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Maple Leafs’ 3 Stars of the Week: Robertson, McMann bring much-needed production to the bottom six
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Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Joseph Zita
Dec 23, 2024, 09:30 ESTUpdated: Dec 23, 2024, 09:17 EST
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It hasn’t been a pretty month for the Toronto Maple Leafs, yet they find themselves near the top of the Atlantic Division and the league standings overall, as four games remain on the December schedule. Toronto finished Week 10 of the season going 3-1-0 despite some ups and downs, and Week 11 was another rollercoaster.
Primarily due to good goaltending, Toronto managed to go 2-1-0 in its three games last week.

3rd Star: Nick Robertson

Week 11 stats: 3 GP – 2 G – 2 A – 4 PTS
Season stats: 27 GP – 5 G – 3 A – 8 PTS
The Maple Leafs have been starving for offensive production from the bottom six for the entire season, with the bulk of the team’s goals coming from Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. Craig Berube formed a new-look third line upon Max Domi and Bobby McMann’s return and both players have become a lot more productive, while Robertson has been on a mini-tear over the last four games.
Robertson’s season hasn’t gone how he hoped for. The 23-year-old is coming off a 14-goal, 27-point season in 2023-24, despite averaging just 11:23 in 54 games. The idea was with a more prominent role, Robertson would surpass those numbers in a full 82-game season.
Through 24 games, Robertson had just four points. As he entered Week 11, Robertson registered four points — two goals and two assists — with his new linemates, as they continued to be a breath of fresh air for this Toronto team. With six points in his last four games, Robertson is now up to eight points — five goals and three assists — on the season.

2nd Star: Bobby McMann

Week 11 stats: 3 GP – 3 G – 1 A – 4 PTS
Season stats: 26 GP – 9 G – 4 A- 13 PTS
Some of the reasons for the Maple Leafs’ offensive struggles this season have been injuries and poor execution from a bottom-six that won’t score as many goals as we’d like. With the return of Bobby McMann, Toronto has received a lot more production with a line that Berube has put together recently.
Before missing games due to an injury, McMann had six goals in 21 games this season, with three goals in his last 18 games before being sidelined. Upon returning on December 14th, McMann has registered six points — three goals and three assists — with four of those points coming in last week’s three games against the Stars, Sabres and Islanders.
McMann began his week with a goal against the Stars, followed that up with a multi-point effort against the Sabres and scored another goal against the Islanders. The third line of McMann-Domi-Robertson has shown some incredible flashes of offence, but Saturday’s game against the Islanders also showed their flaws defensively, as all three were a combined -9 in their 6-3 loss to the Islanders.

1st Star: William Nylander

Week 11 stats: 3 GP – 5 G – 2 A – 7 PTS
Season stats: 34 GP – 23 G – 15 A – 38 PTS
Whether William Nylander is lined up beside Auston Matthews, John Tavares or even Pontus Holmberg, he will always put up points. Entering Week 11 on a three-game point streak, Nylander extended his streak to six games after a fantastic week.
The 28-year-old scored goals in eight games this month before finding the back of the net five times last week, including multi-goal efforts against Dallas and New York. The only time Nylander didn’t score two goals in a game last week was when he had two assists, which came against the Sabres. His three-point night in Buffalo on Friday was his third three-point effort of the season and first multi-point game since October 28th against the Jets.
With his seven-point outburst during week 11, Nylander has improved his season totals to 38 points – 23 goals and 15 assists. His 23 goals rank him second in the NHL, only one goal behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl.
Who were your three stars from week 11 of the Maple Leafs’ season? Let us know below!

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