Before I begin, I would like to share two thoughts I had while going into the preseason game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators. The first is that a team generally dresses their best players in the preseason in front of a hometown crowd. In contrast, the team on the road usually dresses their young prospects and players fighting for a spot in the lineup, especially when the teams play a home-and-home.
Usually, the team with the less talented roster wins the game. The game means much more to the players who are in danger of not making the team.
So, I was not surprised by how this game started or the final score.
The Good
William Nylander made what at the time was the play of the game when he skated through three Ottawa players to get the puck into the Senators’ zone before dishing it off to Max Pacioretty and heading to the front of the net. Once he received the puck back from Pacioretty, Nylander tried, but failed, to stuff it under Ottawa goalie Mads Sogaard. Then he gathered the rebound and roofed it into the net with 22 seconds left in the third period. Matt Murray pulled for an extra attacker. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, it turned out to be the second prettiest goal of the game.
After getting outshot and poorly outplayed in the first period, Toronto outshot the Senators 24-5 in the third period and outscored them 4-2.
Max Pacioretty Can Still Play
Max Pacioretty can still play hockey at 36. He scored two goals and added an assist for three points, following two Achilles injuries. He was second on the team with six shots on the net. John Tavares notched three assists, playing on the same line as Pacioretty. Chris Tanev had two assists. Morgan Rielly finished the game with +3 in plus/minus.
Nylander led the team with seven shots on the net. He added an assist on Auston Matthews‘ power play goal to go with his highlight reel, game-tying goal, in the last minute of the third period.
Nikita Grebenkin didn’t figure in on the scoring but had a team-high four hits and wasn’t shy about dropping the gloves with former Maple Leaf Adam Gaudette. Grebenkin played to the crowd on his way to the penalty box.
Early in the third period, with the score tied 3-3 and the Maple Leafs pressing, Grebenkin created a turnover just outside the Ottawa zone when he hit 6-foot-4 and 240-pound Zach MacEwen into the boards while at the same time corralling the loose puck. Grebenkin got the puck deep into the Senators zone, received a pass back from Ryan Reaves, and dished it off to an open Jake Mccabe at the point. McCabes’ shot was stopped by Sogaard, but the play gave us a sample of the type of game Grebenkin plays.
The Bad
Toronto was awarded just one shot on net at the end of the first period. That was changed to two during the intermission. It could not have been much of a shot if it took them that long to find the second shot. The shots in the first period were 15-2 for the Senators, with eight of the Ottawa shots coming on the power play. The Senators led 1-0 after one and 3-0 after two periods.
After taking the lead 4-3 at 5:28 of the third period, Toronto promptly gave up the game-tying 4-4 goal 18 seconds later.
The McCabe – Oliver Ekman Larsson pair did not have a good night. McCabe was minus-4 in the game, and OEL was minus-2. OEL was guilty of a couple of giveaways in the Toronto zone. Timothy Liljegren was guilty of a bad pinch early in the game that gave the Senators a two-on-one and was also guilty of coughing up the puck in the Maple Leafs’ zone that ended up in another Ottawa scoring chance.
Neither Joseph Woll nor Matt Murray performed well for the Maple Leafs. Woll allowed three goals on 23 shots to post a 0.870 SV% and a 5.72 GAA in 31:45. Murray allowed three goals on just 11 shots to end up with a 0.770 SV% and a 6.16 GAA in 29:21 of play. It is worth noting that training camps are not usually suitable for goalies.
The Ugly
The Ugly for the Maple Leafs was the prettiest goal of the night for Senators fans. Rookie defenseman 19-year-old Carter Yakemchuk skated from behind his own net past Matthews and through McCabe and Mitch Marner before going forehand to backhand to beat a sprawling Murray at 2:37 of overtime to give the Senators the win.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The two teams return to Ottawa for a rematch Tuesday night. I would expect the roles to be reversed in this game, with the Senators putting out their best players and the Maple Leafs countering with those fighting for a spot on the roster. I expect Anthony Stolarz to be one of the goalies. It will be interesting to see who the other Toronto goalie is.
