The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped the opener of their play-in series to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday by a score of 2-0.
Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are somewhere between concerned and panicked after the Game One loss. The Leafs looked downright rusty at times.
It wasn’t all bad for the Leafs last night, but it was not what fans were hoping to see. Head Coach Sheldon Keefe is going to have to make some adjustments before the next game Tuesday afternoon.
The best of five series can end quickly if a team does not adjust. The Maple Leafs are suddenly looking at having to win three of the next four games to get to the playoffs.
So, what went well for the Leafs?
Auston Matthews
Matthews led all Leafs skaters with 22:25 ice time (courtesy naturalstattrick). He deserved to play 30. Easily Toronto’s best forward when the other stars failed to show up, Matthews fired five shots on net and was strong in the faceoff circle, winning 11 of 17 draws.
He had a sure goal robbed by the glove hand of Joonas Korpisalo (who was outstanding for Columbus). Matthews did not show any rust after a positive Covid-19 test during the shutdown.
Frederik Andersen
Had it not been for Andersen, this game could have gotten out of hand for Toronto (although the same could be said for Korpisalo). The Leafs allowed 34 shots, but worse than that, there were nine high danger chances for Columbus.
Although the goal Andersen let in was soft, he had a bunch of dazzling saves to keep the game tight. The defense repeatedly allowed odd-man rushes and breakaways, but Freddie was up to the challenge.
Scoring Chances
Toronto generated a lot of scoring chances in this game. The team had 27 scoring chances, nine of which were high danger chances. They did not bury any of them.
Zach Hyman was probably Toronto’s second-best forward, creating five scoring chances himself. If the top forwards come out to play in Game Two, the Leafs can put up some goals.
What needs to change heading into Game Two?
Play some defense.
Good grief, the defense looked shaky in the opener. Repeated odd-man rushes, plum scoring chances and breakaways made it hard to envision this roster going very deep. Keefe has to make adjustments before Game Two on the back end, or this series will be over quickly.
The shutdown pairing of Jake Muzzin and Justin Holl looked out of sync all night, and the rest of the defenders often took chances at the wrong time.
This is an issue not just for this series tr any potential playoffs but heading into a critical off-season as well. The team is talented at forward, but that has not translated into the playoffs.
Top forwards need to be better.
Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares did not play to their usual level last night. Let’s call a spade, a spade. The three combined for two shots (both by Tavares) and were invisible for long periods.
Compounding the issue was Nylander getting nearly 20 minutes of ice time. I’m confident that their resumes speak enough for themselves that this was probably a one-off performance. If it is not, the team is in big trouble.
Time to get into the dirty areas.
The Leafs are not as physical as Columbus and don’t play the same grinding defensive style. But in the playoffs, you have to be willing to get in the dirty areas, win some puck battles and score some grimy goals.
Not that it will swing the series, but I’m not sure why the Leafs traded for Kyle Clifford to only play him 3:21 in the opening game. He is the kind of player a team needs to win in the playoffs.
One game is a tiny sample size, and I don’t want to overreact, but there has to be a level of concern for the Buds right now. In a best-of-five, there are not a lot of opportunities for do-overs.
Sure, a couple of bounces could have gone the other way, and the Toronto Maple Leafs could have won. But they did not, and the team better be on notice that they are in for one heck of a battle against Columbus.