Toronto Maple Leafs Win Throwback Thriller Over Detroit 10-7

The Toronto Maple Leafs threw it back to the 1980s in a 10-7 win last night over the Detroit Red Wings. We saw four goaltenders make an appearance tonight, and none of them looked particularly inspiring. When I say “1980”s hockey I mean the score and the atrocious goaltending.

From an offensive point of view, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked like they were firing on all cylinders. The top line of Matthews, Marner and Bunting combined for 13 points.

Mitch Marner, take a bow. The natural hat trick is definitely a nice way to get your first hat trick in the bigs isn’t it? It’s not even just the scoring plays where Marner looks good. Marner AND Matthews have been winning more and more battles in the corner. Michael Bunting had another solid night as well.

The Calder candidate had five points on the night. Bunting currently leads all NHL rookies in goals and is second in points. I’m not the only one buying into the Michael Bunting Calder hype.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red Wings

Sheldon Keefe continued his tinkering of his lines by moving TJ Brodie down to the second pair and putting him on the left side. Simply put, I liked what I saw from Brodie tonight. Despite the score, I liked what I saw from all six Leafs defensemen against Detroit. At least five of Detroit’s goals weren’t because of bad defensive play.

And by the way, I am absolutely loving Ilya Lyubushkin and what he brings on defense

Keefe continuing to tinker with the lines is one of the big reasons why I like him behind the bench.  Giving Justin Holl TJ Brodie to work with clearly helped him, as Holl had his best game in what feels like forever. Holl led the Leafs defensemen in points tonight if you were wondering.

Rasmus Sandin led the team in 5v5 ice-time, and Detroit didn’t score while he was out there.

Nick Robertson wants to be an NHL regular so badly. He wasn’t able to show up on the scoresheet tonight, but he flew on the ice tonight. Keefe is doing the right thing by putting him on the fourth line and giving him limited minutes. Robertson has played 30 games in the AHL over the past two seasons and isn’t very far removed from a broken leg. His time will come.

Now for the bad stuff: Jack Campbell. That’s three straight games with a sub .900 save percentage. Evaluating goaltending isn’t really my strong suit, but Campbell should’ve had at least four of the goals that he let in tonight. I’m not overly concerned, but Campbell hasn’t been himself, and when he has been himself it hasn’t been consistent. If he doesn’t pick it up, The Leafs might make a move for another goalie before the trade deadline.

I’d just call this a really weird night. After Thursday night’s snooze fest, did any of us expect this?