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Maple Leafs report cards: Ilya Samsonov carries the Leafs to shutout win over Senators

Maple Leafs report cards: Ilya Samsonov carries the Leafs to shutout win over Senators

Most will say the ultimate April Fools’ prank would’ve been the Leafs losing another Hockey Night in Canada game to the Ottawa Senators. I argue the ultimate April Fools’ prank came from the Leafs themselves.

“Desperation” has come up a lot given the teams the Leafs have seen in the last month. Their opponents need every single point they can muster to make their respective playoff pushes while the blue and white have been in it for the whole season.

This is a loss that’s going to sting the Senators. A win would’ve brought them within four points of the final wild-card spot with games in hand. A win would’ve significantly improved their chances of qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2017. A win would’ve been something we’ve all come to expect from the Senators when taking on the Leafs.

But they lost. The Leafs won, and they won in excellent fashion with a shutout.

It seems as if the hockey gods have one thing to say to us now …

April Fools (and here are your 100 points). On to the reports.

First star

Ilya Samsonov

Scotiabank Arena has been Samsonov’s domain all season but he took control of this road match-up and stopped everything the Senators threw at him.

He made two excellent saves on Sanderson and DeBrincat with an outstretched pad and a flashing glove respectively but did a good job handling the back of his net as well. Samsonov didn’t hesitate to come out and stop a cycling puck and fended off Senators who were behind him and trying to take advantage of the empty cage.

Second star

Radim Zohorna

It was his Maple Leafs debut and his first NHL game since January 8th. It then became his first NHL goal since March 22nd, 2022 to make it 3-0 for the Leafs. It was a quick goal off the start of a shift as Zohorna comes on in favour of Tavares after sustained pressure in the offensive zone, catches the puck and fires it short-side on Sogaard.

Tonight was definitely a “show us what you can do” opportunity from the Leafs. High pressure and strong play would’ve been enough and Zohorna added a goal to it and nearly made it two in the third. All that with only 6:15 of ice time.

Third star

Michael Bunting 

An incredible individual effort from Bunting for his 22nd of the season. Both Nick Holden and Ridly Greig tried to get control of the lobbed puck but Bunting stuck with and gained control of the puck before he spun and shot it.

As the game went on, he got more shifts with Matthews and Marner continuing to create with them and react off their plays.

Player reports 

A+

Jake McCabe — T.J. Brodie

This defensive pair needs to continue into the playoffs. They read off each other well and are in great spots to support each other in all three zones. If Brodie is putting pressure on puck carriers with his stick, McCabe isn’t too far away to lay the body on them or pin them against the boards.

Brodie was really handling the puck on his own and making some great stretch passes and well-timed outlet passes to McCabe who ties his dump-ins in the neutral zone so they don’t get picked off. While in the offensive zone, Brodie is a lot more active and jumps up from the point while McCabe has a good eye on lanes and takes shots when there is traffic or tries to shoot for rebounds. They’re as steady as you can want defensively and they each ended up getting assists on Zohorna’s goal.

A

Luke Schenn

The boxout on Brady Tkachuk is what Kyle Dubas traded Schenn for. He makes it difficult for players in front of the net and never shies away from the physical element of the game.

Schenn was credited with six hits, but it easily could’ve been more with how often he bumps the opposition. He gets in the player’s way directly, and indirectly to block shots while also being able to make those short passes out of the zone.

Morgan Rielly 

He was really taking advantage of the space the Sens gave him in the offensive zone. Rielly kept his feet moving all night and was up and down the ice to be up in the play but able to get back in time to negate any odd-man rushes.

B+

Mark Giordano 

He made a number of stretch passes along the wall through the neutral zone to catch the Senators offside, especially on line changes. Not to mention he had six blocks on the night though I thought one of his better defensive plays didn’t involve a block at all. Ottawa was charging into the zone on an odd-man rush and Giordano completely took away the pass option from Joseph, even hopping over to the left to put more pressure on him.

