The good news is, the Leafs have been in just about every game this season and certainly could have won a few more games than they have. It’s certainly all part of the process when you have so many rookies and young players establishing themselves in the National Hockey League.
The system that Babcock and his coaching staff have implemented has been gaining traction as the season goes on. Lately the Leafs seem to be somewhat snake-bitten at capitalizing on their chances, there aren’t many teams that create as many scoring opportunities as Toronto. It’s just a matter of time the bounces start going in the Leafs favor and they put the nail in coffin earlier in the game and end the charade.
I’m still shaking my head at Peter Holland scoring the winner in the shootout for the Coyotes. That’s just classic Leafs, mind you; losing Peter Holland isn’t going to be a franchise changing moment.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews got the Leafs on the board with a hard shot from the top of the slot on a feed from William Nylander. Matthews, who grew up in Arizona was hungry to get on the scoreboard, his line consisting of Hyman and Nylander was the Leafs best last night. Hyman is really starting to grow on me as the season progresses, he’s a work horse and I think he has a severe case of try-hard syndrome.
The Leafs had 46 shots on net and 12 from the Hyman-Matthews-Nylander combination. The possession aspects of the game was all Toronto, winning vast majority of the face-offs and consistently pressing with a hard fore-check led to the Leafs having numerous A-grade opportunities. Unfortunately they were not able to slide more than two passed the Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith who’s done a great job at keeping Arizona afloat.
It may be just one goal, but getting Magic Mitch Marner back to his scoring ways is only going to boost his confidence as the Leafs get ready for the defending Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marner tied up the game in the second period but the Leafs couldn’t get one passed Smith or the post in overtime or the shootout. These shootouts are really chapping my ass lately; I hope the boys work on their break-away moves as these points could be vital for a playoff position in seasons to come.
World Jr’s:
It won’t be long til Boxing Day is here at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships will be underway. Toronto will have four prospects playing in the tournament and could have sent both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner if they wanted, but obviously won’t be.
Jeremy Bracco: With 51 points in 27 games playing on the Kitchener Rangers, Bracco has been dominant. Bracco will be playing for the United States and will likely be a player the States will depend on for some production. Expect the Leafs to offer Bracco a deal at some point this season and without question I feel he will be on the Marlies roster next season.
Nikita Korostelev: Playing for the Sarnia Sting, Korostelev has 34 points in 29 games and has been quite impressive for a seventh round pick (2015). Without a doubt Korostelev still has a lot of work to do with his overall game but he’s certainly proving his worth. He will be representing Russia and also will require a contract if the Leafs want to keep him around.
Carl Grundstrom: Grundstrom was an interesting pick by the Leafs, he was snagged in the second round (57) and the pick surprised many of the Leafs faithful. Grundstrom has 11 goals playing for Frolunda HC in the Swedish Elite League. That goal tally is actually quite impressive considering how much more difficult it is to score in Sweden than say the OHL. Obviously Grundstrom will be representing Sweden in the tournament.
Joseph Woll: Toronto snagged Woll in the 2016 draft and have hopes he will be able to settle into a starting position for Boston College down the road and give the Leafs/Marlies some goaltending options for the future. With Andersen playing as well as he is and the Leafs progressing; Woll could be the tender of the twine down the road. He will have plenty of time to work on aspects of his game to prepare for his future with the blue and white.
The game tomorrow night in Toronto will be a tough one, but I hope the boys come out to play as I will be attending the game with my old man.
Hope you have a great weekend, thanks for reading!