Game 3: Leafs vs. Sens

Re-leaf

Simon B

   2 teams, both on the second half of a back-to-back. That's another thing to get used to this season. There were a lot of things the Leafs needed to do better in their second matchup against the Senators. For one, the top line needed to play like one, the defense needed to be a lot more alert in their own zone and they could use a save to bail them out once in a while. Sheldon Keefe made a few lineup changes before this one. Nick Robertson made his season debut as Alex Barabanov was put on the Taxi Squad. Jack Campbell got the call to start the game and Aaron Dell was on backup duties. The team decided to guarantee an off night for the regular starter, Frederik Andersen. On the Sens side, Matt Murray made his second start in as many nights.

     The Matthews line had a much better start this game. Sign of things to come? Maybe. A fun quirky moment when a point shot found its way into Sens defenceman Erik Gudbranssons equipment. Always a good way to start "Hockey Night In Canada". Marner gets a tripping call to give Ottawa the first Power Play of the game. A little improvement on the Penalty Kill for Toronto but still, a lot more to work on. Especially getting it out of their zone when they obtain possession. Nick Paul, who looked excellent for Ottawa on Friday, broke the deadlock. This was another case of defensive miscommunication in front of the net for the Leafs. All five Maple Leafs are surrounding Paul, the goalscorer. He cant be getting the rebound that easily. As the period moved on, I found that Jack Campbell got out of his net to play the puck a lot. That got risky a couple of times. Especially when he skated out past the faceoff dots to advance the rush. Another thing I liked better in this game was the play of TJ Brodie. He had a tough game Friday, but Saturday, he was miles better. An excellent stretch pass by Brodie sent Marner flying down the right-wing. A nice backhand drop pass to...JOE THORNTON??? Jumbo Joe rips home his first as a Leaf. I would like to apologize to my cat who I might have jump scared out of the room when the puck when in.  There was a lot more to like in this first period compared to the previous night. They kept the pressure on instead of laying back after a goal, the third line (Mikheyev - Kerfoot - Hyman) was once again outstanding and they didn't allow a goal during the last minute of the first period.

    Less than 2 minutes into the second, Mitch Marner collects a Matthews faceoff win and fires it on the net. It looks like there was a deflection on the way in but either way the Leafs take the one-goal lead. Brodie continued a good bounce-back night with a few good plays on some odd-man rushes. The Leafs did have a brief 5 on 3 but were not able to cash in, although they sustained a bunch of pressure. 2 avoidable penalties by Marner and Ilya Mikheyev gave the Sens another 5 on 3. That's it we're headed down the long and winding road of blown Leaf leads. Right? I've seen this a million times. It's 2021 though so something different was in store. Jack Campbell makes some big saves and the hockey gods gave Toronto a few lucky bounces so they actually killed it off! They mentioned this on the broadcast and I think it played a major part in this game, there was a fair amount of penalties so special teams had to play a big role. That also meant that a lot of players had little ice time in the second. 

    Early in the third, Ottawa's Josh Brown went to the box for a hook on Alex Kerfoot (who was really really good throughout the game). A minute into the power play, Toronto has the puck moving stick to stick like a waterbug, and Auston Matthews one-times it past Murray to double the lead. Ottawa did start to heat up after the Matthews goal though. The Leafs spent a lot more time defending than they would've wanted to. More confusion in their own Zone leaves rookie Tim Stuzle wide open and he shows off some really good hand-eye coordination to bat it in off a bounce. This guy is my pick to win the Calder this season, he had a great World Juniors Tournament in Edmonton and he has an insane amount of skill. Sheldon Keefe did something I really liked after the 3-2 goal. Calls a timeout, settles his team down defensively, and tries to kill Ottawa's momentum. From then on they looked a lot more structured. Yes, the Senators had more possession but they looked much better in their own zone. With Murray pulled, the Senators made one last push to tie. However, time was on Toronto's side and they came away with the 3-2 victory.

    Other than the play itself, there was something else I enjoyed. On a few replays, they had a "Puck-Tracker" going. We could see the shot speed and track the puck on replays. The NHL tried this at last year's all-star game but they didn't keep it for real games. But I think it was a nice addition. Next up, Monday at home against the Jets. Lots of firepower in Winnipeg and some good battles between both teams top two lines will probably be on this game's menu. The Jets did cancel their practice over this weekend due to COVID-19 protocols but it has not amounted to more than that so the puck should probably drop Monday night.

Once again, NFL Divisional Round predictions for today:

- Buccaneers defeat the Saints

- Cheifs beat the Browns