The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena, marking their second straight loss. Despite the absence of captain Auston Matthews (upper-body injury), the team showed some bright spots in a primarily challenging game. William Nylander extended his point streak to seven games with assists on both John Tavares’ goals. Both players continue to cement their consistency as key contributors for the Maple Leafs this season.
Item One: Auston Matthews Sidelined with Upper-Body Injury
Matthews missed his second straight game on Monday due to a re-aggravated upper-body injury. The Maple Leafs’ star center, who has been less than instrumental to the team’s overall success this season, will now have additional time to recover during the league’s Christmas break. The team (and fans) hopes the rest will permit Matthews to return to action when the Maple Leafs visit the Red Wings on Friday.
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In Matthews’ absence, the Maple Leafs have managed a 7-4-0 record without him this season. That kind of success isn’t sustainable. However, it does show that the team is more than its captain. They will miss him if he’s forced to remain on the sidelines for any time. Still, the team has remained above .500 historically when their star center is out of the lineup, sporting a 42-23-2 record in the games he’s missed.
Item Two: Chris Tanev Was Also a Late Scratch for the Jets Game
Veteran defenceman Chris Tanev was a late scratch for Monday night’s game against Winnipeg. He experienced a lower-body injury. Despite participating in pre-game warmups, Tanev was eventually unable to suit up. It marked his first missed game of the season.
Tanev has been a defensive stalwart for the Maple Leafs. He has scored a single goal and put up nine assists on the season. However, the measure of his body of work (pun intended) is his total of 99 blocked shots over 34 games. His absence was felt against the Jets, as his team struggled defensively in the 5-2 loss.
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Philippe Myers skated into the lineup in Tanev’s place. Still, like Matthews, the team will hope for Tanev’s quick recovery as it prepares to face off in Detroit after the Christmas break.
Item Three: John Tavares Made NHL History with His Goals
Tavares etched his name into NHL history Monday night. His two goals in the Maple Leafs’ loss pushed him to a unique milestone. His first goal of the night marked his 200th as a Maple Leafs player. He’s just the fifth player in NHL history to score 200 goals with two teams.
Tavares, who scored 272 goals during his time with the New York Islanders, now shares elite company with Wayne Gretzky (Oilers, Kings), Lanny McDonald (Maple Leafs, Flames), Mark Messier (Oilers, Rangers), and Keith Tkachuk (Jets/Coyotes, Blues). It’s a pretty heady group of NHL stars.
Beyond this historic milestone, Tavares is on a tear. He’s riding a five-game point streak with five goals and nine points during that span. His 17 goals on the season place him among the NHL’s top 10 goal-scorers. It would seem that any critique that the veteran NHL player is losing his skills is ungrounded.
Item Four: Joseph Woll Overwhelmed by Relentless Jets Offence
Joseph Woll made 22 saves on Monday night as the Maple Leafs fell 5-2 to the Jets. Facing one of the league’s top offences, Woll battled through a challenging game. The Jets kept coming, producing multiple high-danger chances from its stars, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.
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Coming off a five-goal outing against the Islanders on Saturday, Woll’s record now stands at 9-6-0 with a 2.50 goals-against average (GAA) and a .912 save percentage (SV%) over 15 games this season. While the loss stings and the goal total mounts, Woll continues to show promise as a dependable choice for the Maple Leafs in their crease. For the most part, giving up five goals represents a fair story of the game the team played in front of him.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
As noted, the Maple Leafs have a few days off and will seek to rebound after the Christmas break when they travel to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Friday. It’s too early for news about Matthews’ status for that game.
