The wait is over. The NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs are back after a busy offseason and on Sunday night, the Maple Leafs kicked off their preseason schedule with a home game against their Atlantic Division rivals — the Ottawa Senators.
While the Senators iced some newer names — including former Maple Leafs Michael Amadio, Noah Gregor and Nikolay Kulemin who is on a professional tryout (PTO) — the Maple Leafs had what mostly looked like a roster they could put together to kick off the regular season.
While they were severely outplayed in the first period of the game — getting outshot 15-1 in that frame — there were some observations that could be taken away from their first preseason game against the Senators. With that, here are few notes worthy of discussing from Sunday night’s affair.
Max Pacioretty Looks Healthy and Ready
Like the Senators, the Maple Leafs had their own player on a PTO. At 36, Max Pacioretty is looking to earn himself a spot on the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster. While some might’ve thought it would be a tough gig following him signing the PTO, Pacioretty proved on night one that he is healthy and ready to get back to playing full-time in the NHL.
The veteran forward was put on a line with former Maple Leafs captain John Tavares and Nikita Grebenkin and they were arguably the best line of the night for their team with both Tavares and Pacioretty tallying three points each.
Pacioretty finished the game with two goals and an assist and shut down any leftover doubt that he would be getting a contract with the Maple Leafs before the season starts. Additionally, he finished second behind William Nylander in shots for the Maple Leafs with six shots on goal in his debut.
He’s a player that has dealt with two significant injuries over the past couple of seasons and while some might still be on the fence on whether or not he will be okay, Pacioretty confirmed — both after the game and with his play — that he’s still got some game left in the tank and the speed of the NHL is something he can still keep up with.
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As for his successful debut, Pacioretty credits his linemate — Tavares — for his stat line.
“He was always in the right spot… It was a pleasure to play with him tonight,” said Pacioretty.
Maple Leafs Undisciplined, Perfect on Penalty Kill
It wasn’t all good for the Maple Leafs, however. Obviously they took the loss in overtime giving up six goals, but it was more than that. The team was only shorthanded three times, like the Senators, but had 18 penalty minutes — some of which were avoidable.
In 2023-24, the Maple Leafs were the 11th most penalized team in the NHL with 319 penalties taken. Their net penalties taken and drawn was minus-two, the 11th worst in the league last season. Sure, it’s the first game of the preseason and two fights accounted for 10 of the 18 minutes on Sunday night, but discipline is something this team will have to focus on for the upcoming season.
Morgan Rielly made up for four of the team’s remaining eight minutes, while Matthew Knies and Timothy Liljegren were the other two culprits against the Senators. Three of those penalties were for high-sticking, meaning these players need to be more cautious with their sticks.
Like with anything, however, there is a silver lining. While the Maple Leafs were able to capitalize on one of their three power plays, they also killed off all three of the penalties they took. Sure, it’s only game one, but one thing is for sure — the Maple Leafs are going to have to focus on either achieving more discipline this season or take note of what they did tonight and do it all season long.
Berube: Maple Leafs Played Soft
Now, don’t let this last headline fool you. The Maple Leafs finished the game out-hitting the Senators 25 to 18. That said, new head coach Craig Berube didn’t mince his words when he spoke about the team’s lacklustre first period effort.
“Too slow, too cute at times,” said Berube on the team’s play early on. “We have a lot of work to do.”
The Maple Leafs did go on to a little run in the third period with three goals in just over three minutes, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done as the Senators took the game in overtime with their six goals for.
Call it soft. Call it slow. Berube wasn’t impressed and you have to think that they will come out with some more pizzazz for their next preseason outing on Tuesday against the same Senators.
