The Leafs held on for a 4-2 victory on their 2024-25 home opener against the Penguins.
The Toronto Maple Leafs earned their second straight victory, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in the club’s home opener at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. Here are three observations from the comeback win.
Anthony Stolarz Earns First Win in Toronto
Though he stopped 26 of 27 shots in the Leafs’ season opener at the Bell Centre against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night, the club lost a close contest, 1-0. After Dennis Hildeby was given the start in New Jersey in the second half of a back-to-back, Stolarz returned to the crease on Saturday night against the Penguins.
Stopping 21 of 23 shots, and posting a .913 save percentage, the 6-foot-6 netminder earned his first victory as a member of the Maple Leafs. In two appearances, he hasn’t allowed more than two goals and has been a steady presence between the pipes. As the Leafs trailed 1-0, the team rallied to a 3-1 lead before the Penguins made it a one-goal game late in the third before the Leafs added an empty netter to seal the deal. Stolarz made key stops down the stretch, including this save against Evgeni Malkin in the dying minutes.
On his first win as a Leaf, Stolarz told reporters, “It's obviously exciting, especially doing home opener in front of this crowd. So there's a lot of fun out there. They gave a good push in that third period, but just to be able to come out, it's going to be special for me.”
Top Line Production and William Nylander Comes Alive
Through the first two games of the season against the Canadiens and Devils, the top line had yet to register a point. However, tonight, Matthew Knies broke the drought by scoring the team’s second goal off a broken play in the second period, as the puck took a fortunate bounce right onto the Arizona native’s stick. On X, ‘TicTacOmar’ dubbed Knies the ‘Pittsburgh Destroyer’ after he netted his fourth career goal – fittingly in just his fourth game against the Penguins – on Saturday.
Knies on his goal: “I think we sustained some ozone pressure there and you know Mo made a pretty good play there just bouncing off the wall getting in front of the net and you know it kind of popped through some skates and I don't think anyone was ready for it and I was fortunate to bury it.”
Adding to the top-line production, William Nylander scored two goals, his first pair of the new season and 29th career two-goal game. On an unselfish play, 0:50 seconds into the middle frame, Max Domi faked goaltender Joel Blomqvist on a partial break, feeding Nylander for his first of the year on a tremendous heads-up play.
Nylander on the play from Domi said, “Max made a great play, so all I had to do was put it in there. He kind of faked me out for a little bit, so I wasn't ready. But, I mean, he usually passes. So back of my mind, I thought he was gonna pass it."
With pressure mounting late in the third, the Leafs cleared the zone and Nylander found the empty net with 22 seconds remaining for his second goal of the night.
The first star of the night, Mitch Marner, recorded a goal and an assist on Saturday, his first two points of the 2024-25 regular season. Clearing the zone, Marner chipped the puck past defenseman Marcus Pettersson, beating him in a foot race before ripping a wrister blocker side on Blomqvist – extending the Leafs’ lead to 3-1 and scoring the game-winning goal.
With the two points, Marner moved to seventh all-time on the Maple Leafs' career scoring list, which the 27-year-old labeled as a commendable accomplishment that he isn't taking lightly.
"I try (not) to talk about it a lot (about it but) it's a really, really cool achievement," said Marner post-game. "I've spoken a thousand times about being from here and loving, growing up being a part of this team and it's really cool to have your name with some of the all-time greats that played with this jersey and with that logo on them.”
“I give a lot of credit to people around me since day one. Without them that wouldn't be possible. It's five men on the ice, it's 23 guys every time. A lot of credit to everyone around me that's helped me get to this point and it's cool but trying to achieve something cooler and greater.”
Special Team Question Marks Continue
The Maple Leafs were a combined 0-for-6 on the powerplay through their first two games, going 0-for-4 against the Canadiens and 0-for-2 in their matchup with the Devils. On Saturday, those struggles continued. Given three opportunities, the Leafs failed to produce on the scoresheet, going 0-for-3 and coming up empty-handed for the third straight contest.
Head coach Craig Berube and assistant Marc Savard did tinker with the first unit slightly, moving defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Auston Matthews, Knies, Marner, and Nylander – but still no goal. Through three games, the Leafs are 0-for-9, still searching for their first tally with the man advantage. The club was without John Tavares on Saturday, inserting Max Pacioretty and shuffling different looks on the top unit, but we’ll have to see if other changes await.
Post-game, Berube said, “It's been stagnant. We all know that. Just moving some guys around, trying to find a spark. Something different."
On the other side, the penalty kill, the Leafs’ lack of discipline continues as the team allowed their third shorthanded goal in three games after Kris Letang opened the scoring on Saturday.
Collectively, the Maple Leafs took four penalties against the Penguins, with defenseman Simon Benoit picking up his fourth minor penalty (high-sticking) in just three games. During this stretch, the team has accumulated 14 penalties. The pairing of Benoit and Conor Timmins has been responsible for five minors, two of which have resulted in goals against.
Berube commented on the Benoit penalty and the lack of discipline, saying it needed to improve. “I didn’t like the call on Benny,” Berube said. “The other ones, the penalties, like the stick play, you know, we’ve got to be better. Can’t take those penalties.”
The Maple Leafs are off until Wednesday, when they host the Los Angeles Kings in the second matchup of their four-game homestand.
