What a week it’s been for the Toronto Maple Leafs, eh?
Mike Babcock finally listened to us! In scratching every semblance of grit and dead weight, the Toronto Maple Leafs iced perhaps the most balanced and talented lineup the team has seen since the 2004-05 lockout.
So, now that the Leafs are finally living up to their potential, thanks to their wonderful new additions, it begs the question:
Does the emergence of Travis Dermott make the Leafs able to contend for a cup this year?
Let’s hear what the EIL staff had to say.
Mike Stephens
As Travis Dermott shatters every expectation we had for him with each passing game, I absolutely am of the belief that the Leafs can contend for a cup this year.
And yet, there are a few caveats.
Although it may be difficult to topple a powerhouse like Tampa, the Leafs possess all the necessary tools to do so. They boast a ridiculously deep forward group, a bonafide elite goaltender, and now a mobile backend capable of actually holding a lead.
In fact, the only area truly in need of improvements is at fourth line centre.
Can you imagine this current Leafs roster with Brian Boyle at 4C? The thought is borderline erotic. The only downside here, however, is there appear to be no sizeable upgrades available on the trade block.
Frankly, the Leafs would be better suited to just call up Miro Aaltonen from the Marlies to see if he could be the answer. As of today, Toronto currently sits in a playoff spot, with a 15-point lead over the next closest team.
What is there to lose?
Aaltonen is talented, fast, and there’s no harm in giving him a shot to see what you have. Regardless, come April, this team is poised to make a significant run.
Let’s enjoy it, folks.
Tuukka Rask watched his own defenceman redirect a Toronto player's shot into the net behind him.
The way he's been playing, he could still joke about it afterward.
Rask made 23 stops and posted a point for a career-best 20th straight game, leading the surging Boston Bruins past the Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday night.
David Pastrnak scored the game-winning goal midway through the second period as the Boston Bruins defeat their Atlantic Division rivals at home. 1:47
With the Bruins leading 1-0, the Maple Leafs tied it at 8:03 of the first period, helped by Charlie McAvoy. Positioned in front of his own net, the rookie tapped Mitchell Marner's shot — it was going fairly slowly after it hit Boston forward Sean Kuraly's stick and was heading wide — into the net to the right of Rask as he was attempting to control the puck.
McAvoy immediately put his right glove to his face in disbelief and looked down while he was skating behind the net.
Sometimes you've gotta be good to be lucky. Example, this @Marner93 goal. #TORvsBOS pic.twitter.com/lbqhelqh2O —@NHL
"It was more funny than anything," said Rask, standing at his locker dressed in a suit and wearing a New England Patriots winter hat. "When I saw his reaction, it was like a slow-motion film."
Rask skated over and patted him on the back.
"He's a leader on this team. It's good to see him do that," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said of Rask. "There's a lot of that that goes on, guys have each other's backs."
McAvoy returned to the lineup for the first time since a heart procedure nearly two weeks ago.
David Pastrnak and Torey Krug each scored on a power play in the second period and Patrice Bergeron added his team-leading 22nd goal for Boston. Tim Schaller had an empty-netter as the Bruins collected at least a point for the 20th time in 21 games, moving four points ahead of Toronto for second in the Atlantic Division.
Rask stays hot
Rask hasn't lost in regulation since Nov. 26. He improved to 18-0-2 in his last 20 starts, and had an assist on Schaller's score.
Marner and the Maple Leafs knew Rask was on a hot streak, and they felt like they needed more traffic in front of the net.
"He's been unbelievable the last month and a bit," he said. "We knew that coming in. When you give him his eyes, he's going to make the saves."
The Maple Leafs had their four-game winning streak stopped and lost for the first time in seven games against Boston after going 5-0-1.
"They came ready to play," Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen said. "They were right on top of us getting out of the zone."
Pastrnak's score moved the Bruins ahead 2-1 when he came in on the right wing and fired a shot that caromed in off Andersen's left shoulder at 8:03. Krug one-timed a shot by Andersen with 3:13 left in the period. It was Andersen's first regular-season loss to Boston after he won his first nine games.
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara played his 1,400th NHL game.
The Bruins had jumped ahead when Bergeron fired a wrister past Andersen 4:29 into the game, stopping Toronto's shutout streak at 146 minutes, 46 seconds.
