Ilya Samsonov’s solid goalie and special teams success was the difference for the Maple Leafs in their first road win of the 2022-23 season (4-1 finish).
Your game in 10:
1. Despite a bright start (shooting 3-0 in four minutes), the Maple Leafs trailed 1-0 for the fourth straight game after the Jets quickly transitioned for a chance to rush, Ilya Samsonov does the initial backup, and Alex Kerfoot committed the flyover of all flyovers, not stopping on the puck and letting Pierre-Luc Dubois score on his own rebound. No chance for Samsonov there.
2. It was a big night for the Leafs special teams, and while the pair of power-play goals obviously stood out (they were the difference in a game that was 1-1 at 5-on-5), I thought the penalty kill had really made it roll for them.
The Leafs’ PKers frustrated the Jets on starters throughout the game, and it was Jarnkrok Street on the Jets’ first power play – with the score at 1-0 Winnipeg – which broke the initial entry and then harassed the puck carrier on the next when Josh Morrissey threw a selection to him which drew a call of interference.
On the abbreviated power play ensuring, Auston Matthews fumbled for the puck but managed to corral it and pass in William Nylander into the low slot, where Nylander slipped a nice pass over John Tavares. The Leafs captain patiently edged out Connor Hellebuyck with great hands and a nice tight finish.
3. I thought Sheldon Keefe made some good calls ahead of this game with his lineup. Coming out of a game where Auston Matthews took a few hits (a crosscut from Jamie Benn, a mutilation from Jani Hakanpaa, etc.) and Marc Giordano was also crumpled in the unanswered end boards, the Leafs were now headed for a situation on the road where everyone knew the Jets would take a chance on liberties.
That game within the game isn’t everything, and I think Keefe keeps it in the right perspective – if the ZAR – Kampf – NAK line played better hockey, he probably stuck to it – but that was the good time to mix a hungry Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford on the fourth line given that it hasn’t really given the Leafs much in recent games anyway.
The fourth line generated some solid offensive zone changes in the game, and it was Simmonds’ pass between the legs that led to David Kampfis the second of the season who has established himself as the winner of the match. File another one under, “every goal Kampf scores seems to matter.”
Favorite campsite: Back of the net ⛺️ pic.twitter.com/bELpCdnJLw
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 23, 2022
Keep in mind that usage has completely changed from the Kampf-centric line with Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Zach Aston Reese which Keefe relied on so much defensively, but it was clearly the best game of the season for the Leafs’ fourth line statistically: a 69% share of team-leading shot attempts while beating the Jets 5- 1 and beating them 1-0 at 5 against 5.
It’s a small thing, but once the game got out of control at 4-1, Keefe was able to send off Simmonds-Clifford for several shifts in the last two minutes to make sure the Jets didn’t have anything. tried late and his team. left the game healthy. They aren’t and shouldn’t be everyday players anymore, but as Keefe keeps his finger on when the team could use a little extra juice throughout the year, they’re still good veterans. to have.
I also liked Keefe’s decision to reward the second line’s consistent efforts so far this season by starting them for the start of the road periods.
4. What was particularly nice, however, was that Simmonds and Clifford didn’t need to chase down Josh Morrissey later in the game after his hit on the ice. Nick Robertson in the second period. There was an immediate response on the ice.
There were no skate laces to watch from Morgan Rielly there, and John Tavares and TJ Brodie also supported him. Sometimes you see a teammate shove a guy half-heartedly out of obligation, but Rielly mauled Morrissey with a ferocity you can’t help but appreciate.
We saw Rielly progress similarly last season when Nikita Zadorov caught Ondrej Kase at a similar spot on the Calgary ice. It’s impressive for a 60-70 point defender to show that kind of leadership and recognition of what’s required in the moment – although that part of the game might not come quite naturally to him – for the good of the team.
5. The middle manager wasn’t the Leafs’ best period in terms of controlling the flow of play and generating sustained possession time in the offensive zone, but they gave themselves some extra breathing room with a minute to play in the period thanks to a John Tavares tip on a Auston Matthews fired from the top on the power play, which was controversially won after a boundary Ramsus Sandin the failure led to a scrimmage and a Leafs man advantage.
It was a frustrating start for Matthews in terms of looking clean on the power play, so it was good to see him just net one in a good spot. A confident Tavares did the rest.
