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Leafs-Islanders takeaways: Nylander’s 2-goal effort overshadowed by Toronto’s constant turnovers
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Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Arun Srinivasan
Dec 22, 2024, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 21, 2024, 23:21 EST
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There are some schedule losses in the NHL, but the Toronto Maple Leafs cannot chalk it up to the effects of the second night of back-to-back, submitting a poor effort in a 6-3 loss to the New York Islanders.
William Nylander is exempt from criticism, notching two goals and he was far and away Toronto’s best player, while Bobby McMann notched a single for the Maple Leafs. Bo Horvat scored twice for the Islanders, while Maxim Tsyplakov, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Isaiah George and Noah Dobson each added a goal in the winning effort.
“It’s not just Willy, we need everybody to step up. We didn’t have enough guys step up and do the job,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said post-game.
Auston Matthews was ruled out of Saturday’s game, which changed the tenor of the contest. Berube said pre-game that Matthews re-aggravated the injury after getting cross-checked by Buffalo Sabres defenceman Dennis Gilbert during Friday’s victory. Berube did not rule Matthews out of Monday’s game, but the team will release an update on his status Sunday.
“I’m not a doctor. I can’t answer that question,” Berube said post-game about Matthews. “I’m hoping here with the break coming up, he can get some relief, feel better, be ready to go, recharge. That’s all I can say about it.”
Here are eight takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 loss to the Islanders:
  • Matthews’ upper-body injury certainly killed some of the momentum stemming from the Maple Leafs’ victory over the Sabres on Friday, and it had a compound effect on the lineup. David Kampf was thrust into a top-six role — although he made his best play of the season, delivering a terrific assist on William Nylander’s second goal of the contest. You can’t blame Matthews for suffering injuries, we’ll never use a player’s health against them in this space, but it certainly calls into question why the Maple Leafs would rush him back, especially after Berube told travelling reporters Friday that he was held out of the skate while fighting through injury. In this space, I’ve previously admitted that I thought nothing was wrong with Matthews, but that hasn’t been the case this week. Toronto will need to figure out its offensive balance without Matthews,
  • Nylander was far and away Toronto’s best player during a game that was defined by unforced errors, poor defensive zone coverage and a lackadaisical attack. Nylander scored two goals and is challenging for the Rocket Richard lead, propelling the Maple Leafs’ offence once again, as the team may be without Auston Matthews for the foreseeable future. Head coach Craig Berube warned post-game that it can’t all be on Nylander, but for large stretches, he was one of the few forwards intent on making life difficult for the Islanders. Nylander finished with a team-best five shots, he was the constant positive force on several lines as Berube threw the combinations into a blender, and he created offensive chances for his teammates, even as the Maple Leafs constantly made self-induced errors throughout the evening. “He’s been a good player for a long time, hasn’t he? I thought Willy was skating early in the game, he had good jump, he wants the puck, he wants to make things happen with it. He’s motivated,” Berube said post-game of Nylander.
  • Nylander and Mitch Marner stayed after the first period ended to watch something on an iPad, before heading to the dressing room. It may have unlocked something for Nylander, who continued his offensive surge throughout the second period, while Marner did his best to keep the Maple Leafs’ alive in all facets, but was often let down by his linemates. We’re curious what they saw after Toronto submitted a brutal effort through the opening 20 minutes.
  • Berube was fuming after the Islanders took a 2-0 lead, where Toronto was getting destroyed off the rush. He called a timeout 4:48 into the first frame, and reasoned why post-game: “You’re on a back-to-back, a fresh team waiting for you, hasn’t played in a while. We give up two 2-on-1s in the first five minutes of the game, that’s how I see it. Not very smart.”
  • Here are my notes from the end of the first period, lightly edited for clarity: Nick Robertson doesn’t hang with Tsyplakov as he cuts to the net, Domi is merely skating into space and doesn’t defend the Horvat pass. No contest from Morgan Rielly on the entry. Kampf changes too early after getting caught way too far up on the forecheck, Rielly got burned after occupying Simon Holmstrom and Conor Timmins gave up too much room for Horvat to get his shot off. John Tavares, Nylander stopped skating, Pacioretty went for an early change. No one but Chris Tanev races back, and Jake McCabe is completely out of the picture. Overall, the forwards are getting way too far up the ice and it’s compounding mistakes for the Maple Leafs. And this was true of the team overall throughout the game. Joseph Woll didn’t play well, but he also received no help, so it’s a wash.
  • This was arguably Ryan Reaves’ best game of the season. Reaves even had a breakaway, which was turned away neatly by Ilya Sorokin. Reaves was buzzing around the net, his physicality disrupted the Islanders’ rhythm and during an off-night for the Leafs, he finished with the second-most individual expected goals share on the team.
  • It was a brutal night for the entire Maple Leafs’ defence corps, and Berube didn’t hesitate to make changes. Morgan Rielly’s mistakes compounded alongside Conor Timmins, but he fared much better once the defence pairs were put in a blender. Jake McCabe was out of the picture on Pageau’s third goal, and was missing routine passes exiting out of the zone. Chris Tanev did his best to patch over the constant rush attempts against, but nothing came of it. Oliver Ekman-Larsson may have been Toronto’s best defender overall, but this may be a game where you chalk up the shot attempts and unforced errors to fatigue from the second night of a back-to-back.
  • A quick shoutout to Islanders defenceman Isaiah George, who scored his first NHL goal. George captained the Toronto Marlboros of the Greater Toronto Hockey League and five seasons removed from wearing the mini-Leaf, it’s pretty cool to see him get his first NHL marker against the big club. George’s goal stood as the game-winner, beating Woll from the point in the third period.

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