Looking to build off of one of their best games of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs went into Saturday night’s game against the Boston Bruins looking to make a statement and did just that, defeating the league’s best team to date 2-1. Yes, the same Maple Leafs who lost 4-2 to the Arizona Coyotes on home ice. Yes, the same team that lost every game on their California road trip swing. Isn’t this team so much fun? You really never know what you’re going to get.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Maple Leafs’ Win Over the Flyers
After a relatively quiet week, with only Wednesday’s (Nov. 2) game against the Philadelphia Flyers to look back on, the Maple Leafs came to play last night. They played the body, outshot their opponent, and ultimately outplayed the Bruins in nearly every aspect, further adding to the Jekyll-and-Hyde reputation this team has cast upon themselves. Auston Matthews led the way for the Buds, scoring both of the team’s goals to be the only Leaf to solve Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark, who’s been phenomenal to start the season.
As there always is with the Maple Leafs, there was lots to talk about from this game. But, as always, we’re going to narrow it down to three things. Here are some key takeaways from the win against the Bruins.
Maple Leafs Take Advantage of Distracted Bruins
The Bruins have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the weekend after signing Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract. Miller, of course, was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020, but the team denounced his rights 22 days later after it was revealed that he had a long history of racist bullying as well as mental and physical abuse towards a black disabled classmate, which had been happening as recently as 2016. Multiple Bruins players, including core leaders Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, voiced their displeasure about the signing when meeting the press on Friday and Saturday.
Now, I obviously have no way of knowing this since I’m not in the Bruins’ dressing room, but they certainly didn’t look like a team that had only lost one game on the season last night, and you have to imagine part of it had to do with the negative press surrounding them. They had a hard time completing any crisp passes, they didn’t get many clean looks on the Leafs’ goaltenders, and their only goal came in the form of a penalty shot from Marchand. The Maple Leafs, on the other hand, took advantage of the Bruins’ sloppiness and controlled the pace for the majority of the game. If the Miller signing threw a wrench into the team’s morale like it appeared to based on the comments from Bruins players, it certainly showed on the ice.
Samsonov Falls Victim to the Injury Bug, Kallgren Stands Tall
When Matt Murray suffered a groin injury ahead of only his second start of the season, everybody was disappointed, but nobody was surprised. His durability was one of the primary concerns when the Maple Leafs signed him, and it was a risk general manager Kyle Dubas knew he was taking. So, when Ilya Samsonov suffered an apparent knee injury on Marchand’s penalty shot goal, it added a whole other element of concern to the Maple Leafs’ roller coaster of a season. The Russian netminder finished the remainder of the period and seemed to be fine, in fact, nobody (including Michael Bunting) knew he was even injured until he didn’t return to the game in the third period.
It’s been a rocky start to the season for Erik Kallgren, who’s been serving as the Maple Leafs’ backup goaltender since Murray’s injury. Carrying a record of 0-2-1 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.28 and a save percentage (SV%) of .884 to start the season, having him enter the game with a one goal lead wasn’t ideal. But credit where it’s due, he stopped all six shots he faced and kept them in the game, which is all the team needed from him. Samsonov won’t be making the trip to North Carolina with the team, but the fact that he finished the period is an encouraging sign, and one the Maple Leafs will be clinging to with three of their top four goalies injured.
Matthews Carries the Offense, Starting to Catch Fire
When Matthews isn’t playing his best hockey, the Maple Leafs likely aren’t either. That was clear as day in the first few weeks of the season, as the reigning Maurice “Rocket” Richard winner only had one goal in his first seven games. His October this year was eerily similar to last year’s, although last year he had a missed training camp and a lingering wrist issue to blame. But, he’s starting to find his game again, with five goals and six points in his last five games to bring him up to 12 points in 12 games on the season.
Matthews looked much more like himself tonight than he has in recent games, leading the team with five shots on goal and creating plays all night. His first goal was very sneaky, taking a kick-pass from Bunting behind the net and quickly wrapping it around the post and behind Ullmark to open the scoring for the Maple Leafs. Then, after Marchand tied the game on his penalty shot, he tapped home his second of the game following some impressive puck movement capped off by a slick pass from William Nylander. The team will need him to continue these efforts to keep the momentum going, and given his track record, it’s safe to say this is a sign of things to come.
Maple Leafs Continue Back-to-Back Against Hurricanes Tonight
The injury to Samsonov really couldn’t have come at a worse time, with the Maple Leafs set to take on the 8-2-1 Carolina Hurricanes tonight. Kallgren likely would have started this game anyways, and unless either Samsonov makes a miraculous recovery overnight or the Maple Leafs make a transaction within the organization to call up another goaltender, it’s safe to assume he’ll be starting again. For what it’s worth, his best start of last season came against the Hurricanes, stopping 34 of 36 shots for a .944 SV% in a 3-2 win.
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The Maple Leafs will then play the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, followed by another back-to-back with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. With this in mind, and obviously, depending on the severity of Samsonov’s injury, I’d have to imagine Dubas will make a move for a goaltender before then. Running with Kallgren as your starter and newly-signed Keith Petruzzelli (who’s never played an NHL game before) as your backup seems less than ideal, so the team would have to acquire a goalie by freeing up another contract spot if Samsonov’s injury is severe. With a healthy Timothy Liljegren back in the lineup full-time, the team will look to win three games in a row for the first time this season.