A strong performance from the blueline with Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly out of the lineup was unlikely. The only pairing that had the potential to remain intact was Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Simon Benoit, and while they saw some time together in the first, like any Leafs pairing, it quickly blew up.
There was some potential to see Oliver Ekman-Larsson as a success story tonight. He had two points, including a beautiful lob pass to set up William Nylander for his breakaway goal. Much of that was undone by his meatball of a pass intercepted late in the third, allowing short-handed Alex Tuch to score and twist the dagger into the Leafs for the Sabres’ fifth goal.
Brandon Carlo’s night wasn’t bad, but he certainly didn’t improve his game much. He was one of the better Leafs defensemen, but that didn’t mean much tonight.
What did mean a lot is how much Jake McCabe took his game to the next level in one vain attempt. He was by far the best player on the ice and when the Leafs had to endure 1:58 minutes of 5-on-3 hockey, he managed to keep the Sabers shotless by making four blocked shots on the penalty kill. He finished the night with six total blocks, five of which came in the first period.
The real disappointments come with the Leafs depth. Philippe Myers looked unplayable and considering he was out for three weeks, that was to be expected. Somehow, Dakota Mermis has looked worse and Brad Treliving should get to work finding a replacement, recalling Henry Thrun, Matt Benning or William Villeneuve for a look.
There wasn’t much consistency in the defensive combinations, but that was largely born out of necessity, as Craig Berube quickly realized that Mermis and Myers couldn’t be on the ice together, even against the lowly Sabres.
A few more comments
- William Nylander provided many highs before delivering a significant low. His breakaway goal was beautiful. He had a second escape which arguably should have resulted in a penalty shot for him. He hit, controlled and created based on zone entries. He seemed like the perfect fit for the Matthews line… until he got hurt. Nylander’s collision in the third resulted in him missing a shift, taking a short shift and then not returning for the night. Losing Nylander would be devastating for the Leafs at this point, but since they play again tomorrow night, it seems entirely possible that he will be out at least Saturday.
- The Leafs took the lead again in the second period. After a strong start to the period, the Sabers got on the board twice and the Leafs fell to a -9 goal differential in the second. Is it possible that the long change will catch up with the older Leafs?
- In great storytelling, Dakota Joshua scored his first as a Leaf, giving Cowan his second NHL point and Nic Roy his 100th career assist. So a few milestones, even though John Tavares still has 498 career goals.
- If there was one consistently bad thing the Leafs did, it was giving the Sabers too much space down deep and the team wouldn’t have been able to complete the passes they got away with. If they get five on Anthony Stolarz, it’s concerning what will happen when Cayden Primeau is in net.
The Sabers and Leafs are at it again tomorrow at 5:00 PM ET. Hopefully Nylander is healthy, same for Rielly. If not, the best advice would be to focus on pregaming for the Jays.
Sponsored by bet365
#Kneejerk #reaction #Shaky #blue #line #sinks #Maple #Leafs #Sabers