I’m not in the mindset to award any brownie points for the Maple Leafs’ comeback effort in the second period of this game.
It’s better than quitting altogether, I suppose. But in the circumstances — facing a Vegas team that stormed back to snatch a win from them a week ago, with the emotional weight of this game for the fans in the building (and supposedly the players in blue on the ice?), and after losing two in a row at home — giving up four goals in 25 minutes, while looking as flat as the Leafs did, is completely inexcusable. The reality is that the Leafs played well for around 10 minutes tonight, in the second half of the second period, once down 4-1. They finished with 21 shots on goal despite trailing for 59 minutes of the game.
Craig Berube spoke about the need for a higher standard after the game. To be clear, the lack of jump early in this game — or physical investment, until Simon Benoit’s semi-noteworthy hit late in the first period — falls largely on the players. But the need for a higher standard starts behind the bench, too:
– Easton Cowan has been on the struggle bus for an extended stretch now. These serious games against good teams are overwhelming for him, and he’s trending down toward the 10-11 minute range regularly (deservedly). The immaturities in his game, as seen when defending the rush for the 2-0 Vegas goal (letting off instead of sticking with his check to the net), again partly cost the team tonight. That’s not on the kid for making the kinds of mistakes that are totally expected/part of the learning process for a 20-year-old with zero professional experience before this season. It’s fully on the coach (and those above the coach) at this point.
– And yet, Scott Laughton finished this game with less ice time than Cowan, as Laughton, unbelievably, did not break 9.5 minutes tonight. Beyond the calibre of Laughton’s play, which is deserving of much more ice time than that in and of itself (he also scored a nice goal to get the team back in it tonight!), he is the emotional leader of the team in some ways, and this was a high-emotion game — or at least, it was supposed to be. That simply should never happen.
– Matthew Knies and John Tavares have been outscored 6-3 at five-on-five in the last few weeks. They scored a goal right at the start of the second period, but they quickly gave it back a couple of minutes later. The 3-1 goal was largely on those two, even if the rebound could’ve been handled better by Anthony Stolarz. Tavares has hit a wall in the last few weeks as the schedule has bared its teeth. Knies is visibly playing through injury. They still have the skill, strength on pucks, and shooting ability to create some opportunities each night (and finish at a decent clip). But their feet look heavy; every puck feels contested, and it is a constant struggle to complete plays for the line because they can’t separate from checks or play fast enough. In addition to getting one of the team’s seven-best forwards more ice time, moving up the speed of Laughton — even situationally — would probably also benefit Tavares, who could effectively play wing for stretches with Laughton on his line.
– It’s very strange that Cowan — who, again, I like as a player long term! — receives a “well, he’s clearly learning, but he works hard!” pass while he is making costly rookie mistakes, but there is no rope/opportunity given to a player like Jacob Quillan, who has more professional experience and has now proven himself in the AHL. If you move Cowan out and Quillan in tonight, it allows you to very easily move Laughton up the lineup for more minutes.
– You could argue the Laughton line is supposed to take on high-leverage minutes (defensive assignments vs. top lines) to free up the scoring lines, and they do sometimes. But tonight, at home with the last change, Matthews spent basically the entire game playing inside the Jack Eichel matchup. Laughton saw one minute vs. Eichel, while Matthews saw 12.5, as the Leafs chased the game all night. There was no excuse for not moving Laughton up in this case; he’s not David Steckel, where his full utility is as a checking 4C who barely plays when the team trails. The Leafs are without their best defenseman and top point producer right now, have other key players battling through injuries, and badly need points. They can hardly afford these kinds of coaching decisions.
– The defense pairs again started with Jake McCabe next to OEL and Troy Stecher next to Simon Benoit. The 1-0 goal was a gift, as McCabe chased the same player OEL was covering below the goal line. Stecher finished at under 17 minutes of ice time. The defense clearly needs external help without Tanev, but the pairings aren’t getting the best out of any of the defensemen on the team currently, and the Leafs are giving up a ton of goals of late. It’s been clear for a while now that the team should try McCabe-Stecher, OEL back on his strong side with Carlo, and Rielly-Benning. Again, what did Benning do against the NYI to deserve never playing again? What has this current group of six (or seven with Myers) done lately to warrant not mixing it up?
This has little to do with coaching, but the Leafs cannot afford McCabe to continue to play like this for even a game longer. There are so many brain-dead plays happening with and without the puck, several leading directly to goals. He effectively ended the game for the team with the horrible play for the 5-3 put-away goal.
– The Anthony Stolarz call in net was an admittedly tough one. The team needs to get him up and running again, but they’re in a Vegas-Colorado-Buffalo stretch. The defensive play is also a mess in the last six games, so they aren’t protecting their goalies well at all. If it were me, I’d have given Stolarz a Marlies start and been more all-in on these two points tonight with Joseph Woll in net, knowing it’s Colorado on Sunday, and you had Vegas in a back-to-back. You can’t leave this really difficult weekend set empty-handed, but the Leafs are in a very tough position to get any points out of it now. Maybe Woll steals them one against Colorado, and this ages poorly. I sure hope so.
We’ll see where the Leafs stand after the next six games, but for me, they’re now going to need eight or nine of the next 12 points, or else the Olympic break conversation should shift to big-picture thinking beyond the season.
Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts
Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts
Game Highlights w/ Joe Bowen: Golden Knights 6 vs. Maple Leafs 3