Maple Leafs report cards: Offence looks potent again as power play ignites

By / / Sports / 6 minutes of reading


The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Monday’s game with the Calgary Flames riding a colossal wave of negative publicity due to the team’s combination of poor recent play and skyrocketing ticket prices.

A 6-2 win over the Flames is far from a cure-all for Toronto’s issues, but it’s not a bad place to begin.

The Maple Leafs got off to a terrific start, scoring in the first two minutes and outshooting the Flames 14-4 at five-on-five in the first period with 86.06 percent of expected goals. The scoreboard took a while to reflect the course of play as the opening frame finished 1-1, but the dam burst in the second with four unanswered goals from Toronto — with three coming on the power play.

Auston Matthews produced his first multi-goal game since mid-January and a reunited Bobby McMann-Max Domi-Nick Robertson third line excelled, with each of the forwards putting a puck in the net.

While it will take more than a win over the middling Flames to instill confidence that the Maple Leafs have put their recent struggles behind them, the performance is worth an A.

Unit grades

Power play: A+

Let’s not bury the lede here.

When you score three goals on three opportunities, including the game-winner, you get full marks — and a tweak to our format. The Flames’ penalty kill was the NHL’s best in March before Monday (95.5 percent), but the Maple Leafs made the group look helpless with one goal from William Nylander and two by Auston Matthews.

The first two showed one of the reasons the Maple Leafs power play can, and should, be among the league’s best. With deadly shooters on each flank and Mitch Marner directing traffic between them, Toronto’s first unit presents a rare mid-range threat.

On the third goal, Matthews found a soft spot and found the back of the net in the blink of an eye.

Monday was the first game Matthews scored multiple power-play goals since November 6, 2021.

L1 (Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner): A-

The damage Matthews and Marner did in this game came on the power play, but the first line had some strong moments at five-on-five too, particularly in the first period.

While the unit didn’t score, it outshot its opposition 6-1 and produced an expected goal rate of 95.91 percent.

The lowlight for the line was Calgary’s first goal, which came about when the Flames turned a Knies turnover high in the offensive zone into a counterattack shortly after jumping over the boards.

L2 (Pontus Holmberg – John Tavares – William Nylander): B

The second line didn’t score either, and it wasn’t as successful at driving the play. The teams traded chances in their minutes, and unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, some of the best ones died on Pontus Holmberg’s stick.

While the line had some high-event ice time, it didn’t end up being particularly consequential. That didn’t stop it from getting a little bit chippy.

L3 (Bobby McMann – Max Domi – Nick Robertson): A+

This trio has arguably been Toronto’s best third line of 2024-25, and the reunited group scored in every period of the game — beginning with a goal in the opening minutes.

They struck again in the second with Domi finding Robertson in the slot.

McMann got in on the action with his first goal since Feb. 6 early in the third.

It wasn’t all positive considering Robertson took two needless penalties, including one that would’ve resulted in a goal for Calgary without a timely review. It’s tough to complain about the group providing all of Toronto’s five-on-five goals and producing a 74.76 percent expected goal rate, though.

L4 (Steven Lorentz – Scott Laughton – Calle Järnkrok): C

The fourth line didn’t do much to help or hurt the Maple Leafs, even if they were on for a garbage-time goal on a deflection with less than a minute left.

The Maple Leafs were out-attempted 11-4 in this group’s minutes but gave up a modest 0.17 expected goals. The impact of these three forwards was felt on the penalty kill rather than at five-on-five.

D1 (Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev): A

Toronto’s shutdown pair didn’t have too many stressful moments to deal with on a night Calgary rarely felt threatening offensively. The duo did a good job of getting in front of pucks with five blocks between them and both posted expected goal rates above 75 percent.

McCabe had a particularly strong night as the only Maple Leafs defenceman to skate over 20 minutes. He did a good job balancing his defensive responsibilities with strong pinches that helped maintain offensive pressure.

D2 (Morgan Rielly – Brandon Carlo): B

The second pair was relatively quiet although Rielly had some issues with giveaways at times.

During their minutes Calgary had an edge on shots, but the Maple Leafs got better chances. In some cases, it’s fair to penalize Rielly for a lack of offensive impact, but Toronto didn’t need that from him on Monday. Meanwhile, Carlo was characteristically steady and seemed to be communicating well with his new partner.

D3 (Simon Benoit – Oliver Ekman-Larsson): B

Benoit and Ekman-Larsson had an eventful start to their night as they both assisted on the opening goal, and Benoit took a penalty in the first five minutes of the game.

Ekman-Larsson added another assist, leading Domi down the ice on Robertson’s goal, and Benoit made his way to the box again on a third-period double minor.

Penalty kill: A

Calgary brought a mediocre 18th-ranked power play into the game, but Toronto still deserves credit for shutting it down. In four opportunities the Flames couldn’t find the back of the net and managed just three shots.

The Maple Leafs did an excellent job of keeping Calgary to the outside, disrupting passing lanes and getting in front of attempts on net. Toronto’s shot-blocking was particularly impressive. The team got in front of seven of the Flames’ 15 attempts with the man advantage.

Goaltending (Joseph Woll): B

Woll wasn’t asked to be much of a factor.

Through two periods he faced just 13 shots, and by the time Calgary turned things up in the third period the game was well in hand. The first goal he allowed was a stoppable attempt from Rasmus Andersson off the rush.

The second came off a deflection that he couldn’t reasonably be expected to track. Woll’s final tally of 24 saves on 26 shots was plenty respectable.

Game Score

Single HockeyStatCards com 17

What’s next?

The Maple Leafs remain at home to battle the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.

(Photo of Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)





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Ronda Baker is a news writer who specializes in arts, automotive, travel, and fashion. She has been writing since she was a child, and her passion for the written word has only grown since then.

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