’re starting to understand how to play and what to do to be successful,” Kadri said after the game. He notched his seventh goal of the season as the Leafs improved to 105-1 against Western Conference teams.
This Leafs-Blues tilt was a tremendous match-up, with excellent execution on both sides.
Of course, the Leafs looked like something of a juggernaut a year ago, until a seemingly innocuous 6-0 road loss in Carolina against the Hurricanes on Dec. 18 sparked a season-sinking tail spin.
This time, the players feel they have something different to remain consistent and avoid prolonged losing streaks.
“Our systems allows us to play with layers . . . we talk to each other all the time, we have great communication and we all know where each other will be,” said Peter Holland, who scored the game-winning goal on the power play at the 3:15 mark of the second period.
“It’s like chess out there . . . everyone has to do their jobs.
“We spend more time on offence by playing good defence, but we have a safety valve (a forward, usually the centre, who is always in good position to backcheck and tie up the neutral zone). We didn’t have that last year.”
Vladimir Tarasenko, the Blues scoring machine, got the Blues on the board with a wonderful one-timer off the power play at 8:08 of the second period.
But there were the Leafs, five seconds later, with James van Riemsdyk’s 14th of the season to tie the score at 1-1.
The fact Toronto withstood a very good Blues club highlighted another good sign; that they appear to be — despite some thought they will move some of their veteran, grinder-type players at the trade deadline — just finding their second gear, and ready to see how good this current roster can be.
What management’s design is remains to be seen but, for now, the Leafs have delivered evidence they are a much sounder team than in the past few seasons.