Maple Leafs vs. Rangers observations: Average effort results in shootout win

By / / Sports / 7 minutes of reading


The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-3 shootout win against the New York Rangers on Saturday could be interpreted in a few ways.

It would be accurate to say they controlled the play against a team that entered the game on a 10-2-0 heater, and got some offence going against a goaltender who’s been impossible to beat in recent weeks. Toronto was indisputably the better squad at five-on-five with an expected goal share of 68.65 percent and scored three times without needing its power play.

At the same time, the Maple Leafs struggled badly on special teams and during overtime getting outshot 13-2 in all situations except five-on-five — and coughed up a lead with just 67 seconds left.

The total package was a game where Toronto’s fate was decided in the shootout, and the team came away with a victory thanks to a winner from Max Domi on his 29th birthday.

Three stars

1. Ilya Samsonov

Because the Maple Leafs have been rolling lately, Samsonov’s play has rarely come under the microscope. Although his total numbers since returning from his AHL sojourn are solid enough, he entered Saturday’s game with an .888 save percentage in his last eight games.

The netminder hasn’t been as erratic as he was earlier in the season lately, but the results have been unimpressive. Luckily for the Maple Leafs, the team has been good enough lately that they’ve rarely required him to provide above-average goaltending — but that’s precisely what they needed on Saturday.

Samsonov wasn’t bombarded with rubber, but the netminder was called upon to stonewall some prime opportunities, most notably this effort from Adam Fox with less than three minutes left …

… and this effort in overtime.

Samsonov did not have an unbelievable night from a statistical standpoint, but he shut down plenty of top-notch opportunities. An average outing from him would’ve resulted in a loss.

2. John Tavares

While the captain’s signature moment of the night involved a puck going off his knee, he doesn’t appear here simply because he lit the lamp.

Tavares centred a line that lived in New York’s zone all night long, and shortly before he scored his 18th goal of the season he created a high-quality chance that could’ve easily resulted in a better outcome.

That wasn’t his only crack at the net either, as he led the Maple Leafs with seven shots despite playing a relatively modest 16:54.

In his five-on-five minutes, the Maple Leafs dominated the Rangers, earning a 14-2 advantage in shots and an expected goal share of 96.45 percent.

3. Mitch Marner

When Marner scores, it’s usually tough to keep him off the three stars because he does everything else.

The winger was all over the ice on Saturday, logging 23:41, consistently creating opportunities for his teammates, and even scoring in the shootout to keep the Maple Leafs alive.

His goal was a touch lucky as fanning on a shot helped him open up some room, but he also missed out on an assist thanks to an unusual whiff from Auston Matthews.

His five-on-five numbers didn’t jump off the page in terms of shots (7-6 Maple Leafs) or goals (1-1), but Toronto controlled the best opportunities with Marner out-chancing New York 13-8 in his minutes with seven high-danger looks to the Rangers’ two.

Since the beginning of February, Marner has 21 points in 12 appearances.

Lyubushkin returns and leaves again

After playing 38 games with the Maple Leafs between the regular season and playoffs in 2021-22, Lyubushkin was back in the blue and white on Saturday.

Sheldon Keefe slotted the big Russian in alongside Morgan Rielly — who was his partner for much of his first go around with Toronto — and the results were generally solid.

The 29-year-old had some strong moments such as his physical effort against Chris Kreider that prevented the Rangers from opening up a two-goal lead late in the second.

 

There were also times when he didn’t cover himself in glory, like on the first goal of the game when Lyubushkin and Max Domi converged on Adam Edstrom and the blueliner wound up doing more to screen his own goaltender than disrupt the shot.

In an overall sense, the burly defenceman met expectations, but his contributions were overshadowed by concerns about his health after he took a big hit from Matt Rempe and didn’t return for the third period.

Järnkrok’s absence from Toronto’s lineup with a broken knuckle hasn’t been a major storyline in recent weeks as the team has gone 10-3-0 without the Swede, producing a plus-19 goal differential in those 13 games. Those numbers don’t mean that the 32-year-old isn’t an important contributor; they just explain why he hasn’t been top of mind.

The versatile veteran played a characteristically quiet and efficient game in his return, slotting in alongside Tavares and Bobby McMann on a new-look third line. That group tilted the ice effectively all night — and all of their hard work was finally rewarded with a goal in the third as Järnkrok’s shot took a couple of lucky bounces before finding the twine.

Järnkrok’s return also included a significant amount of action on special teams. His work on the second power-play unit didn’t yield any notable results, but he ranked third on the Maple Leafs in PK time (1:49) and drew a penalty on a first-period kill.

Nylander got a taste of the pine on Saturday thanks to a dubious effort on New York’s first goal.

After failing to take the puck away at the point, the winger took a leisurely lap back to the play — much of which took place outside Toronto’s zone — while the Rangers were in the process of getting on the board.

 

That didn’t sit well with Keefe, who didn’t throw Nylander out for the rest of the period. The coach’s decision to limit the benching to the first proved to be the right one as the winger came back in the second and delivered a game-tying goal.

Nylander is now in the midst of a 10-game point streak with eight goals and 10 assists during that time. His defensive effort isn’t going to get much attention as long as he’s producing like that, but Keefe is clearly keeping a close eye on it.

Ryan Reaves hasn’t fought much since joining the Maple Leafs, and one of the biggest reasons for that is a lack of willing dance partners. There are very few players excited by the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Reaves, but Rempe fits that description.

The 21-year-old rookie’s NHL career is just seven games old, but the six-foot-seven, 241-pound winger has already shown a willingness to take on all comers — and a tendency to spend more time in the box than on the ice. That led to plenty of pregame speculation about whether there would be a Reaves-Rempe fight on Saturday, and the two finally delivered late in the third period.

For most of the game, Keefe didn’t show much interest in putting Reaves on the ice to match up with Rempe, but the rookie’s hit on Lyubushkin may have changed his thinking.

Game Score

Final grade: B+

The Maple Leafs should be pleased with Saturday night’s performance.

They secured two points against a strong opponent in the midst of an excellent stretch and their work at five-on-five was stellar. The team also deserves credit for managing yet another situation when it was down to five defencemen.

All three of their goals had a significant grease factor and losing a late lead makes it tough to break into ‘A’ territory. There are plenty of positives for Toronto to take from this game, but Saturday’s effort won’t go down as one of the squad’s best of the season.

What’s next for the Leafs?

They host the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m. ET on Monday on Sportsnet.

(Photo: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)





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Miranda Washington is the newest member of our news writing team, and she's already making waves. In addition to being a writer, Miranda also has a passion for photography and art. She loves to travel and experience new places, both near and far, whether through her camera lens or in person.

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