The Toronto Maple Leafs bounced back from their season opener against the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2 in their second game of the season. It also should be noted that this was the second half of a back-to-back. There are a few storylines from this game, from NHL debuts to old friends.
Hello Old Friend
Following Toronto’s elimination from the playoffs last season, the team made the decision to fire head coach Sheldon Keefe. Less than two weeks later, the Devils hired Keefe to be their head coach. On Thursday night, the Maple Leafs saw Keefe on the opposing bench for the first time. He coached the Leafs for five seasons and a total of 349 regular season games. Keefe was the fifth-most winningest coach in Leafs history.
Despite all the history between the club and coach, all that was put aside on this occasion. The Leafs showed no mercy as they potted home three straight goals in the first period. Max Pacioretty scored the Leafs’ first goal of the season and Toronto didn’t look back from that point on. They were much more efficient in front of goal compared to their season opener. Against Montreal, they put up 48 shots on goal and had nothing to show for it. Against New Jersey, they only took 22 shots and scored four goals.
Additionally, Craig Berube got his first win against Toronto’s former coach and handed his team their first loss of the season. This was also the eighth straight win for the Maple Leafs on the road in Newark.
Hildeby Earns First NHL Win
Goaltender Dennis Hildeby was called upon to make his NHL debut on Thursday. This is because Joseph Woll came up with some tightness in his lower body, keeping him out of the lineup. Considering it was the second night of a back-to-back, Berube had to decide between playing Anthony Stolarz again or giving the rookie, Hildeby his NHL debut. He decided to go with the latter option, and it seemingly paid off.
Hildeby played a very solid game considering the circumstances. The Devils are a very good hockey team, a real test for the Swedish goaltender. Hildeby was very sound in the preseason games that he featured in. He was also among the top goalies in the AHL last year with the Marlies. It was only a matter of time before he got his chance in the NHL.
In this game, he stopped 22 out of 24 shots finished the game and put up a .917 save percentage. According to his teammate Steven Lorentz, Hildeby looked like a veteran between the pipes. The 23-year-old was calm in his crease and made half a dozen great stops. Including a big save against Devils’ star Jack Hughes on the power play. At 6-foot-7, Hildeby was very smooth in the net and tracked pucks well. Specifically, he was able to find pucks in scrums in front of him. He has a great ability to get low and smother anything that’s loose.
Leafs Bottom Six Leads the Way
In past years, the Leafs had to lean on their star players for results. However, it seems that things are going to run a little differently for Toronto with Berube behind the bench. First of all, it seems that players in the bottom six are getting much more minutes than in seasons past. For instance, Lorentz, who plays on the fourth line played 15:07 in this game. That’s more ice time than second-line centre John Tavares, who also plays on the top power-play unit. Both forwards got their names on the scoresheet in this tilt.
The fourth line got a pair of goals in this game, both in the first period. Bobby McMann converted in his season debut after being scratched in game one. He replaced Ryan Reaves on the wing and provided a little more speed. This allowed that line to be even more threatening than they did on Wednesday.
All in all, it was a very complete performance from Toronto. They’ll be looking to build off this win in their home opener on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
