Aside that the Leafs have arguably one of the most entertaining rosters to watch the only other story line that matters tonight is Patrick Laine vs Austen Mathews. Two vs One or One vs Two.
Mathews didn't just add fuel to the fire of expectations on opening night, he all but blew up a gas tanker with 4 goals of his own in the 5-4 loss to the Senators. Patrick Laine had his chance to wow in his appearance and earned a goal and an assist to start his career.
Since though... it's been pretty quiet for both.
I don't think it's hard to see that Mathews is the better player and that's okay. However, people have to forget that Laine believed he should be the first overall pick and use that as some sort of measuring point. It's confidence and belief in oneself which is exactly what a player needs especially now with the Jets looking like a team that may not just miss the playoffs but all modest expectations that existed.
So when you are at the game look at Ehlers and Marner, Scheifele and Kadri, Reilly and Trou... oops. Look at the depth and the players and try to see the difference between the clubs in what they are doing. That's the point that needs debate and discussion particularly for Jets fans as the future can't come soon enough for many.
The curious thing about the Jets season to date is that neither goalie, Hellebuyck or Hutchinson has played two consecutive games. How is one to get a groove a feeling when they are being swapped out? Of course Paul Maurice is waiting for either of his net minders to step up and give him a reason have another consecutive start but is he also messing with their heads a bit?
Tonight, perhaps in a nod to the draft, Maurice has Laine opening with Scheifele and Wheeler while Ehlers slots in with Perreault and Stafford while Connor Burmistrov and Armia anchor the third line. Mathias Lowry and Tanev round out the bottom six while the pairings of Morrrissey Byfuglien, Enstrom and Myers and Chiarot Postma tandem are the defence.
The Jets are no longer at the bottom of the possession stats within the league but the Leafs, after only two games, are tops. This could be interesting but luck has a funny way of turning though and consider this stat- Leafs PDO is 105.93 and the Jets is at 95 (even strength numbers)
What does that mean? Well one team is really unlucky and trending below league average in two categories and the other is really lucky. In this case I would say the Jets have been unlucky with goalies but on the other side the Leafs are shooting at over 15%... one of those is going to change and I bet it's the shooting percent first.
Back to the point before about watching the youth of the Jets versus the youth of the Leafs. Take a look at how the rookies and such are playing how they are used and what they do and compare. I'm curious as to the coaching influence as Maurice and Babcock are both sticklers for detail and systems and both coaches have very similar situations with their rosters.
Frankly though this game for the Jets has to be more than Mathews versus Laine, it has to be about playing good, smart hockey and moving forward to improving the little things that are costing them wins.
Mathews versus Laine is nothing. We'll talk about that near the end of the season when the two have some bodies of work to look at Mathews is trailing Laine in points. :)-
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