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3 Takeaways From Toronto Maple Leafs Win Over Tampa Bay

By Mitchell Hartman

Oct 11, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates scoring his third goal of the game against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates scoring his third goal of the game against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off an amazing comeback last night, taking down their rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 6-5 overtime thriller.

The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame a first-period 4-1 deficit, led by Auston Matthews scoring 2 goals, Mitch Marner’s second consecutive 4-point game, and Joseph Woll stopping 18/19 shots after coming in relief of Ilya Samsonov.

While it was a very entertaining game, if not the most entertaining one of the season, and showed the Leafs resilience despite being down 3 goals to a strong team, the win was far from perfect.

Here are 3 takeaways from the Toronto Maple Leafs win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

3 Takeaways From Toronto Maple Leafs Win Over Tampa

1. The New Forward Lines Look Great

Head Coach Sheldon Keefe has faced some intense criticism so far in his line combinations, specifically amongst the forwards. Most notably, burying Matthew Knies in the bottom 6. Tonight, he finally put Knies on line 1, on the left wing beside Matthews and Marner. Not only was this a move many people wanted, but it also paid off almost immediately.  As stated before, Matthews and Marner continued their strong seasons tonight, and Knies was a huge reason why.

Knies, who has had a bit of an inconsistent start to his season, may have had his best game as a Leaf. He put up a goal and 2 assists, almost doubling his season’s total points in just one game. The rookie complimented the other two superstars extremely well and deserves to stay on that top line.

2. Nick Robertson Deserves to Stay

Calling up Nick Robertson was another move many people wanted, and in his first NHL game this year Robertson performed really well. After putting up 11 points in just 9 games with the Toronto Marlies, Robertson finally got his call-up to the big leagues.

Robertson played well on the wing of Max Domi (who also had one of his better games this season), putting up an assist and giving some much-needed scoring touch to the bottom six. The Leafs have had some clear issues with secondary scoring in their lineup so far this season, and Robertson helps fix that.

Look for Robertson to stay in the NHL.

3. The Crease Belongs to Joseph Woll

If it wasn’t clear already, Joseph Woll is the best goalie on the Toronto Maple Leafs. As good as Ilya Samsonov was last season, he just simply has not been good this season. And as much as I hate to say it, it’s likely his last season with the Leafs.

Last night, Joe Woll came in relief of Samsonov, stopping 18/19 shots and backstopping the Leafs to a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is now the second time in almost 3 weeks where Samsonov has been pulled early in a game and replaced by Woll. Coincidentally, Woll went on to play terrific in each of those games, with the Leafs winning in comeback fashion, in overtime, vs the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Quite poetic if you ask me.

In short, this game was absolutely wild. It was by far one of the most entertaining games of the season, and while the Toronto Maple Leafs still have a lot to work on, there were some amazing things to come from last night’s game.

Next. The Leafs Early Struggles Boil Down to One Thing. dark

The buds’ next game is on Wednesday, where they look to keep their winning streak going against the Ottawa Senators in the Battle of Ontario.

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