Columnist image

TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

| Archive

TORONTO –In what turned out to be a tale of two games, the Toronto Maple Leafs managed to keep their win streak alive. At Sunday’s Centennial Classic against the Detroit Red Wings, the Maple Leafs started slow before bursting out for four goals in the third period, blowing a three-goal lead and then downing the Red Wings 5-4 in overtime. Toronto moves to 17-12-7 on the season.

 

Takeaways

He’s number one: Auston Matthews has been the talk of the Maple Leafs all season, and on Sunday he showed the 40,187 in attendance at BMO Field why. Drawing the Red Wings’ top line anchored by Henrik Zetterberg, Matthews scored Toronto’s last goal of the third frame – to put them up 4-1 – and then tallied the overtime winner. He now has 13 goals in his last 17 games. Sunday’s scores put him at 20 on the season and at 32 points overall, both good for tops among NHL rookies. Matthews is the first rookie this season to hit 20 goals and ranks third in the NHL. It was hardly a flawless performance – Zetterberg and linemate Anthony Mantha each had three points – but in his first real game on an outdoor rink, the rookie turned in a performance that won’t soon be forgotten.

Too close for comfort: The Maple Leafs may now be in the midst of a five-game winning streak, but the margin between victory and defeat has been wafer thin. This was the third straight game they’ve blown a multi-goal lead in and despite their desire to play 60-minute games, those instances have been few and far between. Toronto’s first two periods were slow going, with them getting stopped up easily in the neutral zone and not generating quality chances on net. Once they did find their way, a familiar story played out. Sunday marked the Maple Leafs’ eighth blown third period lead over 36 games. After taking a 4-1 lead in the third, with four goals on six shots against Jared Coreau, they allowed three goals in the final 6:06 of regulation to let the Red Wings force overtime. Youth is no excuse, and Toronto has never made it one, but their inexperience continues to show most prominently when they’re ahead.

Know your role: After Toronto tied the game 1-1, and before they ripped off three more scores - they got a noticeable boost from Matt Martin. Detroit’s Steve Ott started grabbing at him and the two exchanged words before dropping the gloves in a raucous tilt. As they were sent off to their respective boxes, Martin and Ott continued to jaw and gesticulate at each other for the majority of their major penalties. Martin said after the game he’d never fought Ott before, although he had most every other player hailing from his hometown of Windsor, Ontario. Since signing as a free agent on a four-year, $10 million deal, Martin has tallied only four points (two goals, two assists) in 36 games. His most valuable contributions are when he can buoy the emotions of his teammates.

Competition never sleeps: Usually it’s Nazem Kadri drawing in for critical moments in his role as the Maple Leafs’ shutdown centre. When Mike Babcock turns to Matthews or Tyler Bozak, it can be motivation for Kadri, as it seemed to on Sunday. Babcock said Kadri’s line with Leo Komarov and William Nylander was the team’s best, but had Matthews on the ice for the faceoff that led to the game-tying goal by Detroit. Kadri paced all Maple Leafs with six shots on goal Sunday, and his line had the most dominant possession numbers overall – Komarov (48.57 per cent), Kadri (57.14 per cent) and Nylander (59.38 per cent). On Saturday Babcock said he sheltered Matthews in the beginning with his matchups but doesn’t anymore. Kadri will want to keep elevating his own game to keep pace.

Next game: Toronto will hit the road again to face the Washington Capitals in D.C. on Tuesday. They were victorious in their first meeting with Alex Ovechkin and company at Air Canada Centre in November. It will be the Maple Leafs’ first game against a team in the playoff picture since Dec. 19.