The Toronto Maple Leafs kicked off the Post-Mitch Marner Era Wednesday night, and we have some observations to go through: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
But first things first: A win is a win is a win. Starting the season with a 5-2 victory over the arch-rival Montreal Canadiens is never a bad thing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But let’s face it: this wasn’t the prettiest of games for the home side, and nobody is planning any Stanley Cup parades after this one.
However, there were certainly some good things to take out of it, and let’s start there:
Maple Leafs Opener: The Good — Morgan Rielly
The longest serving Leaf, defenseman Morgan Rielly, appeared to be on the downslide last season, and was even pulled from his longtime role as the power play quarterback. There were even trade rumors early in the summer.
Then came Opening Night. One of the biggest questions going into the season is how the Leafs would make up for the loss of offense that Marner provided. Perhaps we got one big part of the answer Wednesday night.
Rielly looked like the Rielly of old: Jumping into the offense with quickness and confidence, the 13-year veteran had five shots on goal and two points, with a plus/minus rating of +2.
Also on the ‘good’ side of the ledger: Anthony Stolarz played his typical outstanding game in net, stopping 29 of 31 shots; Bobby McMann used his speed to have an impact game, and recorded his first goal of the season. That’s a far cry from last year, when head coach Craig Berube made him a healthy scratch for the season opener.
In addition, newcomers Matias Maccelli, with his passing, and Nic Roy, with his big physical presence, had their moments.
Maple Leafs Opener: The Bad — Top Line Woes
I promise not to continue to talk about Mitch Marner all season long… But yikes, that top line was a shell of itself without him in the opener. Heading into the third period, Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies and Maccelli hadn’t registered a single shot on goal. And for the captain, especially, with 12 goals on opening night in his nine-year career coming into this one, that was stunning to see.
Berube did cycle some others briefly through with Matthews and Knies later in the game.
Nevertheless, Toronto’s first liners did have some silver linings in the third period. Eventually, Knies found a signature moment. He was denied on a near breakaway by Samuel Montembeault, but battled to stay with it and feed it out front to a rushing Rielly. The rejuvenated d-man buried it for the go-ahead and game-winning third goal.
Additionally, Matthews also finally found the twine— with 90 seconds to go. Sure, the net was empty, but it’s a nice boost to come out of the game without a goose egg on the stat sheet. And his 13th in a season opener ties him with Alex Ovechkin for the most in that category among active NHLers.
Maple Leafs Opener: The Ugly — THAT Was a Power Play?
This is probably where the Leafs will miss Marner the most (yes, I mentioned him again). Their inability to break out and enter the zone, and the PP in general, was ugly. The first one was especially atrocious, even surrendering a short-handed goal. They were 0-for-2 with the man advantage, very lackadaisical and disorganized, with no real scoring chances.
Overall, the opener wasn’t exactly a great effort, but if they can play such an uninspired game and come out with the win over an exciting young team like the Habs, it’s a decent start. Let’s give it a C+.
