Toronto Maple Leafs Outplay the Slow Wild at Both Ends of the Ice

The Toronto Maple Leafs were victorious against the Minnesota Wild with a convincing 4-2 victory against the aging yet strong defensive team.

The Toronto Maple Leafs now sit 4-2-1 on the season, still at 3rd place in the Atlantic Divison behind rivals, Boston and Buffalo.

The Leafs dominated the game at both ends of the ice at 5v5  with 60.44CF% and 61.29xGF%.

Those are the stats of a team that dismantled its opponent: (all data from natural stat trick)

What of note can we take away from this game?

#1. Trevor Morre fits better with Marner and Tavares, Kapanen fits better with Kerfoot and Mikheyev

Or as a fellow contributor, Nick Barden from Editor In Leaf tweeted, “I guess when Kasperi was on the Tavares line, goals were Kapped. When Trevor Moore came onto the line, there were Moore goals.”

Ultimately, I believe Trevor Moore is a better fit on the Tavares line, Kapanen doesn’t seem himself when put at left-wing and I believe this is a good coaching decision.

 # 2. Giving up the first goal every game is concerning

The Leafs gave up the first goal for the sixth time in seven games, you may say it is just a matter of being unlucky but the fact this has been so continuous for not only this season but last season makes me wonder. Most people tend to blame Babcock for this occurrence, but I tend to lean towards the side of it is the player’s job to show up on time. Former NHLer Ryan Whitney also commented on this on Sportsnet radio and seemed to believe it is on the players to start on time.

#3. The Muzzin-Barrie pairing continues to be rock solid

Recently I wrote a piece essentially giving the Leafs players report cards 6 games into the season and the duo of Muzzin and Barrie landed in the 4-star category. Today I’d give them five stars, they continued to dominate the opposition at 5v5 posting 66.67CF% and 55.18xGF%. together.

#4. Nylander looked like a man on a mission and he deserves the game ball despite not having any points

All game Nylander was buzzing, entering the zone with possession consistently, backchecking and was robbed of a few well-deserved points in this game.

#5. Rielly’s offensive game looks like it has come back to life

Tonight Rielly was firing on all cylinders, using his speed to create clean zone exits and using his elite offensive talent to generate high danger scoring chances. Rielly totaled four assists in the game and actually made history.

Overall I think the Toronto Maple Leafs should be happy after this 4-2 win to the Wild, there were a lot of positives that have come out of this game.