Alex Kerfoot 

A really noticeable night being the puck facilitator for the second line moving the puck between Nylander and Tavares in transition and in the offensive zone. He was rewarded for that with a primary assist on Nylander’s goal after knocking Holden’s clear attempt down. Kerfoot also had some effective speed blitzes to get past the Senators and get to pucks first. He made a good pass to himself off the boards which led to a shot on goal using that.

Justin Holl

He had some great gaps on advancing players through the neutral zone, enough to disrupt their handling of the play and make them regroup. Holl also had a great sprawling play on Tkachuk on the penalty kill.

Timothy Liljegren

Liljegren is piecing more steady performances together. He isn’t jumping up as much in the play but is making nice defensive plays in stride and taking hits to send stretch passes to his advancing forwards.

B 

William Nylander 

He’s been fighting for the last while so it was good to see him get on the board to tie the team lead in goals with Matthews. His first shot of the game nearly beat Sogaard but he couldn’t get enough air on it to rise over his pad. However, Nylander beat him in the second with a clean shot through the five-hole to make it 2-0.

The fire is slowly returning, and once he gets his legs moving and ramps things up against the opposition when they get pushy, he’ll be back to that dynamic force he displayed earlier in the year.

Mitch Marner 

Alas, Marner’s 11-game point streak comes to an end. The neutral zone was the area for a number of quick-touch passes leading directly to scoring chances. The first was less than 10 seconds into the middle frame with a desperation play up to Järnkrok. The second saw Marner make a backboard from his stick and direct the stretch pass from Liljegren deep in the defensive end up to Matthews.

Calle Järnkrok

He was a snake-bitten in this game and could’ve easily walked away with two goals. The first was a game of inches as he did everything but beat the bar ripping a shot at Sogaard to start the second period. After some nice patience from Marner, Järnkrok had an empty net to shoot at but had too many bodies and sticks in front of him to make contact with the puck.

John Tavares

The invisible second assist goes to Tavares tonight. He didn’t get credit on Nylander’s goal but he did a good job of putting pressure on Holden off the draw.

B-

Auston Matthews

A surprisingly poor performance from Matthews in the faceoff dot as he finished the game with a 25 percent. Based on the standard Matthews returned to, it was a relatively quiet night for him with some bursts of energy and skating through the neutral zone. Additionally, he had an excellently placed shot almost picking the right corner on Sogaard.

C+

David Kämpf 

It was nice to see Kämpf on the ice for his fellow countryman’s goal in the second period. He led Leafs centreman with 11 faceoff wins though didn’t have a shot on goal.

Sam Lafferty

Good stick pressure on defenders handling the puck along the blue line. The sidestep on Austin Watson was also pretty funny.

C 

Zach Aston-Reese

Four hits with a single shot on goal. He also blocked a point-blank slap shot and had enough gas in the tank to chase down the puck and was in the hunt for an empty-net goal to close the game.

Game Score 

Final grade: A

The Leafs did an incredible job in front of the net. The Senators couldn’t get much going from the dangerous areas and instead were relying on shots from the blue line and the hash marks. When they did get their looks, Samsonov shut the door.

I think the Leafs blue line overall had a very good game and the team stuck with it and capitalized on their opportunities in the middle frame, including Bunting who scored the team’s 100th goal of the second period this season. I was very impressed with how they handled the third, especially the final quarter. D.J. Smith pulled Talbot with nearly five minutes to go and the empty net wasn’t the focus. Schenn was the only one who made an active attempt to go for it, which would’ve been his first Leafs goal in 11 years.

The rest of the team made smart plays with the puck but took advantage of the time they could hold the puck and run the clock. No one made it 4-0 but they didn’t allow the Senators to get even a wink of momentum or hope in the game. Not only did the Leafs secure the win with that responsible play, but they also earned their seventh 100-point season in franchise history.

What’s next for the Leafs?

In the short term, the Leafs are back home Sunday to take on the Detroit Red Wings (7:00 p.m. on Sportsnet Ontario). In the long term, the Tampa Bay Lightning are next. Now that they’ve clinched their spot, that first-round matchup is confirmed. And I’m sure no one saw this coming (April Fools).

(Top photo: Marc DesRosiers / 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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