The Toronto Maple Leafs looked to bounce back after dropping their first game back from the All-Star Break against the New York Islanders. They need to start putting points in the bank to help solidify their spot in the postseason. The Maple Leafs welcomed the always-challenging Dallas Stars, which was a hard-fought battle. The game was back and forth, but the Maple Leafs came out on top with a 5-4 win to reach 60 points on the season and will jump over the Tampa Bay Lightning and move back into third in the Atlantic Division.
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The Maple Leafs will desperately need to steal points between now and the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8, 2024. It isn’t only important in terms of locking up a spot in the playoffs. But also, it gives management confidence to go out and add to give the team the best chance to take a run at winning the Stanley Cup. With that, let’s get into a few key takeaways from the game.
Need Blue Line Help
It has been no secret to any member of Leafs Nation that the Maple Leafs desperately need help on the blue line. The last two games have shown that the team needs help. They are struggling to close gaps on their checks; they are out of position, and not getting sticks in lanes, which typically ends with pucks in the back of the net. Yes, you could argue that sometimes you need a save from your goalie, but when it happens numerous times per game, it makes it harder for the goalie to see the shot or read the pass. There have been a few defencemen who have struggled in particular, like T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, and Timothy Liljegren. All of them seem out of place on the Maple Leafs’ blue line; unfortunately, top-four defencemen cost a lot to acquire, so the club can’t do a complete revamp of their defence core, but they can bring in some help to stabilize things.
Chris Tanev has been linked to the Maple Leafs, as per Elliotte Friedman of the 32 Thoughts podcast. He could help, as he has a right-handed shot to play alongside Morgan Rielly. However, he isn’t solely going to be the answer. They need defencemen who are willing to battle every shift, similar to what Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit have done for the team. It was evident last night that the pairing of McCabe and Benoit played physically and had a ton of pushback against the Stars’ offence, especially against Mason Marchment, who had a difficult night against them. If the club could acquire a top-four and another depth-style defenceman, it should help. It will give players like Giordano more rest time and Liljegren a night off to reset.
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Aside from Tanev, another name that would fit on the blue line would be former Maple Leaf Ilya Lyubushkin. He plays a similar style to the McCabe/Benoit pairing and could slide into a bottom pairing role alongside Liljegren down the stretch.
Core Four Had a Night
After how the team performed the other night against the Islanders, it seemed like it could be a night where the core four came to play. Although they didn’t play badly, some may think they were outplayed by the Islanders; the top power-play unit was benched, and the top guys seemed out of sync. Well, last night was a different story. William Nylander, John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner had an outstanding night. Nylander, Matthews, and Marner were lights out on the penalty kill (PK) as well. During one of their PKs, all three of them had odd-man rushes and scoring chances, which is good to see. If the top players on the team are the best penalty-killers, it forces the rest of the lineup to step up their game.
The four of them were responsible for all of the team’s goals last night. Nylander double-dipped and had an attempt on the empty net late in the third but missed. The Maple Leafs allowed a penalty shot goal by Evgenii Dadanov, which tied the game. However, they quickly responded with a beautiful goal by Marner. Just 20 seconds later, Nylander scored a goal that was assisted by a lovely pass from Tavares. He tricked the Stars’ defender with a half-turn before delivering the pass to Nylander, who shot it into the net. Matthews scored his 41st of the season; he only needs 29 in the last 33 games to get to the 70-goal mark, which hasn’t been done since 1992–93, when Teemu Selanne and former Maple Leaf Alex Mogilny scored 76. He also has 27 goals in his last 27 games, which puts him on an incredible pace to attempt to get to 70 for the first time in 32 years.
Overall, the Maple Leafs played well for the second game in a row, but this one they locked it down and secured the win. This is something that they will need to focus all of their attention on if they want to go on a run down the stretch. The fourth line of Bobby McMann, Pontus Holmberg, and Ryan Reaves was very good last night. They had scoring chances and forechecked very well to keep the puck in the opponent’s end. With the team’s depth looking a bit thinned out, it is helpful that your fourth line can play for 10:30 or less and still impact the game.
The Maple Leafs are in action again on Saturday, Feb. 10, when they go on the road to face the Ottawa Senators for another edition of the Battle of Ontario.