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Leafs-Lightning takeaways: Tanev’s best game of year, Woll remains on fire, Matthews’ sound return
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Photo credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Arun Srinivasan
Dec 1, 2024, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 1, 2024, 12:00 EST
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It was too close for comfort after a dominant 40 minutes, but the Toronto Maple Leafs closed out the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-3 victory. Toronto jumped to a 4-0 lead after two periods, as Matthew Knies, Chris Tanev, Nick Robertson and John Tavares added singles, while William Nylander sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with one minute remaining.
Joseph Woll was outstanding, making 38 saves in the winning effort, including a stellar last-minute blocker stop on Brayden Point. Knies and Auston Matthews both returned to the lineup after multi-game absences and made their presence felt throughout the contest, while Jake McCabe did not return after taking a shot to the side of the head in the second period. It was McCabe’s 600th NHL appearance. After the game, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube indicated McCabe is fine and won’t miss any further time.
Here are six takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 5-3 victory:
  • Auston Matthews didn’t take over the game as some would expect, but he was sound in all facets of the game and finished the game with two assists. Matthews took shorter shifts than usual, but his defensive positioning was stellar, breaking up Lightning entries constantly, finishing with two takeaways while winning 16-of-24 faceoffs. He tracked back well and he let William Nylander carry the high-powered line, with Matthew Knies submitting a stellar effort, working well off Toronto’s dynamic winger to find optimal chances. It was a sound return and reasonably all you could ask. Toronto outshot Tampa Bay 8-6 when Matthews was on the ice at 5-on-5, and he finished with the third-highest share of the expected goals. He’s only going to improve from here onwards, and the Maple Leafs should be commended for their 8-3-1 record through November, largely without their all-world centre.
  • Joseph Woll was outstanding in the victory and he wasn’t at fault for any of Tampa Bay’s three third-period goals. If it weren’t for Woll, the Leafs are possibly looking at a different result, which would certainly change the tenor of the week. Woll was brilliant through 40 minutes, then robbed Brayden Point with 16 seconds left. He made an excellent stop on Anthony Cirelli midway through the third period, he robbed Michael Eysimmont on a second-period breakaway, caused by a horrific Oliver Ekman-Larsson giveaway. Woll set the tone from start to finish, with a great save on Gage Goncalves in the opening minute of the game, he made an excellent third-period stop on Brandon Hagel on the power play and he’s completely dialled in. It would be in everyone’s best interest to avoid declarative statements about Toronto’s two stellar goalies, but it may have gone back to a true tandem after Woll’s November.
  • Mitch Marner and John Tavares’ two-man game was terrific, and they often had to make plays in spite of Pontus Holmberg’s lack of offensive awareness. Marner was a catalyst, winning pucks back, and it’s clear he’s becoming a more willing shooter, tied for the team lead alongside Nylander with four shots on Saturday. He excelled as a playmaker and with Nikita Kucherov out of the lineup, he was freed up to attack freely throughout the contest. It was another multi-point game for Marner, who is now up to nine goals and 31 points on the season, playing at a 110-point pace, which would easily represent his career-best. Tavares was excellent and he outmuscled Jake Guentzel for a tidy backhand finish for a 4-0 lead. He used his power game and hockey intelligence to great effect, as he has all season, he drew a penalty on Brayden Point, and he did well in overflow minutes, setting up Steven Lorentz for a quality look. Keep Marner and Tavares together for the foreseeable future — it’s incumbent upon Holmberg to elevate his game to remain on this line.
  • Matthew Knies was terrific in his return and he did all the small things well, which have been key to his breakout season. Knies bullied Tampa Bay’s defenders at the net-front, and cleverly tipped home Chris Tanev’s point shot to open the scoring. He set a smart pick to create a dangerous chance for Matthews off the rush, he constantly won puck battles, and he looked no worse for wear after suffering an injury on November 20 that kept him out of Toronto’s past two games. There’s the Core Four, but it really should be the Core Five with Knies graduating into an essential part of the roster.
  • This was Chris Tanev’s best offensive game by some distance, and that was true even before he scored his first goal of the season. Tanev wired a slapshot that Knies expertly deflected for the game’s opening goal, and the defensive-minded blue liner was more active in the rush than he has been all season. He beat Andrei Vasilevskiy clean with a low, hard wrister, off the post and in, then had another good chance off the rush minutes later. He worked well in tandem with McCabe throughout the opening 35 minutes, and his unexpected offensive surge was a massive boost to a Maple Leafs team that has lacked secondary scoring all season.
  • We’ll avoid a declarative statement about Nick Robertson’s short-term future with the Maple Leafs, but you could hear how elated and relieved he was after wiring a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy for his second goal of the season, his first goal in 12 games, which came against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 22. After a stellar preseason where he truly was Toronto’s training camp MVP, Robertson’s offense has dried up, but he leads the team in drawn penalties and he rewarded Berube for his faith in him against a key divisional rival. Could this goal unlock a much-needed offensive flurry from Robertson? Only time will tell, but you can’t help but be thrilled for him after a frustrating start to the regular season.

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