Less than a minute later, Rask made a right-pad stop on Kasperi Kapanen's clean break-in.
BOSTON – For Toronto Maple Leafs fans who watched and cheered as their club reeled off four consecutive victories, scoring in bunches and clamping down at the business end, Saturday’s trip to Boston provided a cold wake-up call.
“We were on top of them,” asserted the ageless Zdeno Chara, victorious in career game No. 1,400.
In getting outworked, outscored, out-chanced, out-goaltended, outmuscled, out-disciplined and out-everything-else’d against a member of the NHL’s true elite, the Leafs and their fathers flew home late with one to grow on.
The Bruins defeated Toronto 4-1 and have now captured standings points in a ridiculous 20 of their past 21 outings. The final score actually does the visitors a favour.
Even the lone Leafs goal came off a Bruin’s blade.
“There’s not a lot of holes in their game,” Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly confirmed. “One of the hottest teams in hockey. They’ve been playing well. They’re doing everything right.”
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Patrice Bergeron, arguably the most complete hockey player on Earth, was the early beneficiary of a fierce Bruins forecheck, gathering a Danton Heinen pass, and simultaneously snapping the puck top-corner past Frederik Andersen and breaking Toronto’s shutout streak at 146:46.
Mitchell Marner tied the game on the power play when his slap-pass ticked off Charles McAvoy’s stick for an own-goal, and Toronto was fortunate to escape a zippy first period tied.
“After one, you hadn’t been great, it’s time for a pushback. We didn’t have a pushback,” Babcock said. “They skated us.”
In one furious Period 2 sequence, Tyler Bozak was robbed on the power-play by Tuukka Rask’s back-diving stick save, and a James van Riemsdyk tip pinged a post. The Bruins then drove the play the other way on the kill and drew a penalty of their own.
Relentless.
“We talked about that,” Bergeron said. “We said it’s a type of hockey you’re going to see later in the year and, you know, heavy teams that can skate and that are obviously going to be in your face.”
As Boston poured on pressure with both its backcheck and forecheck, clogging the neutral zone like Taco Bell clogs plumbing, those missed empty nets and clanged posts felt increasingly like opportunities lost.
“The game is fair. I thought they were quicker, better, executed, had more players going than we did tonight, and it showed,” Babcock said. “They play fast, they play right, they have a good pace to them.”
Antsy to join a winning team after sitting six games to nurse his upper-body injury, Toronto’s Rielly had an eventful re-entry to the lineup. He had his hands full defending the Bergeron line early, notched his 27th assist on the Marner goal, and made a nice full-body slide on David Pastrnak to bust up a 2-on-1 chance for the Bs.
“Whenever you come back, you’re a little bit cautious,” Rielly admitted. “It can be frustrating the way they close it down. So, credit to them, they did a good job, it’s important we get better tomorrow, we come in on Monday [versus Anaheim] and get back on track.”
Toronto’s other newly healthy top-pair defenceman, Ron Hainsey, endured such a rough go in the second period, he may have half-wished to be back home on the couch with the flu.
A speedy Pastrnak beat Hainsey on a fumbled dump-in and extended his point streak to eight games with a smart wrister.
Hainsey then committed an unnecessary interference penalty away from the play, and the Bruins pounced on the man-advantage when Torey Krug one-timed a blast, giving themselves a two-goal lead that essentially made the final 20 minutes elementary.
The Bruins added an empty-netter and improved to a sturdy 20-1-5 when drawing first blood. They hold a five-point edge over Toronto for the second seed and home-ice in Round 1 of the Atlantic Division playoffs — with four games in hand. They have the league’s best goals-against average and second-best possession metrics.
Was this a potential playoff preview of Round 1? Maybe.
Those footsteps the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning can hear are getting louder by the night, and Saturday’s display proved that Boston is widening the gap on its nearest pursuer.
“No question, we’re chasing them right now and we want to get to where they’re at,” Leafs defenceman Connor Carrick said. “There’s another level of consistency and intensity that we can get to every night.”
Consistency and intensity? Look around the entire league. For the past 90 days, Boston has been the model.
BOSTON — If the Maple Leafs’ visit to the TD Garden indeed was a snapshot of what they will experience in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, buckle up.
