Maple Leafs report cards: Penalty-killing miscues costly against division rival Panthers

By / / Sports / 6 minutes of reading


The Toronto Maple Leafs had a massive opportunity to bolster their chances of winning the Atlantic Division on Monday by hosting a Florida Panthers team down Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand.

That opportunity slipped through their fingers in a 3-2 loss.

While the Maple Leafs got off to a fantastic start thanks to an early goal from John Tavares off an excellent William Nylander feed, the team couldn’t sustain the jump it managed out of the gate. For most of the game, the Panthers battered the Maple Leafs on the forecheck and slowed them through the neutral zone, steadily building a 3-1 lead, thanks largely to Toronto’s penalty-killing miscues.

A Max Domi goal off the rush less than five minutes into the third period appeared to energize Toronto, and the team applied pressure late, but nothing came of it.

The box score tells the story of a game that was essentially even in shots (25-25), scoring chances (21-21), and expected goals (2.11-2.02, Maple Leafs), but a Florida team down some star players came to Toronto, played exactly the type of game they were hoping to play, and got the result it needed. Toronto’s effort was credible, but its failure to rise to the occasion warrants an overall C grade.

Unit grades

L1 (Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner): C+

Toronto’s first line had the kind of game that coaches dream of — for their third line.

Florida got absolutely nothing going in this group’s five-on-five minutes (0.12 expected goals in 8:18), and they produced several legitimate chances while spending plenty of time in the opposing end. That said, these players’ jobs are to find the back of the net, and they weren’t able to in a critical game.

L2 (Calle Järnkrok — John Tavares — William Nylander): B+

The second line has had better nights, but there’s something to be said for scoring a beautiful goal in the opening minutes of a game.

Outside of that highlight, the group approximately stalemated their minutes as Craig Berube shuffled various options through the left wing spot alongside Tavares and Nylander. None of the iterations of the line were able to earn a second goal, but they didn’t give up much the other way, either.

L3 (Bobby McMann — Scott Laughton — Max Domi): B+

Since the Scott Laughton deal, this group has yet to click, and it wasn’t particularly impactful in this one. Laughton struggled for most of the game but looked better when he was moved up to the second line left wing spot midway through the third, helping that line sustain offensive pressure.

McMann wasn’t a significant factor, but Domi was, which is why these three get a solid grade. Domi set the tone in the early going with a massive hit that resulted in some gloves hitting the ice.

He gave the Maple Leafs a more tangible boost in the third by scoring his fifth goal of the season.

L4 (Pontus Holmberg — David Kämpf — Steven Lorentz): D-

The fourth line was only on the ice for 7:22 at five-on-five, and they dug a puck out of their net. That goal against came as a direct result of Pontus Holmberg badly losing a puck battle in the defensive zone, too.

Nothing this group did compensated for that misstep outside of a drawn penalty by Holmbeg, and all three finished the night with expected goal rates of 25.35 percent or lower.

D1 (Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev): B-

Tanev’s return to the lineup wasn’t exactly triumphant, but he didn’t look out of place in his 18:35 outside of a couple of choppy plays with the puck.

McCabe had a tougher night as he was on the ice for two of Florida’s goals, but to his credit, Toronto outshot Florida 10-9 in his five-on-five minutes with a 62.28 percent expected goal rate.

D2 (Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo): B+

It’s too early to render a verdict on the Morgan Rielly-Brandon Carlo partnership, but Thursday’s game provided some of the best evidence we’ve seen that it could work.

The duo didn’t produce anything concrete, but they carried the play in their minutes, with both Rielly and Carlo posting excellent expected goal rates of 71.99 percent and 58.73 percent, respectively. Carlo also led all Maple Leafs defencemen with four hits — more than the rest of the blue line combined — despite the fact he didn’t spend the night chasing the puck.

D3 (Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson): C+

The third pair had rough possession numbers together but made some noticeable positive plays for the Maple Leafs. An open-ice hit from Oliver Ekman-Larsson helped create space in the neutral zone that factored into Toronto’s first goal, and Benoit drew a penalty with a rare drive to the net in the second.

There were some noticeable negatives, too. Benoit was on for the only five-on-five goal Florida scored after the Panthers retrieved a puck he swept into the corner and fed Niko Mikkola in the slot. Ekman-Larsson was relatively quiet but took a costly penalty after a scrum that probably never should’ve happened.

Ekman-Larsson had more success in his minutes without Benoit, which may be a consistent theme down the stretch.

Power play: C

For the first two periods, the power play looked unimpressive, creating very little outside of a promising break for Matthews.

In the third, the unit did significantly better with a promising early-period opportunity that included two shots off the post. Considering the Maple Leafs’ difficulty creating five-on-five chances against the Panthers, they needed more from the power play.

Penalty kill: F

Considering the Maple Leafs conceded two goals in four opportunities, it’s tough to justify a passing grade. Neither goals were the results of misfortune or poor goaltending, either.

On the first, Jake McCabe let Sam Bennett slip behind him to score from in tight.

The second power-play goal was the result of leaving Bennett all alone in front.

Those are the kind of misplays that good players and teams will punish, and that’s precisely what happened.

Goaltending (Anthony Stolarz): B-

Stolarz made 22 saves on 25 shots, but both power-play goals he conceded weren’t his fault. He might have wanted Mikkola’s goal back, but the big defenceman deserves credit for his excellent shot as well.

The 31-year-old wasn’t able to steal the game, but he was hung out to dry on two of his goals, and his team only scored two, so he didn’t really have a chance to swing the outcome.

Game Score

Single HockeyStatCards com 16

What’s next?

The Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on Hockey Night in Canada.

(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)





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About The Author

Avatar of Traci Russell
Traci Russell is a writer from News Trolley. She writes about arts, construction, automotive, travel, and fashion. She has a deep love for anything related to art, so it's no surprise that she loves writing about the world of photography and its impact on contemporary culture. When she's not writing, she can be found at her local coffee shop reading up on the latest news in construction or remodeling.

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