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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – When it comes to playing a complete game, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had their struggles. Nursing a three-game losing streak and coming off a bitter overtime loss gave them great incentive to get closer to one.

Welcoming the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, the Maple Leafs had an opportunity to shine. They were 7-3 on home ice going into the game and Washington was playing their third game in four nights and second of a back-to-back. Circumstances aside, Toronto got after the Capitals early and didn’t relent, winning 4-2. They move to 9-8-4 on the season.

“We’re a young team and we know where we want to go,” James van Riemsdyk said. “We can’t be satisfied with OK, we need to try and push the envelope and try and be better so I thought we had a good mindset going into the game tonight and executed it pretty well. These are games you have to build on and try to go in the right direction.”

That direction is far away from the brutal overtime loss suffered in New Jersey on Wednesday, when Toronto’s 3-0 lead to start the second period had evaporated by the 5:30 mark. The Maple Leafs held an advantage from early on against the Capitals too, going up 3-0 lead early in the third. Winning hasn’t always been as easy as they’d like when they’re ahead, and Toronto gave up two goals to the Capitals in that final frame, but this time they persevered.

“We have to learn we can’t turn the puck over. You just can’t turn pucks over when you’re trying to salt the game away,” coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s a process, you have to learn to do it, you have to get used to doing it, and once you get used to doing it it’s just automatic.”

Carrying out their game plan against the Capitals was tied up in special teams. The emphasis for Toronto after morning skate was on getting out of a recent funk on the penalty kill and turning that unit back into a positive after it had given up three goals in their last three games. That group was tested early in the second period when Zach Hyman and Leo Komarov took overlapping penalties, but the Maple Leafs stood tall. They finished four-for-four on the penalty kill, a unit Babcock called “outstanding.”

“[The key was] puck pressure,” Nazem Kadri said. “They had a lot of pucks on the walls and we were able to get pressure on them, not let them get set up. For the most part our penalty kill was over the top and special teams just in general took the game over for us.”

The offensive numbers and special teams success were there for Toronto (van Riemsdyk notched a power-play goal in the second period as well), but add to it a strong showing on defence led by Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev and perhaps Frederik Andersen’s best performance as a Maple Leaf and it felt for a few players in the dressing room like they’d found a blueprint to follow every night. True to form in a season that's been fraught at time with youthful mistakes, no matter how good or bad the Maple Leafs look in the aftermath of each night, they’re still miles from where they want to be.

“I think the quality of opponent makes you feel like [it’s your best game],” Babcock said. “We’ve played some good games obviously but the quality of the opponent makes you feel more like that. It was good for our guys. We’re going on the road [for a three-game road trip], and now we have to be capable of playing on the road. The guys have been real solid here [at home], but you have to be able to play on the road as well. It’s all part of the process.”

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TAKEAWAYS

• Although he appeared fine at morning skate on Saturday, William Nylander was not on the ice for warmups ahead of the evening’s game and the Maple Leafs announced before puck drop he had an upper-body injury and was considered day-to-day. The only sign of anything ailing Nylander may have been that he was less aggressive on line rushes at morning skate than usual, but it wasn’t immediately apparent he was being hampered by anything in particular. Babcock said after the game he had expected Nylander to play that night and didn’t believe the injury was serious. Nylander is expected to travel out west with the team.
 
• With the victory Saturday, Toronto is 8-1-4 when leading after the second period.
 
• Frederik Andersen looked the most calm he has all season on Saturday. The netminder carried his shutout bid until 10:30 of the third period, when Nicklas Backstrom finally got the Capitals on the board. Early criticisms of Andersen’s play were that he was constantly out of position, and he’s been steadily more efficient in that area over the last month. But even facing a power-play barrage from Alex Ovechkin and Backstrom wasn’t enough to rattle Andersen, who stayed poised. He didn’t get to face many shots in the early goings – it took Washington until midway through the second to reach 10 shots on goal – and that can be difficult for a netminder, but Andersen handled the challenge well. Andersen is often critiqued for his glove play but he made a number of stellar saves on that side, including midway through the third when Lars Eller was in his crease. Andersen finished with 33 saves on 35 shots for a .943 save percentage. He’s sitting at a .932 save percentage in his last 13 starts. “You definitely feel good when you’re doing good work in practice and playing well in the games too and doing the things you need to do to stay relaxed and playing your game,” Andersen said after.
 
• With two points on the night, Mitch Marner tied Patrik Laine for the rookie scoring lead (18). He had a terrific night overall against the Capitals. In the first period he saw Matt Martin coming off the bench and sent him a perfect pass to spring the left winger on the breakaway. Martin finished the play with a perfect shot past Braden Holtby to put Toronto up 1-0. In the second period, Marner was patient with the puck in the circle and sent it down low to Nikita Soshnikov, who was able to set up van Riemsdyk’s ninth goal of the season. He also had his own great chance on the breakaway but tripped on something in front of Holtby and lost an edge, preventing a shot from getting off. “His hockey sense, his vision, his poise with the puck … when you see him start wheeling in the zone like that for a full lap you know it’s a confident player,” van Riemsdyk said of Marner.
 
• He may not look it, at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, but Nikita Soshnikov can play a heavy game. He laid the lumber on Dmitry Orlov in the third period to the delight of his teammates and brings energy to every shift. Soshnikov moved from the fourth line to Kadri’s line with Komarov as Connor Brown replaced Nylander on Auston Matthews’ wing. He took full advantage of his new opportunity in a performance Babcock called “outstanding” and “mean.” It’s the little things that add up to make Soshnikov so impactful, whether it’s his constant motor in the offensive zone, his shot blocks in the defensive end or his ability to get under an opponent’s skin until they’re swatting at him as he steals a puck off them. His zeal is unmatched on the Maple Leafs and doesn’t go unnoticed by his teammates. “He’s got grit, he’s got speed, he can score, he’s definitely a shooter,” Kadri said. “He’s still a young kid trying to figure it out but he played great for us tonight. His tenacity is unbelievable and it seems like he just wants the puck constantly so that’s a real big positive for a young kid.”
 
• Kadri himself was all over the Capitals from puck drop, generating three shots on goal and pushing them physically. He has really taken to his task of shutting down the opposition’s top lines each night; it has really brought out his competitive streak in a big way. Kadri was close to his first goal of the game on the power play in the second period when he beat Holtby but pinged the shot off the crossbar. It wasn’t until the third period that he finally found mesh, a reward for a superb overall game on both sides of the puck. Kadri led all skaters with six shots on goal.
 
• Picking up where he left off in New Jersey, Auston Matthews scored the first game-winning goal of his career 22 seconds into the third period. It’s the first time he’s scored in back-to-back games and brought him within one point of the rookie lead.