After defeating the Montreal Canadiens by a 2-1 score on Friday night (Sep. 29), the Toronto Maple Leafs immediately faced off against them last night (Sep. 30). The Maple Leafs emerged victorious yet again, defeating the Canadiens by a 3-1 final score. This marked the third preseason contest in a row where the Maple Leafs won, even though the Canadiens heavily outshot them in this one. Let’s discuss three takeaways from this Original Six matchup now.
Martin Jones’ Superb Play
As we inch closer to the regular season, there has been a lot of waiver talk regarding goaltender Martin Jones. It is understandable, as the Maple Leafs signed him for insurance, and Joseph Woll is expected to be on their opening night roster. With that, teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche have injured goalies and could take a look at Jones because of it. Yet, Jones seemed to ignore the noise last night, as he was simply magnificent for the Maple Leafs.
Jones, 33, was a significant reason why the Maple Leafs won this contest, and that can be seen just by looking at his statistics. The 6-foot-4 goaltender saved 33 out of 34 shots he faced. Had he not been on his game, this contest could have easily gone in Montreal’s favour, as the Maple Leafs ended the night with only 22 shots on goal.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Maple Leafs’ 2-1 Win Over Canadiens
Overall, it’s hard not to love what we saw from Jones last night. It would not be surprising if he grabbed the attention of teams needing another goalie, but we will need to wait and see what the Maple Leafs decide to do with him from here.
Fraser Minten & Matthew Knies Stay Hot
During Friday’s (Sep. 29) game against the Canadiens, Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies both showed up big time. This translated over to last night’s (Sep. 30) contest as well, as both Maple Leafs prospects made notable impacts against the Canadiens yet again.
Minten, 19, put together a multi-point night, posting one goal and one assist. Yet, besides making an impact on the scoresheet in the game, Minten looked solid in all areas of the ice. This has been a common theme all preseason, and it is hard not to love what we are seeing from the 2022 second-round pick.
As for Knies, he found the back of the net yet again. Similar to Minten, besides producing offensively, he also did all the other small things right against Montreal. His tenacity made it hard for the Canadiens to go up against him, while he showed great poise with the puck. Overall, both he and Minten were clear difference-makers in this matchup.
Nick Robertson Breaks the Ice
After recording six shots on goal against the Canadiens on Friday (Sep. 29) but failing to score, it seemed like only a matter of time before Nick Robertson would break the ice. Thankfully, he did not need to wait long, as he found the back of the net against Montreal last night. With that, he continued to fire away at all opportunities, finishing the night with five shots on goal.
Robertson, 22, has shown great confidence and effort this preseason, and it is nice to see him finally see some results from it. After several injury-filled seasons, the California native is hoping to sneak his way onto the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster. If he can continue to find results, perhaps there could be a role of some kind for him.
Other players like Alex Steeves, Nick Abruzzese, and Noah Gregor also made an impact for the Maple Leafs against the Canadiens. Overall, it may not have been the prettiest preseason game ever for the Maple Leafs, but in the end, Jones and the kids helped carry them to victory.