The Leafs discovered quickly why the Bruins have just one regulation loss in 20 games, losing 4-1 against a Boston side that didn’t need suspended star Brad Marchand to frustrate the Leafs time and again.
The Leafs pride themselves on being quick with speed and the ability to create when they have the puck. So do the Bruins, who were much better at it on Saturday night as they ended the Leafs’ four-game winning streak.
“The biggest thing is if you don’t have everyone on deck and you are not ready to go, you’re not going to win very often,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “I thought we have done a good job of that of late and I don’t think we got that tonight. Just didn’t have enough players.
“When the game was there, after one (period), (we) had not been great, it’s time for a pushback, we did not have a pushback.”
The Bruins, in second place in the Atlantic Division with 70 points to the Leafs’ 65, have four games in hand. The clubs meet once more in the regular season, on Feb. 24 in Toronto.
While catching the Tampa Bay Lightning, in first in the division with 73 points before Saturday, is a pipe dream, the Leafs have designs on passing the Bruins in the standings. That’s their incentive when they already have a playoff spot seemingly locked up.
Finish ahead of the Bruins and the Leafs would have home-ice advantage in the first round.
“You certainly want it,” defenceman Ron Hainsey said. “It’s a little bit of a hill to climb there.
“We will keep pushing for that. If you end up in a series against Boston or Tampa where it goes six, seven games, home ice would be very important. It’s something we’re going to keep grinding for.”
Another reason why the Leafs would love to start the playoffs at the Air Canada Centre and have a potential Game 7 there? With the first two games in Toronto, Babcock would have last change and have a better shot at keeping Auston Matthews away from Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara to start the best-of-seven series.
Matthews, playing often against Bergeron and Chara at even-strength, had one of his worst games as a Leaf, generating just one shot attempt.
Was the loss concerning considering the first-round possibility?
“No, I think we should take that as a challenge,” goalie Frederik Andersen said. “I think there’s a long way to go. Right now, we’re focused on what’s ahead on Monday (a home game against Anaheim). I don’t think there is any reason to look that far ahead yet.”
POINT SHOTS
So rarely used forward Josh Leivo reportedly has asked for a trade and the Leafs could be set to deal Nikita Soshnikov. The departure of either would impact the Leafs lineup only to the extent that general manager Lou Lamoriello could get something tangible in return. Leivo was not made available after the game. “He has not got a lot of opportunity to play … I know nothing (about a trade request),” Babcock said of Leivo … Bergeron scored in the first period, taking advantage after Matthews, Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev played hot potato with the puck. Bergeron beat Andersen with a high shot at 4:29 … The Leafs tied the game on a power play at 8:03 when Mitch Marner’s centring pass was re-directed past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and into the net by Boston defenceman Charlie McAvoy … Morgan Rielly returned after missing six games with an arm injury, while Hainsey had missed two because of illness … Not long before David Pastrnak gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 9:22 of the second period on a power play, Tyler Bozak and Marner failed to score on Grade-A chances. The goal on Andersen was weak, trickling in from a difficult angle … Boston increased its lead to 3-1 at 16:47 of the second, scoring with another man advantage when Torey Krug blasted a one-timer past Andersen on the short side … Said Babcock in the morning: “The special teams battle will be important just because they are so good on special teams.” The Leafs lost the battle … The Leafs had a scare midway through the third period as rookie defenceman Travis Dermott left after taking a knee from David Backes. Dermott was able to leave the ice under his own power, but went to the dressing room immediately. He returned to the bench moments later. “Caught me in a weird spot, but not my knee,” Dermott said. “It’s all good there and the feeling passed, which is the best way to put it. Safe to say I’m good to go.” … Rask improved to 18-0-2 in his past 20 games … Nazem Kadri extended his point streak to five games.
FROM THE HASH MARKS
Marner’s goal was his fourth in seven games after he had five in the previous 47 … Rielly’s assist was his 27th, tying his career high … With the activation of Rielly from injured reserve, Justin Holl, who had been recalled on an emergency basis, was sent back to the Toronto Marlies. It’s unlikely we’ve seen the last of Holl — who became the first Leafs defenceman to score in each of his first two NHL games — with the big club. Roman Polak was on the ice for the morning skate but remained on injured reserve with a viral infection.
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