As the NHL season winds to a close, the stories of the second half have come into focus. Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon breaks down each team’s back nine in his latest power rankings.
There’s so much going on with the Toronto Maple Leafs roster that it felt silly to dig in on any one particular thing. And so we go to The Notebook, where I’ve got seven thoughts (and some video) for you.
This could be what a successful playoff version of Mitch Marner looks like
It isn’t the dominating, game-controlling version we’ve seen from him during some mid-season games, but there’s this new bud of a player who hangs in there and tries to keep making plays deep into big hockey games, even if things aren’t going great.
After a few periods against Sweden in the 4 Nations, you started to see tweets like big game and Marner nowhere to be found, same as playoffs. But then in overtime he took a puck from the neutral zone, drove and fired home the winner. Against the Americans in the final, old feelings were surfacing again — big heavy hockey, big pressure, quiet game from Mitch. Then he made two late plays that helped the Canadian side break through.
Against the Florida Panthers with the Atlantic Division on the line, the fears were there again. Two quiet periods in the biggest game of the year, this looks like playoffs. Then he took an Auston Matthews feed and wired it home, before setting up the eventual game-winner with a stretch pass to Matthew Knies.
I have said forever that there’s going to be a playoff where it comes together for him, and you’re starting to see the shape of what that success might look like.
This all has to have done wonders for his confidence in the big moments, and I think it’s fair to say that if he can deliver these sorts of performances in the playoffs — where he’s maybe quieter, but sticks with it and shows well in the big moments — Leafs fans would be thrilled with that.
Matthews and Knies have become a down-low nightmare
Don’t look now, but Auston Matthews seems … healthy? After playing 19:52 per game in January, he got back up to 20:53 in February and March, and he’s just had way more moments where he’s taking over games.
Matthews and Matthew Knies are huge dudes and when they handle the puck down low, you can see D-men struggling to hang. Against Florida in the third, in a 1-1 game, the Leafs captain had a shift where he shrugged defenders off like he was the big brother.
They don’t have to score every shift, or even every period, but if Matthews and Knies can control pucks like that low in the offensive zone they’ll wear opponents down.
Bobby McMann changes the Leafs’ top six
Not to be overly positive about the Leafs here, god forbid, but they quietly lost McMann before playoffs last year, and his speed, forechecking ability, and shot have changed the second line. Tavares has more room, William Nylander has someone to make plays with and their speed is setting opposing teams on their heels.
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