The Leafs improved to 4-2-0 on Monday, earning a victory on home ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Toronto Maple Leafs flew on all cylinders on Monday night, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena, 5-2. William Nylander opened the scoring, but it was a four-goal second period from Toronto that sealed the deal against the Lightning. Here are four key takeaways from the win.
Anthony Stolarz Shines While Andrei Vasilevskiy Struggles
In an anticipated goalie matchup, Anthony Stolarz shined while Andrei Vasilevskiy struggled – getting pulled from the game midway through the second period after allowing four goals on 14 shots.
Stolarz, appearing in his fifth game of the season, the 30-year-old earned his third win of the 2024-25 season – improving to a 3-2-0 record. On Monday, he stopped 32 of 34 shots, boasting a .941 save percentage. The netminder now has an impressive .938 save percentage and 1.83 goals against average on the season. Through five starts, he hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game.
Holding down the fort in the crease, Stolarz also made a key offensive play in the second period. With the puck being sent down the ice to Stolarz while the Leafs were on the power play, the goaltender played the puck up ice onto the stick of Mitch Marner who was the conductor in the Leafs’ lone power-play goal.
Furthermore, Stolarz stood tall again when the Leafs needed him. Though the score was finalized at 5-2, Stolarz defended the net as the Lightning had a potential momentum-swinging 5-on-3 in the middle frame, down 4-1. At one point, in a stunning display of reflexes, Stolarz sprawled across the crease and reached back to deny what seemed like a sure goal, delivering the save of the night.
It’s hard to imagine Stolarz losing significant playing time from his efforts, even with the thought of Joseph Woll returning from injury potentially as soon as Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Having been limited in previous years, Stolarz has raved about the opportunity to appear in more games in Toronto. Head coach Craig Berube believes that opportunity is up for grabs, remaining confident that Stolarz will continue to see starts.
“I had him as a young kid in Philly. He's been in the NHL for some time now. Obviously a quality, quality goalie,” said Berube post-game. “He had a great year last year in Florida. if you look at his numbers, played 29-30 games. He’s played excellent for us.”
“I said it at the beginning of the year, both goalies are going to see more net than they have in the past. Let’s leave it at that.”
On the opposing end of the ice, Vasilevskiy did not look like his dominant self that the Maple Leafs have become so accustomed to over previous years. After the Leafs jumped out to a 4-1 lead, the former Vezina Trophy winner was taken out of the game with Jonas Johansson replacing him in relief in the middle frame.
William Nylander Records Three Points, Auston Matthews Extends Goal Streak to Three
William Nylander opened the scoring on Monday, his fourth of the season. The Swede took a nice feed from linemate Max Domi – who found Nylander with plenty of room in the slot, beating Vasilevskiy glove side.
However, he wasn’t done there. The 28-year-old found mesh once again in the second period, doubling up on a well-placed shot, beating Vasilevskiy five hole, and scoring the game-winning goal for the Maple Leafs.
With his two-goal performance, Nylander solidified his second two-goal night of the season, bringing his goal total to a team-leading six goals. In 16:22 of total ice time, Nylander recorded five shots, getting rewarded against the Lightning after frustration settled in against the Rangers on Saturday where he had two breakaway chances and eight shots on net.
“He’s the same as last game. What did he have? Eight shots last game. I didn’t look at the shot sheet yet for what he had tonight, but he had a ton of opportunities again. You know, skating really well. Strong on pucks. Getting to open ice and he’s looking to shoot,” Berube said of Nylander's ambitions on offense.
“I mean, sometimes that happens. Sometimes those go in. Sometimes they don’t. I mean, that’s just the way the game works and lucky that two went in today. Hopefully more go in tomorrow,” said Nylander on his two-goal night.
Earning the second star of the night honors, Nylander also added an assist on Auston Matthews’ goal, who extended his goal streak to three on Monday.
After failing to find the back of the net in his opening three games, Matthews has now scored in three straight – batting in a rebound on the power play.
Max Pacioretty Scores In Return to Lineup, Mitch Marner Finds Scoresheet Twice
After being scratched from the last two games against the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, Max Pacioretty was reinserted back into the lineup on Monday, wasting no time contributing and making his way onto the scoresheet.
After muscling the puck off of Conor Geekie, Timmins carried the puck into the offensive zone, feeding John Tavares who found Pacioretty for a quick snapshot that beat Vasilevskiy through traffic for Toronto’s third goal of the period and fourth of the night.
What did Berube think of his efforts on Monday? He seemed pleased.
“I thought he was a good player for us tonight,” Berube explained. “He was physical, had some big hits, and was strong. You know, the goal, he’s a goal scorer. He shot and he’s a goal scorer and that’s what he does so he was an effective player.”
Marner has quietly had an extremely productive start to the 2024-25 season – and that continued on Monday night. Contributing two assists against the Lightning, Marner is tied with Domi in assists on the team with six. Over his last four games, the 27-year-old has six assists – after going scoreless in the club’s opening two contests.
Power Play Finds Back of the Net, Penalty Kill Effective Again
Following the Maple Leafs’ 4-1 loss to the Rangers on Saturday, the common message from the locker room postgame revolved around obtaining more of a net-front presence – especially against top NHL goaltenders like Igor Shesterkin and tonight, Vasilevskiy. Tonight, they did just that and chased Vasilevskiy out of the net in the process.
On Monday, the Maple Leafs’ 27th-ranked power play added a marker. The top power-play unit connected after Vasilevskiy failed to hold onto a Marner shot, leading Matthews to bang in the rebound. Through six games, the Leafs hold a power play percentage of 15%.
The penalty kill was effective again. Though the Leafs conceded a goal on the penalty kill late in the third period, they were strong throughout the remaining 54 minutes of the game. In a chippy affair that saw 30 penalty minutes handed out collectively, the Leafs surrendered six penalties to the Lightning, with Tampa Bay converting on a one-for-six rate – bringing their season penalty kill percentage to 84.6% on the season.
The Leafs’ next stop is in Columbus on Tuesday for the second half of a back-to-back and a rapid turnaround. Against the Blue Jackets, puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. as the club seeks its second straight victory.
