3 Takeaways from the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 Loss to Vegas

Oct 24, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Victor Mete (98) follow a fluttering puck as Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) defends his goal during the second period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Victor Mete (98) follow a fluttering puck as Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) defends his goal during the second period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
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Oct 24, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35
Oct 24, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35

Horrible Defensive Coverage for the Toronto Maple Leafs

First is the horrible defensive coverage we have witnessed.

Last night, TJ Brodie didn’t follow his man, their man-coverage defense in the game resulted in the second goal against, and a third goal from a bad line-change, leaving Victor Mete to defend a 2 on 1.

Ilya Samsonov has some trouble with rebound control, sending pucks out to high-danger areas.  . First, there has to be a zone-coverage system and they can’t just track the opponent’s top player around the ice. That leaves even more open space in an already vulnerable situation.

Essentially, the Toronto Maple Leafs have paired two of the worst possible things a goaltender and his defense could do: Have bad rebound control, and horrible net-front coverage. The Maple Leafs are icing a seventh defenseman in Victor Mete, so this, hypothetically, shouldn’t be too much of an issue once Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren return.

Also… Why was Nylander out there on the PK?