The Toronto Maple Leafs were able to start off the season with a big 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. They will hit the road on Saturday to play the Detroit Red Wings, the first in back-to-back games against the Red Wings, and the start of a 10-game stretch where they could separate themselves in the Atlantic Division.
As good as the schedule seems to set up for the Maple Leafs, it is going to be on them to capitalize on it. When looking ahead to this game, there are a number of players that fans should be keeping a close eye on as they could be the deciding factor in the outcome.
3 Maple Leafs to watch in the road game against the Detroit Red Wings
Auston Matthews
In the box score, it would look like Matthews had a decent game as he had one goal on four shots and an Expected Goals of 0.91. However, the goal he did score was an empty net goal at the end of the game and it never felt like he had the impact on the game of a player of his caliber.
With the departure of Mitch Marner in the summer, the Maple Leafs are going to need Matthews to step up and take over games. Fortunately, against the Canadiens, he got help from players around him, and this game against Detroit might not be one of those games where they need Matthews to be elite, but it would be great to see a performance like that early in the season.
Morgan Rielly
One of the players who stepped up in the absence of Matthews' production was defenseman Morgan Rielly. The long-time Maple Leafs defenseman finished with one goal and one assist with five shots on goal.
Last season, Rielly finished with only 41 points and a +/- of -8 after 58 points and a +/- of +7 the season before that. This was a great first game to get back to playing at the level he did when he was an All-Star and he will try to keep that momentum going against the Red Wings.
Bobby McMann
One of the players that was expected to take on a bigger role this season is forward Bobby McMann, and that showed in the first game as he had almost 16 minutes of ice time after averaging only 14:30 last season. He delivered in the game against the Canadiens with the Maple Leafs first goal of the season only one minute into the first period.
The line of McMann, William Nylander, and John Tavares had success last season with the best xGoals Per 60 Minutes of any line last season at 3.49, according to MoneyPuck.
For McMann, the focus is on stacking these games together and being productive consistently. Last season, McMann had one point in the first game of the season but then had only three points over the next 15 games. This game against the Red Wings is a great opportunity to do just that.