4 takeaways from Maple Leafs' 6-3 statement win over Avalanche

The Toronto Maple Leafs shocked the Colorado Avalanche with a 6-3 win at Ball Arena on Saturday night.

Nick Blankenburg, William Nylander, Easton Cowan, and Auston Matthews all scored for the Leafs. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 of 33 shots on the way to his first victory wearing the blue and white.

Chris Tanev left the game with an injury and did not return. There has been no update on his status.

The Maple Leafs keep stacking performances, and this one was definitely the most encouraging thus far in this young season. Let's get into it.

Nylander and Matthews take over on Saturday night

Over the course of the last two injury-filled seasons, fans and media alike have had unending discourse about the superstar status of Matthews. Will he ever score 50 again? Can he stay healthy? Will he ever be the game breaker that the Leafs need him to be? Well, in the early days of the 2026-27 season, we have answered the last question, but the other two will need a bit more time.

Next to the spotlight that shines on Matthews is a very, in my opinion, underrated Nylander. If you're a Leafs fan, you know the positives and negatives of No. 88. An elite goal scorer whose hair is dry more often than we all would like. Yet, there is Nylander. 40-45 goals and 84-plus points in three of the last four seasons, and 30 goals and 79 points in just 65 games last season. We talk a lot about how Matthews has to be the one to drag his team into the fight, but all Willy does is produce.

On Saturday night, the Leafs headed to Denver missing second-line centre John Tavares, and their defensive performance has been less than desirable, to say the least. On nights like that, your best players have to be your best players, and Matthews and Nylander were that and more against the Avalanche. Nylander had two goals and five points, while Matthews had two goals of his own and four points. That's awesome, of course, but it's the timeliness of those points that made the real difference.

After assisting on the first goal of the game, Nylander tied the game 2-2 on a power-play goal seven minutes into the second period. Then, down 3-2, Willy tied the game again at 16:47. 46 seconds later, he assisted on Cowan's game-winning goal. Down 2-1 heading into that middle frame, he took over the period and put the Leafs in a position to hold a lead and win the game.

At 12:02 of the final period, Matthews doubled the lead with a power-play goal and sealed the win at 19:21 with an empty-netter. All night, he was winning puck battles in both ends of the ice and just looked all-around dominant.

Bobrovsky finally gets his first win in Toronto

Bobrovsky has been very good for the Leafs in his short tenure, but that first win has alluded him. He was solely responsible for the Leafs getting a point in Vegas, and has given his team every opportunity to grab that victory.

On Saturday night, the Leafs were outshot 33-23, including 11-4 in the second, and Bob was full marks for his performance.

"We haven't been good enough in front of him in his first couple of starts, and he's had to come up big and hasn't gotten rewarded for it," Matthews said after the game. "I would have loved to see him get a win earlier, but, obviously, coming into this building aginst this opponent, he was huge for us tonight, and (it was) well deserved."

Special teams keep on getting better

Colorado's power play was particularly good last season, so you can fluff this off if you want to. But in my opinion, going 5-for-5 on the penalty kill against a loaded unit like that is impressive no matter what.

On the other side of the special teams coin, the Leafs went 2-for-4 with the man advantage, and both goals were at key points in the game. One was to tie the game, and one was to give them a two-goal lead in the third.

For the season, the Maple Leafs are ninth on the power play with a 26.3% success rate, and 95% on the penalty kill is good enough for first. Two games into this road trip, they are 9-for-9 while down a man, which is even more respectable when we take into account who they were playing in those two games.

"Special teams just wasn't good enough tonight," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "Simple as that."

For the Maple Leafs, it was the exact opposite.

McKenna shines on top PP unit

There has been clamoring by the fan base to get Gavin McKenna more time with the Leafs' best players. He's been eased into things to start the season, and that's understandable. But from what we've seen from him in the last few games, he deserves a chance to shine.

On Saturday night, in the absence of Tavares, McKenna had a chance on the top unit and didn't disappoint. It was the 18-year-old rookie who set up Nylander on the power play with a beautiful cross-ice pass. Then, in the third period, a defensive play on the backcheck that created Matthews' power-play goal to seal the game.

The kid has a lot of pressure on him, but he's improving game by game and proving to the coaching staff and the rest of us that he can handle whatever is thrown his way.

Up next for the Maple Leafs

Toronto will wrap up its three-game road trip against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night, before starting a three-game homestand against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

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