The Toronto Maple Leafs played their last preseason split-squad games last night against the Ottawa Senators, and they managed to take both games. However, it was the game on home ice that everyone was watching.
Toronto played the bulk of what their opening night lineup will look like, and their stars came to play. Whether it was Auston Matthews, Gavin McKenna or even Sergei Bobrovsky, their top players were their top players, which is something that didn't happen too often last season.
Matthews & McKenna led the way against the Senators
Matthews looked like a player who is ready to put last season behind him. He was involved early, was creating chances and looked much more like the player Toronto has come to expect from him. Which was apparent when he beat Leevi Meriläinen over the shoulder and looked like vintage Matthews. That is obviously important for the Maple Leafs, because they are going to need Matthews to be one of their best players every night if they want to have a different result this season.
McKenna was just as noticeable. The rookie continues to look comfortable playing against NHL competition, and he didn't look out of place against Ottawa. There are still going to be some things he has to learn, but his skill was on display, and he showed why the Maple Leafs have so much excitement around him.
Another interesting thing to note is Hiller putting Matthews and McKenna together. It actually showed why they might be better apart. Both players are capable of carrying a line and creating offence on their own. Putting them together gives Toronto a very dangerous combination, but it also means the team would be putting two of its best offensive players on one line.
There is something to be said for having Matthews driving one line with Matthew Knies and McKenna driving another alongside William Nylander. If both players can create offence on their lines, Toronto suddenly has two lines that opposing teams have to worry about instead of just one.
That is obviously something Hiller will have to figure out before opening night, but the preseason game against Ottawa gave him another option to think about. More importantly, the Maple Leafs got the type of performance they needed from their best players. Toronto didn't just win the game 6-1; its top players were the ones making things happen. That is probably more important than the final score when looking at a preseason game.
If Matthews can carry that into the regular season and McKenna continues looking this comfortable, the Maple Leafs could have a pretty different offence this season. There is still a lot to figure out, but the final preseason game gave Toronto plenty of reasons to feel good about where things are heading.
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