Oh captain, my captain! pic.twitter.com/Y4KNAywaU9
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 23, 2022
Overall, while he’s still waiting for the breakthrough (he still technically hasn’t shot a puck into the net this season – just the lone deflection goal), he was a team leader of 13 attempts to shooting and three assists for Matthews in this one.
6. Also noteworthy about this power play: it was Ramus Sandin pick up secondary help on the power play (for the second straight game) as the Leafs went with Sandin on the top unit Marc Giordano with Morgan Rielly in the box. With Giordano taking more PK minutes in Jake Muzzin’In the absence, Sandin takes advantage of the extra opportunity on the power play so far.
At 5-on-5, Sandin also worked successfully on shots from the end-board bank – he nearly caught Hellebuyck off guard for a goal early in the third period. He threw seven hits in a physical game against Dallas on Thursday and also provided the physical advantage in a controversial game tonight in Winnipeg. He hasn’t been perfect, but I’ve liked the way he’s progressed so far since dropping Muzzin (two games in a row over 20 minutes).
seven. It’s about as good as I’ve seen John Tavares watch on a five- or six-game streak arguably since his first season with the Leafs in 2018-19. In that 47-goal year, he was obviously as good as anyone in the league at scoring goals below hash marks, and he could also meddle in the odd goal where he beat a defender outright face to face. Coming off of a head injury-hit offseason in the Montreal series, his feet seemed so heavy on points last season that it felt like he had to beat his man once and then beat him again to try. to open up space. . His feet seem lighter so far this year, and he looks really confident with the puck on his stick right now.
With about seven minutes left midway through the period, the second line got the Leafs restarting after about 10 minutes or so with a change of momentum that included a double post from Tavares. The fourth line scored shortly after.
Overall, the second line was the Leafs’ best in six games. If they can maintain it, it would be really something to see the front row rolling like we know it with such a dangerous second row behind them.
8. There’s parking the bus with the head and leaning heavily on the goalkeeper, then there’s playing a simple, clean game while protecting a multi-goal lead on the road. The Leafs’ third period mostly fit the latter description. They didn’t spend much time in the offensive zone, but they defended critical ice well as a five-man unit and made easy, safe plays on the blue lines.
The Jets huffed and huffed, but could only really find a few half chances in the 20 minutes (plus a post from Pierre-Luc Dubois on the power play), with few net Grade A chances generated by defensive or odd breakdowns. -men’s situations. It was a close professional period for the Buds played with a good structure, which is not always in place this early in the season.
There was also the inevitable make-up call that came after the Jets felt tough following Sandin’s hit on Cole Perfetti – and the ensuing scrimmage that brought them down to a man and led to the goal. 3-1 from the Leafs – but the PK held on (with an assist at the goal post).
9. It could have been Ilya Samsonovthe best game inside his territory in terms of shot-stopping and his worst game outside the territory in terms of puck handling, but it’s hard to ask for much more than he gave to the Leafs in four starts – 4-0-0 and a .938 save percentage, which is the league’s top five among goaltenders with three or more starts. A breakaway save on Nate Schmidt as the Leafs struggled in the second period was particularly crucial.
He made the opportune saves and he did a good job of making the first save while playing into himself to be in position for the second and third opportunities. So far she’s been calm and steady as she heads towards Samsonov, although a few tough moments behind her net have given the Jets some good chances in this one.
Last season in Washington, Samsonov was 13-3-2 with two shutouts going into the New Year and seemed to hit a wall in the second half (10-10-3, .887 save percentage for the rest of the way). To state the obvious, the real test is durability and the durability of a long schedule, but with Matt Murray injured, Samsonov’s propensity for hot starts couldn’t come at a better time for the Leafs.
ten. More than any kind of sustained 5-on-5 dominance over the 60 minutes, it was the special teams, a solid goalkeeper and a good team-wide defensive effort that really tipped the game in favor of the Leafs in this one. Success on the road isn’t always glamorous, but good teams find ways.
I still think this team still has a ways to go until they really click 5-on-5 in terms of puck control over 60 minutes and especially the offensive pace of the big duo up front.
Heat Map: 5 vs. 5 shot attempts
Game flow: 5 against 5 shot attempts
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