The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators continued their first-round series as they battled in Game 2 last night. With the Maple Leafs out to a 1-0 lead in the series, they were looking to take control of it by making it a 2-0 series lead. This would have been the first time since the early 2000s that they held a 2-0 series lead in any playoff series.
After jumping out to an early 2-0 lead with two goals on four shots, they looked to be well on their way to another dominant performance. However, they seemed to let their foot off the gas a bit, which allowed the Senators to work their way back into the game. The Senators were able to score one late in the second to cut the lead down to 2-1. Unfortunately, the third period didn’t start as they would have hoped. The Maple Leafs were playing superb defensively and didn’t allow a shot for almost 13 straight minutes. In typical Toronto fashion, Ottawa’s first shot was the game-tying goal, which sent the game to overtime (OT).
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In the extra frame, the play went back and forth until Simon Benoit made a heads-up play to pick off a pass in his own zone and rushed it up ice. When he crossed the Senators’ blue line, he dropped it to Max Domi, who looked to have lost control of the puck before regaining possession and shooting it off the post and in to win the game and lead the series 2-0.
Before the series shifts to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4, there are a few takeaways from Game 2 that should be talked about, so let’s get into it.
Berube’s In-Game Adjustments Are Elite
It’s nice to finally have a coach who can make in-game adjustments—and it actually works. Craig Berube has shown in the first two games of this series that he isn’t afraid to make changes to lines if he feels it’ll help them out. He has done that very well with Domi and Pontus Holmberg, who have rotated in and out on the second line with William Nylander and John Tavares. He has a good understanding of which lines to start in which situations to help his team the most at that moment in the game.
The best part is, he doesn’t do what old coaches used to do—just pick one player he likes and move him up and down the lineup. He tends to roll four lines and, when he feels a line needs a shakeup, he goes back to what he knows has worked earlier in the season. That’s part of the reason why he switches Holmberg and Domi, because Domi, Bobby McMann, and Nick Robertson have been very good at times this season. It also allows him to get different faceoff matchups throughout the game, which helped tonight when Tavares was struggling in the faceoff circle. His ability to make in-game adjustments has to be near the top of the league. He does it without panic and is confident that it’s going to work. Everything flows downhill, right? So when he makes those changes with confidence, it flows to the players—and they typically benefit from it.
Maple Leafs Are Starting on Time
Starting on time has been an issue with this team since the Mike Babcock days. However, this season under Berube, they’ve broken that habit—and it shows. In past playoff series, one of the biggest issues was playing catch-up, but in this series, it’s the complete opposite. They are starting at puck drop and getting out to early leads, which increases their chances to win the game. In back-to-back games, they’ve scored two goals on four shots within the first 10 minutes of the first period and given themselves a lead to work with.
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This is how good teams win playoff series—they put themselves in the best position to win games, and typically that starts by playing with the lead. Berube has instilled good habits into this team from his Stanley Cup run in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues, and it’s paying off. If the Maple Leafs continue to start on time and get out to an early lead, this series against the Senators could be over in four games.
Core Four Looks Good, Again
Another point of contention that hasn’t been talked about much in the past—the core four looked very good again last night. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner looked to be on a whole other level dating back to the second-last week of the regular season. They have been on a roll alongside Matthew Knies and, as a trio, have been very good against the Senators’ top line. From the drop of the puck in Game 1, Berube put the Matthews line up against the Brady Tkachuk line, and they’ve stepped up and shown that this year they won’t crack under pressure.
As for the other members of the core four, Nylander and Tavares have looked good early in this series as well. They’ve been getting a ton of offensive zone starts, which makes sense with Tavares’ faceoff ability and Nylander’s shot off the faceoff. For the most part, they’ve been fairly good. At times, they’ve looked a bit outplayed by their line matchup, but again—Berube’s ability to make in-game adjustments and put them out against a less talented line has worked well. Combined, the core four has 14 points in just two games, which is unreal when you compare it to past playoff series where they truly didn’t show up.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs will now head to Ottawa with a 2-0 series lead for Games 3 and 4. They have full control; however, Thursday’s game will be a huge one in determining the outcome of the series. If Toronto can pull off another win, they’ll just need one more to close it out—and that could be done on Saturday night. If they lose, then they’ll need a win on Saturday to stay in control. Which means Game 3 may be the biggest game of the series for the Maple Leafs—some may even consider it a “must-win” if they want to try and close it out in four games.
