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Maple Leafs report cards: Stars shine in dominant Game 2 victory

Maple Leafs report cards: Stars shine in dominant Game 2 victory

What an incredible response from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs needed to be the more desperate team coming off a 7-3 loss in Game 1 and they ran the Lightning out of the building with dominant shift after dominant shift. Sheldon Keefe threw the matchup game out of the window and started his top line, and Mitch Marner immediately rewarded him by intercepting a pass, drawing a penalty, and scoring a power-play goal all in the first minute. Toronto took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission with goals from Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander, and they didn’t panic when Ian Cole pulled the Lightning within two halfway through the second.

All four forward lines impressed, and Morgan Rielly was incredible. Scotiabank Arena was electric, and the Leafs didn’t just win, they bullied the Lightning out of the arena.

First star

Morgan Rielly

Rielly may have played his best period of the year in the first. He picked up a primary assist on Marner’s goal in the opening minute, but it was a rather simple pass that ended up in Marner’s skates. He picked up a much nicer primary assist on Tavares’ goal twelve minutes later by jumping up in the offensive zone and finding Toronto’s captain in the slot. He wasn’t done there, as he picked up his third primary assist of the period with an excellent cross-ice pass to find Nylander on a six-on-five opportunity.

He made a nice play to jump up into the play and set up a Tavares chance halfway through the second, but his teammate wasn’t able to beat Vasilevskiy this time. However, on his very next shift he jumped up yet again and set up Nylander for a deflection, which created a rebound for Tavares’ second of the game. He fully deserved the four-point game.

Second star

John Tavares

Tavares moved back to centre, and scored not one but two five-on-five goals before adding a power-play tally to pick up a hat-trick. For his first goal, he started the play off with a face-off win, then made a clever play to find a soft spot in the slot:

For his second, he went to the net and took advantage of a rebound:

Tavares then took the puck to the net at the end of a five-on-three to complete the hat-trick:

Third star

Mitch Marner

Toronto’s top line started the game, and they looked like they were shot out of a cannon. Marner intercepted a pass and forced Ian Cole to take a tripping penalty forty seconds in, then beat Vasilevskiy seven seconds into the power play:

His line spent the vast majority of the game in the offensive zone, and it felt like he was constantly in every passing lane. He scored again to put the Leafs up 6-1 by firing a puck off Brandon Hagel and in:

Player reports

A+

William Nylander

Nylander is no longer on the top power-play unit, but he got a chance to play with Toronto’s other stars on a delayed penalty in the first, and he took full advantage to give the Leafs a 3-0 lead:

He set up Alex Kerfoot for a great chance in the slot four minutes into the second and picked up a primary assist on Tavares’ second of the night after creating a zone entry and deflecting a pass to create a rebound. He was on for Cole’s goal in the second and probably should have covered a different player, but he was excellent.

Matthew Knies

Knies made his playoffs debut with Michael Bunting out, and he took a penalty on a soft call less than five minutes in. While his line didn’t score, he left Keefe with no doubt that he belongs. He made a power move to spin around Nick Perbix and create a chance to start the second, and he dug the puck out from behind the net to set up a chance for Ryan O’Reilly halfway through the period. His line spent shift after shift in the offensive zone, and he was excellent in the cycle.

T.J. Brodie

Brodie completely shut down the Lightning during his minutes in the opening forty. He made a nice play to break up a Nikita Kucherov rush 12 minutes in, then had strong coverage on Brayden Point in the slot at the end of the first. He continues to be incredibly valuable to this team.

The fourth line (Zach Aston-Reese, David Kämpf, Sam Lafferty)

It’s tough to ask for more from your fourth line. They had plenty of heavy shifts and scored Toronto’s fifth goal to put the game out of reach. Aston-Reese started the play with a strong forecheck, Lafferty made a nice play to take the puck to the middle, and Kämpf found Aston-Reese in front. They were responsible defensively and difficult to play against.

A

Ryan O’Reilly

O’Reilly had a key face-off win ahead of Marner’s early power-play goal. He was a minus-one as the Leafs took a 6-1 lead into the second intermission, but he sure looked like prime O’Reilly. He moved into the bottom six and was tasked to drive his own line, and his unit with Knies and Noel Acciari looked like they’d never lose a puck battle.

