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Toronto Maple Leafs Show Grit In Winning 2nd In a Row

By Chris Schommer

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 30: Nick Leddy #2 of the Detroit Red Wings tries to contain Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on October 30, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings 5-4. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 30: Nick Leddy #2 of the Detroit Red Wings tries to contain Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on October 30, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings 5-4. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night by a score of 5-4.

It may have not been pretty at times, and you still may be questioning what the 2021 edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs will put forth from an effort standpoint, but after they came out victorious against the Red Wings Saturday night, I feel there is no question that this team will continue to fight for sixty minutes on a nightly basis.

As they peppered Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss and the revamped defense corps with 38 shots, you began to see glimpses of what this team is capable of in the offensive end.

I believe this is a sign of things to come.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings

Sheldon Keefe’s move to split right wing Mitch Marner from center Auston Matthews and instead pair him with Leafs captain center John Tavares has paid immediate dividends.

In two games since the switch, Tavares is playing great, and has two goals and two assists. Marner has also seemed to find a new energy with Tavares in two games with one goal and one assist while seeming to play with way more energy and urgency.

While Matthews still has yet to get rolling on offense for the Leafs you cannot say he is not trying, as he has recorded 25 shots in six games. (Stats via hockey reference.com).   The fact that he isn’t scoring is really quite odd, as he’s creating a ton of chances, hitting posts, and getting robbed.  Eventually the goals are going to in for him, it’s just a matter of time.

The only glaring weakness to this point for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been how often the Leafs defenseman have been out of position leaving goaltenders Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek are forced to withstand the oncoming barrage.

Outside of Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin, the rest of the Leafs blueline corps has left a lot to be desired,  though the pairing of Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren looked solid on Saturday night.

The week ahead will absolutely test the Leafs with pivotal games against the Golden Knights, Lightning, and Bruins who all are considered Stanley Cup contenders eve if so far this season are a combined 12-10-1. (Standings via NHL.com).

The Toronto Maple Leafs have now won two games and appear to be on the right track.  One main question, however, that I keep asking myself, is: with the Leafs current salary cap situation, how are they going to be able to add a high impact player at the trade deadline?

Barring a major shake-up, what you currently see (outside of the injured right wing Ilya Mikheyev eventually coming back and the eventual promotion of left winger Nick Robertson from the Marlies)  is what you are going to get.

Next. Leafs Top 10 Prospects. dark

I am excited about this team, however whether they’ve got enough as it stands to win a Stanley Cup remains to be seen.

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