Here are eight takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 win over the Flyers

• This isn’t a grand observation but Auston Matthews has elevated the Maple Leafs by a few tiers, and they can win games on their true talent level with their captain in the lineup. It was an ugly first period, punctuated by two terrible power plays, where the Leafs couldn’t string two passes together. Matthews settled the pace down in the second period, occupying the attention of at least three Flyers defenders, before flinging a pass over to Tavares, who tied the game with his 20th goal of the season. He also took matters into his own hands, tying the game once again when Mitch Marner made a clever read and found Matthews in the slot, where he made no mistake. Matthews almost scored a sensational goal during the third period, flying through the offensive zone with an inside-outside move that kept the Flyers completely off balance. There will be a need to manage his minutes and games through the second half of the year, but Matthews has recorded two goals and seven points in three games since returning to the lineup Saturday. Matthews is the best goal-scorer alive and his mere presence creates opportunities for everyone around him.
• Matthew Knies remains on fire with Matthews in the lineup and scored the game-winning goal by expertly tipping Morgan Rielly’s point shot. Knies threw three hits, he pushed his way to the net-front during the second half of the game, he won puck battles and Tavares described the 22-year-old as a ‘house’ post-game. Knies’ 16th goal of the season tops his output from last season, he’s pacing towards a 30-goal campaign — and considering the left wing on Matthews and Marner’s line merely had to operate as a puck retrieval specialist, he’s in unique territory. Knies remains in tremendous form and his teammates seem to indicate that he’s only scratching the surface of his potential. We’re witnessing the birth of a star.
• Tavares has been a goal-scoring prodigy since he was a teenager and it’s a testament to his tremendous skill and longevity that he has 15 campaigns with 20 or more goals. Some analysts owe Tavares a real apology for suggesting he should be used as a third-line center during his age-34 season. He’s averaging just over a point per game, he’s been a stellar defensive presence and he knows when to be pragmatic — Toronto was passing up quality looks and he hurled a quality shot on net that beat Ivan Fedotov to inject his team with some life. Tavares was clearly the best player on his line tonight, as Bobby McMann and William Nylander couldn’t get anything going.
• Joseph Woll is already operating as the Maple Leafs’ No. 1 goaltender. Perhaps it’s pedantic, but he’s already playing like the No. 1 in the absence of Anthony Stolarz. Of course, Woll has to remain healthy, especially while Stolarz is out, but he’s responded well to the increased volume of starts, winning his fifth game in a row, while Dennis Hildeby and Matt Murray can be used in spot duty. Woll made several excellent saves, namely on Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov, and saved 1.56 goals above expected in all situations via Natural Stat Trick. He was far and away the best Maple Leafs player through the opening 40 minutes and with due respect to Matthews, Knies, Tavares and Marner, he was the primary reason why his team escaped with a victory.
• Toronto’s two power plays during the first period were abysmal. It was uninspired hockey by some of the best players on the planet and here’s my simple analysis: enter the zone with speed! It didn’t help that the Leafs kept losing offensive zone faceoffs, but the power play is far more potent when one of Nylander or Matthews enters the zone with speed, then sets up the plan of attack, rather than a tepid drop pass, which allows the opponent to get their base defence set up. It was only when Matthews created a good look for Tavares, and Tavares took the chance — it wasn’t an optimal look, but a merely good one — did the Maple Leafs’ outlook change. There’s no point in pretending we know more than NHL assistant coaches, but the drop pass set up just hinders this team at the moment.
• Connor Dewar rose to the challenge and fought Joel Farabee during the first period, and he’s been an entirely different player since December 21. What’s the point of having Ryan Reaves in the lineup? This isn’t to suggest that Reaves is merely there to fight, but if he’s not fighting or responding to the challenge, he’s taking up room as one of the NHL’s worst active skaters, while Nick Robertson was rendered a healthy scratch for no reason. Toronto was outshot 6-0 in nearly seven minutes that Reaves played on 5-on-5. Craig Berube and Brad Treliving value toughness, but he’s taking up place in the lineup and it’s leading to poor results.
• We may get our first extended look at Marshall Rifai on Thursday. Conor Timmins wasn’t benched after his costly giveaway led to Travis Konecny’s second goal of the contest, but Rifai on the active roster, it may be worth placing him as Toronto’s No. 6. Timmins has arguably been Toronto’s worst player in the last two contests he’s suited up for. This isn’t a call for a permanent benching, but a temporary stop-gap Thursday.
• Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Philippe Myers were excellent throughout this contest and it’ll be compelling to see how the Maple Leafs’ defence rises to the challenge with Jake McCabe out of the lineup. Tanev suppressed chances and made two strong outlet passes throughout the game, finishing the contest with a team-best 79.37 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5. Ekman-Larsson made a concerted effort to get pucks to the net, finishing with a team-high four shots, working well in tandem with Tanev. Myers’ extension has renewed his confidence, and he worked well off Morgan Rielly throughout Thursday’s win, looking for his own offence without exposing risks.