Noel Acciari

Acciari wasn’t quite as noticeable as his linemates, but he certainly played a role in his unit’s impressive performance. He had a zone entry denial on Point on a first-period penalty kill, and set up a chance for O’Reilly by shooting for a rebound 13 minutes in. He also made a wicked move on a rush to set up a good chance three minutes into the second.

A-

Auston Matthews

Matthews picked up two secondary assists in the first, and wasn’t on for a Lightning shot. His effort on the forecheck helped to force a turnover, and it quickly led to a Lightning penalty and Leafs goal. He had a hard shot off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s mask 14 minutes in, and wasn’t shying away from throwing his body around. Keefe cut his minutes in the third a little bit when the game was out of reach.

Calle Järnkrok

Järnkrok played less than 12 minutes due to all the power plays, but the Leafs owned 95 percent of the game’s five-on-five expected goals in his minutes. That works!

B+

Jake McCabe

McCabe took an unnecessary roughing penalty halfway through the first after the whistle. However, Steven Stamkos picked up a double-minor by high-sticking him later in the period, and Toronto scored on the six-on-five. His pair shut down Tampa’s top lines quite effectively.

Alex Kerfoot

Kerfoot had a great chance in the slot four minutes into the second, but failed to convert. He’s asked to be a defensively responsible player to complement Tavares and Nylander, and he did that job effectively.

Luke Schenn

Schenn made a breakout pass 13 minutes in that led to a chance for O’Reilly. He fought Tanner Jeannot with the game out of reach in the third, and both players landed plenty of punches. His partner was the star, but it’s nice to have his physical presence in the lineup.

Ilya Samsonov

After his team jumped out to an early lead, Samsonov came up with a huge stop on Point on the Lightning’s first power play. He was busy early on, as Tampa had eight shots in the first half of the period, but he wasn’t tested again for the rest of the period thanks to a couple of key blocked shots.

He was tested again to start the second and made two nice saves on Point and Kucherov in the opening three minutes. Cole beat him nine minutes in on the Lightning’s 14th shot. That was the only meaningful goal that he let in, as the Leafs took the game over shortly after. Corey Perry beat him in the third when the game was already out of reach:

B

Mark Giordano 

Giordano fought Zach Bogosian three minutes in and got the better of a larger opponent. However, he was on for both of Tampa’s goals, and wasn’t on for any of Toronto’s. His coverage wasn’t great on Tampa’s second goal, but it was meaningless as the game was out of reach.

Justin Holl 

Holl was great in the first. He made a key block on a Stamkos shot on Tampa’s first power play, then followed it up with a key block on a shot from Kucherov on Tampa’s second power play. He was on for Tampa’s first goal when his other two teammates in the defensive zone covered the same player. This may not be popular, but I thought he played fairly well in the two periods that mattered. He had a mini fight with Perry in the third, but didn’t perform overly well.

Game Score

Final grade: A++

What more can you ask for? Toronto’s big four players all came to play, and both Rielly and O’Reilly looked like they are in their prime. Knies didn’t just fit in, he looked like a valuable contributor. All four forward lines played well, and Toronto’s bottom six played heavy shift after heavy shift. Toronto’s first two goals came immediately after a face-off win, and they won every 50-50 battle.

Tampa’s stars were invisible, and Toronto didn’t shy away from the physical play. With Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak out of the lineup, the Leafs challenged Tampa’s defencemen and dominated on the cycle. There were strong contributions up and down the lineup, and it was a perfect response to a miserable Game 1. They made one of the league’s best goaltenders look overmatched. It was a dominant performance.

What’s next for the Leafs?

Game 3 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Tampa.

(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / USA Today)

 

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Harry Miller is a writer and editor based in Toronto who has Ten years of experience in the journalism industry. Before coming to Canada News Media as a National Online Journalist, Miller worked as a senior writer and a reporter-editor with the Canadian Press and a breaking news reporter with the Toronto Star. Miller currently holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in journalism from Ryerson University and another in communications and film studies from Carleton University.

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