Toronto Maple Leafs Beat Senators, First Line Dominates

The Toronto Maple Leafs dominated the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, thanks to a huge night from their first line.

The Toronto Maple Leafs needed a bounce-back game after losing to the Ottawa Senators the night before and that’s exactly what happened in their 3-2 win on Hockey Night in Canada.

The Leafs outshot the Senators and controlled the puck for the entire night. The game may have only been a one-goal victory, but if it wasn’t for Matt Murray standing on his head for the second night in a row, this game could have gotten out of hand.

Toronto couldn’t afford to lose to Ottawa again, so it was a great response from the 5-3 loss on Friday night. Although there were a few great performances, let’s go through the good, bad and the ugly for the team on Saturday.

The Good, Bad and The Ugly

Good:

• The First Line
  • After going pointless in their opening match-up against Ottawa, the Leafs first-line of Auston Matthews, Joe Thornton and Mitch Marner combined for three goals and seven points. They were dominant all night and look like the unstoppable trio we all hoped they would become.
• Joe Thornton
  • I know we just talked about the first line, but Thornton scored his first goal as a Leaf. It took Jumbo 39 games to score one goal last year, so it’s a big deal that he scored so quickly this season.
• Huge Bounce-Back Game
  • After losing 5-3 the night before and playing their third game in four nights, Toronto outshot Ottawa 40-19 and controlled possession brilliantly. The Leafs finished with a 5v5 Corsi For Rating of 71.6 percent.

Bad: 

• Jack Campbell:
  • The Leafs limited Ottawa to 19 shots, but Campbell unfortunately still allowed two goals on the night. I don’t think he played terrible overall, but the Leafs can’t continue to have their goaltender post a sub .900 save percentage.
• Ottawa Out-Hits Toronto, Again
  • After doubling the Leafs in hits on Friday night, Ottawa did the same on Saturday by out-hitting Toronto 30 to 15. For a team that supposedly got tougher in the off-season, they need to show that grit by laying the body more often. Caveat: if you have the puck for most of the night, it’s hard to put high numbers in the body-check department.

Ugly:

• Nick Robertson:
  • Everyone was thrilled to see the 19-year-old in the line-up on Saturday night, but Robertson’s night ended before it really started. During a play near the boards, the youngster looked to have twisted his knee. Sheldon Keefe mentioned that he’ll have an MRI today and it’s suspected that he’ll “miss significant time.” On a team that’s stacked up-front, Robertson wasn’t looked at to be an impact player this year, but this is still a big blow for the depth of the organization.

We won’t have to wait much longer to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play again, as they get set for a home match-up against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night. Let’s hope the goaltending can improve, because the team can’t rely on the first-line to dominate every night.