The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have been on a bit of a roll as of late. The Lightning came into last night with an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games, which has kept them in the race for the third spot in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs came into the game only needing a single point to clinch a playoff berth for the eighth straight season.
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These two teams have had some very intense games over the last two seasons, including back-to-back playoff series, which has heightened their dislike for one another. Last night, we had all of the same as most would expect. It started with a big shift by Ryan Reaves, who threw a few bone-crushing hits, which seemed to get the crowd into it. After that, though, the skill of both teams took over, and the Lightning got on the board first. The first period was more penalty-ridden than the rest of the game, and on the first of four powerplays (PP), Auston Matthews got them on the board, less than five seconds into it.
Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs fell behind in the second, with goals by Braydon Point and Steven Stamkos giving the Lightning a 3-1 lead. In the third, there wasn’t a lot of action; there was a fight between Reaves and Tanner Jeannot, which seemed to spark the team. At least until Nick Paul scored the fourth goal of the game for the Lightning, put the game to bed, and moved within four points of the Maple Leafs for third in the Atlantic Division.
Reaves Finds His Game
Remember at the beginning of the season when Reaves seemed to always be on for goals against? He was lacking confidence, and it seemed to be the talk of the town. Fans of the Maple Leafs and hockey all together were questioning the decision to sign him, and some were even calling for him to be waived. He then got injured and missed a fair bit of time, and when he was ready to return, he became the rotation player on the fourth line. Well, things seemed to truly change for him when Brad Treliving went out and acquired his old linemate, Connor Dewar, from the Minnesota Wild.
It seemed that this move gave Reaves a bit more confidence because, since then, he has been playing very well. He’s been meaner and more aggressive, and he and his linemates have earned a ton of trust from the coaching staff. If he can keep playing this way, it’ll make it very hard for head coach Sheldon Keefe to take him out of the lineup when the playoffs start. Although he doesn’t provide a scoring touch, he stands up for his teammates and can easily change the momentum of the game with a big hit or fight. The other noticeable difference in the Maple Leafs’ fourth line is their ability to cycle the puck when they get shifts in the offensive zone. At times, they cycle the puck their entire shift, which can have a big impact on the top nine.
Reaves had an outstanding game last night against the Lightning; he was all around it. He was involved physically, got in on the forecheck, and of course dropped the gloves with Jeannot, which Reaves dominated and got the crowd back into it. His play as of late has had a lot of early-season critics retracting their statements. For Maple Leafs fans, this is awesome to see.
Keefe’s Questionable Decisions
This time of year can be a test for teams, especially those who are in the situation the Maple Leafs are in. They have had the injury bug affect their locker room for the better part of a month, and they still haven’t had a full, healthy lineup since the trade deadline came and went on March 8. This has posed quite a problem for Keefe; he has made the forward group work, but he clearly misses some of his go-to players like Calle Jarnkrok and Mitch Marner, who are both injured. In the meantime, he has had to rely heavily on players like Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Bobby McMann, who all look great in their new roles. Unfortunately, now all of them will be staying on those lines when the playoffs start. The one most important takeaway from that is that Keefe won’t feel obligated to use his fourth line of Dewar, Reaves, and David Kampf against the other team’s top line. This is what we saw last night, and it had a lot of Leafs Nation questioning why.
The shift that led to the Lightning’s second goal by Point directly resulted from Keefe utilizing his fourth line in the wrong spot. It was given the chance to start in the defensive zone against Tampa’s top line, which they defended well and got a stoppage after eight seconds. At this time, all three forwards looked toward the bench, but Keefe let them stay on the ice. After that face-off, the puck ended up in the back of their net. Dewar was helping alongside the sideboards, and Reaves was floating from the slot to the point, covering any chance of a shot. Kampf made a mistake, and it was a large one. He decided to leave his man in front of the net (Point) to go and battle for the puck. Well, that left Point wide open, and he made no mistake, putting the puck past Joseph Woll.
The other mistake on this play was that T.J. Brodie started down low in the corner and followed the pass up high instead of letting Dewar or Reaves worry about that. Had he just abandoned that and supported his partner, Ilya Lyubushkin, who was battling down low, then he would have been in front of the net to help cover Kampf’s missed assignment. The other baffling decision that Keefe made that had me confused was when the Maple Leafs had the pressure after their top line hemmed in the Lightning and had an offensive zone face-off with about four minutes to go. This would have been a good chance for the Maple Leafs to pull Woll and continue with the six-on-five to attempt to tie the game. Even if it didn’t work, it would have been good to practice that for the playoffs. However, Keefe elected not to and just kept rolling his four lines until the final buzzer went to end the game.
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If the Maple Leafs are hoping to go far in the playoffs, Keefe also needs to tighten things up and give his team the best chance to win. He shouldn’t be making these questionable decisions so late in the season that make him look foolish. Instead, he should have confidence in his roster and do all he can to put them in the best situation for success, especially against a team that is now only four points behind them in the standings.
The Maple Leafs are next in action on Saturday, April 6, at 7:00 p.m. when they take on their longest rival, the Montreal Canadiens.
