Toronto Maple Leafs: What an Absolute Thrashing That Was
The Toronto Maple Leafs started the season off with a bang.
All I wanted was for the Toronto Maple Leafs to destroy the Winnipeg Jets and that’s exactly what they did.
Simple rule, if you don’t win the first game, you can’t win them all, but luckily for the Leafs, they have a chance to win them all.
Okay, I’ll settle down a little.
By the way, I only expect the scholars 100 years from now to understand that title, okay, I’m just kidding, I know my readers are smart and get it.
From when the puck was dropped and for most of the first period, the Jets controlled play as the Leafs took penalty after penalty.
It’s a good thing Frederik Andersen was in net because he played like a brick wall last night, keeping them in the game during the early frame and letting the scorers find their footing.
To top it off, everyone chipped in last night, so let’s take a look at the box score.
A beautiful sight, 7-2 for the good guys.
Let’s go through the statistics now and I’ll point out a few other topics of interest to get the conversation going.
Outlook
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Alright, one of my favorite things to do after a game like the one last night is to go through the statistics and highlight some other key performances that might not always show up in the box score.
First off, Nazem Kadri scored the first goal of the 2017-18 NHL season, not the prettiest of goals, but a goal nonetheless.
Eric Fehr played 15:41 of ice time and seemed unstoppable, maybe because he was playing in front of his friends and family, but he looked really good.
Auston Matthews was able to record a shot on goal, extending his streak to 83 regular season games, every single NHL regular season game he’s played in.
Connor Brown looked sharp on the fourth line and even made a great defensive play, getting his stick into the play.
The Leafs combined for 61:6 of ice time on the penalty kill between 13 players, where Ron Hainsey lead in time with one man down at 12:03.
Basically, everyone was chipping in to kill off all eight penalties against, but the same goes for the scoresheet.
Lastly, Andersen stopped 35 of 37 shots (two goals on even strength allowed), posted a Sv% of .946 and a GAA of 2.00.
Individual Stats
This is going to be a long list, folks.
- James van Riemsdyk: one goal, two assists
- Auston Matthews: one goal, two assists
- Patrick Marleau: two goals (great signing, eh?)
- Mitchell Marner: one goal, one assist
- Nazem Kadri: one goal, one assist
- Tyler Bozak: two assists
- William Nylander: one goal
- Leo Komarov: one assist
- Connor Carrick: one assist
- Morgan Rielly: one assist
- Jake Gardiner: one assist
- Andreas Borgman: one assist
What a great night.
Team Stats
A team effort all around.
| Team | SOG | TFO% | PP | PIM | HITS | BLKS | GVA |
| Leafs | 31 | 56% | 2/4 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 10 |
| Jets | 37 | 44% | 0/8 | 8 | 18 | 14 | 7 |
You can blame the Winnipeg goaltending if you want, but the Leafs were still able to capitalize with seven goals on just 31 shots.
They won more draws and special teams were on fire, going 50% on the powerplay and 100% on the penalty kill, you couldn’t ask for much more.
Patrik Laine, who has one of the best shots in the NHL, wasn’t even able to get more than two on net despite having over seven shot attempts.
That means bodies in front and sticks in play, all good defensive tools.
The Leafs will have their home opener on Saturday when the New York Rangers come for a visit, that should be nice, eh?
Puck drops at 7 PM, live from the Air Canada Centre.