Here’s the good news for the Toronto Maple Leafs, one point is better than none. The big guns (Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner) got going a bit, and Ilya Samsonov played like his old solid self. Other than that, the team might have put fans to sleep for the first part of the game. They seemed to have no drive until they absolutely had to.
In Thursday’s Maple Leafs’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins, Marner and Matthews scored goals for Toronto. Samsonov stopped 38 shots. And, is this a given yet, winger William Nylander continued his impressive point streak, extending it to 10 games by recording an assist on a Maple Leafs’ goal in the second period. In the end, the shootout was over quickly and the Blue and White went down to another defeat.
Latest THW Headlines
In this edition of Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I’ll take a look at some of the players of note during the game.
Item One: Timothy Liljegren Injured in Bruins Game
Timothy Liljegren suffered what looks to be a significant lower-body injury. That news was confirmed by head coach Sheldon Keefe after the game. He sustained the injury during a collision (if that’s the right word) with Brad Marchand.
Related: Zdeno Chara – 7 Cool Things About the Big Guy
Sadly for the Maple Leafs, this isn’t Liljegren’s first recent injury. A week ago, he left another game early with an upper-body issue. With Liljegren sidelined, and Jake McCabe also unavailable due to a groin injury, the Maple Leafs might need to make a call-up from their minor league affiliates before their upcoming game against the Buffalo Sabres.
The exact prognosis for Liljegren’s recovery is still uncertain. However, it seems pretty clear that he will miss substantial time due to the injury.
Item Two: Ilya Samsonov Seems to Have Turned the Corner
In Thursday’s matchup against Boston, goalie Samsonov put up a promising performance by making 38 saves, even though his team ultimately encountered a 3-2 shootout loss. His game appears to be on an upswing, and he made a number of really solid saves last night.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Samsonov Shows Human Side of Professional Sports
There were a few moments during the game where he seemed to be out of position or lost his stick (again), but these didn’t prove costly. Given that Samsonov delivered a number of impressive saves, does it seem clear that he’s put his overwhelming struggles behind him?
Fans have to hope the funk he was in during the early part of the season was temporary. The team needs him to become a steady player if they are to push toward success this season.
Item Three: William Nylander Keeps Extending His Franchise Record
Now Nylander’s record sits at 10 games. Against the Bruins, he continued his remarkable season-opening point streak by notching an assist on Marner’s goal to get the team on the scoreboard. It’s now a franchise-record 10 straight games with at least one point to start the season.
During this remarkable run, Nylander has totaled 14 points (six goals and eight assists). Although I have a feeling this fact isn’t on his mind much, Nylander has not yet inked a contract extension. From a financial perspective, his decision to bet on himself and wait to sign a new deal seems to be the right choice.
Related: Maple Leafs Nylander: Uncovering His Unseen Drive
Nylander’s outstanding play is not only setting franchise records but also proving game in and game out that he’s one of the best players on this Maple Leafs team. There’s a good argument that he’s their best skater this season. He contributes consistently to his team’s success.
Item Four: Auston Matthews Scores Goal Number Eight
Thursday against Boston, Matthews beat Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman over his glove-side shoulder with a patented one-timer from the left faceoff circle. We’ve seen that before. With the goal, Matthews now has eight on the season.
Matthews has experienced a dip in his goal-scoring since the beginning of the season, with just two goals in his last eight games. However, he’s still a consistent scorer. Over his past five games, he’s put up six points (with two goals and four assists). He’s now up to a total of 12 points in the 10 games he’s played this season.
Item Five: Mitchell Marner Extends His Point Streak to Five Games
Marner scored his third goal of the season, using a couple of slick moves. First, he skillfully deked Boston defenceman Brandon Carlo then he put a move on Swayman to push the puck into the net. That goal pushed Marner’s current point streak to five games (with two goals and three assists).
As it seems to happen this time of the season, after slow starts Marner is now starting to fire more shots on the net. This season, however, his shooting percentage currently stands at only 12 percent. His past two seasons were slightly higher at 15.3 percent and 15.6 percent respectively.
Related: Oilers’ McFarlane Jersey Remains Divisive 20 Years Later
As noted, given Marner’s track record, fans might get ready for him to put on a push in his goal-scoring. That couldn’t come at a better time.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs next play the Sabres on Saturday on home ice. The Sabres had a slow start to the season, but recently have pushed their record to 5-5-0. Buffalo will be playing the second game of a back-to-back. They’ll be coming off a Friday game on home ice against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Maple Leafs once again started Thursday’s game in a slumber. However, they finally put on a spurt in the second period and outplayed the Bruins for the rest of the game – except for the overtime shootout. It’s just hard to say what team will show up for Toronto.
