Helle-Stop

 Game 27: Jets vs. Leafs

Simon B

The Jets are probably the second-best team in the division behind the Leafs. Even though they're in third, they are better than the Oilers and their winning percentage shows it. These two teams have only squared off once since the start of the season and it was the Jets' second and the Leafs' third games of the young season so we couldn't take much away from that game. The Leafs lost two straight for the first time this season. Surely this mature and experienced team wouldn’t drop a third straight.

The next 4 games for the Leafs are critical because after Sunday they don't play at all until the following Saturday so they need to have a big enough cushion to maintain first in the division while their competition is racking up the points next week. Also, with the trade deadline coming up, they need to play at their best so that GM Kyle Dubas knows whether he needs to make a deal (keeping in mind that if they trade with a team south of the border, any players coming into Canada can't play for 14 days due to Government-enforced quarantine).

The Game

This game began with the usual fast pace and high energy that we've been accustomed to in the North division. Toronto needed to kill off a penalty early in the game, but the penalty-killing unit looked much better than the last time they played the Jets, and they were able to create few short-handed chances. 

The third line for the Leafs has been the team's most valuable group of players so far this year. It has taken a month and a half for Sheldon Keefe to find the right mix of players on the third line but now that he has, it's doing wonders. They're big, fast, a nuisance to opposing teams, and, most importantly, they provide secondary scoring (when players that aren’t necessarily stars contribute on the goalscoring front). Seven minutes in, that third line was breaking in and Zach Hyman cut in with a great burst of speed right through the Jets' defense and backhanded it past Connor Hellebuck to give Toronto the 1-0 lead.

Soon after, the Jets got a power play after a tripping call against Jake Muzzin and their power play wasn't looking too dangerous...until about the last 30 seconds or so. The Jets have a similar power-play setup to the Leafs: one guy at the point, two lethal shooters on the flanks, a big netfront presence, and a guy in the high slot who can tip long-distance shots and make some passes. Well, last night that high slot position player was Andrew Copp, and he tipped in a point shot to tie the game at 1.

Toronto then had a power-play of their own. Now, try to picture the setup I just described: Reilly at the blue line, Marner on his left, Matthews on his right, Tavares in front of the net, and Nylander in between the faceoff dots. That's how the Leafs' power play usually looks. But with Matthews' wrist injury, Sheldon Keefe didn’t want him shooting, and so Matthews switched spots with Tavares and was able to tip in his first goal in 6 games to give Toronto their lead back, a lead they took to the dressing room.

The second started very responsibly, with not many chances either way. The Leafs had found themselves on a power-play, however, and I thought to myself "they really need an extra goal here." Well, they didn't get it. To make things even worse, after the man-advantage ended, Josh Morrissey took a shot from the blue line that deflected off of Matthews' skate and past Andersen to tie it up again. 

The game was frustrating to watch after that because, as I felt Winnipeg get more and more confident while the Leafs lost a ton of momentum. A really sloppy line change gave the Jets a three-on-one break and Kyle Connor was able to get it past Andersen with ease and give the Jets the lead. Another end-of-period goal and the Leafs were down heading into the third.

The third started great for the Leafs! There was only one problem, and his name is Connor Hellebuck, who’s very good at stopping pucks. The Leafs had at least four or five huge chances to tie and take the lead but Hellebuck stood tall and bailed out his team. Then the Jets got one scoring opportunity and of course, they capitalized and doubled their advantage. Mason Appleton got the goal to make it 4-2, and things were looking pretty bleak in Leaf Land. They pulled Andersen with 3:40 seconds to go (which is a lot more than the average of about 2:10) and put all kinds of pressure on the Jets. A centering pass was deflected in by Matthews and the Leafs finally got one past Hellebuck in the third! The Jets held on for dear life for the last minute and a half to win 4-3 and hand the Leafs their first 3 game slide under Sheldon Keefe.

The Wrap

Leafs fans haven't been in this position since November 20th, 2019. It seems like all the Leafs have done since then is stink, but they actually have been excellent since that day when Mike Babcock was fired. Now is when Keefe will need to show he can be a difference-maker. Toronto looks just a step behind how they were playing early on in the season so only time will tell if he can fix that. 

Next up: another clash against Winnipeg on Thursday

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