The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Boston Bruins in an Original Six matchup. It was a special one for both Brandon Carlo and Fraser Minten, who had their first chance to play against their former team since the trade at last season’s trade deadline.
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Unfortunately for Carlo and the Maple Leafs, things didn’t go as planned. Overall, the game was good, fast paced, hard hits, a fight, it was fun to watch. But it was another bad game on the part of the defence, Anthony Stolarz struggled and at times, this could be the first time all season that the offence was the best part of the game for Toronto.
With that, let’s jump right into the takeaways.
Laughton to Miss Time Again
As I mentioned above, there were some big hits in the game. None bigger than the one that Nikita Zadorov laid on Scott Laughton. He was turning around to exit the zone and chase the puck when Zadorov threw a huge hit that sent Laughton crashing to the ice. Right after the hit, Bobby McMann stepped in for his injured teammate.
But sadly, the damage was already done. Laughton was slow to get up and left the game without returning. After the game, head coach Craig Berube shared his thoughts, saying he thought the hit was to the head. He also mentioned that Laughton will not be playing tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes and there is no timeline for his return at this time. Obviously, this is something that you hate to see. He just worked his way back from an ankle injury that he suffered in training camp, and now after just two games, he is out again with no timeline. This could mean another opportunity for Easton Cowan to be called up and play a few games.
Stolarz Struggles & Gets Pulled
It seems like we’ve talked about this a few times this season. But the aforementioned Stolarz had a bad night. He let in four goals in the first 30 minutes of the game and got the hook. Unfortunately, as much as the defence struggled, he did too. He let a soft goal in the first period that beat him from 15 to 20 feet out, and then another soft one on David Pastrnak’s dirty dangle that snuck through his five-hole.
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This seems to be an ongoing trend for him this season. Last year, he was almost a guaranteed lock to make those saves. But so far, those are the ones he has struggled with, and it has cost the Maple Leafs leads and momentum. It wouldn’t be surprising if Berube elects to give him the night off tonight against the Hurricanes and starts Dennis Hildeby.
Nylander’s Hot Play Continues
Remember when Berube called out William Nylander within the first five games? Yeah? Well, since that happened, he has been playing some of the best hockey of his career. He was less than an inch away from tying the game before the Bruins scored their fifth of the night. But his whole game has drastically improved. He is flying out there, and his puck control has been very noticeable. He has always been someone who isn’t afraid to shoot the puck, and that has helped. But more importantly, his play has appeared to spark Auston Matthews, and together they are creating a solid one-two punch. A duo that people didn’t think could dominate games, especially after Mitch Marner left this summer.
However, they are. When Nylander and Matthews take the ice together, it makes it hard for teams to defend. Nylander is typically always thinking about the shot, but his passing ability is elite, so it makes him a dual threat. And when you add in his speed, it makes it even harder to defend. It has shown this season. Through 12 games, he has six goals and 15 assists for 21 points. That has him on pace for 114.8 points this season, which would be a career-high and his first 100-point season. The hope is his injury issue is behind him and he can continue to play this well for 70 more games and prove that he wasn’t just a third wheel, but in fact, could be a number-one player on a team in the NHL.
