The Leafs had a lot of turnovers. Dermott had one in his own end which cost his a team goal here:
On the second goal, Mikheyev coughs up the puck along the boards, the puck ends up on the opposite side where Ceci decides to chase the puck carrier from the goal line to the blue line leaving Kerfoot to cover for him, which he doesn't. This leaves Dermott all alone in front with two Blues players.
Finally, the Leafs were able to score first in a game which is something that needs to continue going forward. Before Babcock was canned, the Leafs allowed the first goal 14 out of their 19 games. That being said, they're first in wins when their opponent scores first, but you can't keep crawling back the majority of your games all season long. Eventually, it will catch up to you. Bottom line, Leafs have to play well for a full 60 minutes consistently. For the most part, that happened the other night against the Blues but if St. Louis had had a better first period, they could've capitalized on the Leafs' turnovers and it could've been a much different game.
But let's get to the report cards.
Freddy Andersen - A
The only reason he doesn't get an A+ is because he didn't get a shutout. Other than that, pretty perfect game from your starting goaltender. Made several big saves when his team needed them and continues to give them a chance to win.
Zach Hyman - A
Another classic Hyman game and he was rewarded with two goals. He's not necessarily skilled but he's always winning battles; one where he stole the puck from a defender and made a nice pass to Rielly who unfortunately hit the post. He continues to be one of my favourite players. Hard not to like a good Canadian boy that writes children's novels in his spare time.
William Nylander - A-
Willy's hands are just ridiculous. Several times he effortlessly showed his stick handling skills and edge work. He and Matthews are so good at protecting the puck and using their edges to get around defenders. Here he is keeping it away in a tight space away from de la Rose and the play ended up in a shot on net:
Here, he steals the puck and then moves his hands and body to open ice away from defenders and makes a nice little pass to Rielly, who hits another post:
Pierre Engvall - A-
Another solid game from Engvall and got a point out of it. Luckily, Perron threw a muffin directly on the Giraffe's tape and made an easy play to Hyman for the goal. It was risky to be almost on top of Binnington before making the pass over to Hyman - Binnington could have easily poke-checked and stopped the pass - but he sold it well enough that it seemed like he might actually shoot. He's also proven to me he's one of the team's top penalty killers now. Twice, instead of dumping it in he turned back into his zone with the puck and kept it until he could make a play like this one:
I know what you're thinking - "you're giving Engvall a better rating than Matthews, who scored two goals?" He did play great with Willy, shot the puck more, had a few chances got two tucks (one which was one of the weirdest goals I think I've ever seen), but he still had a few turnovers that cannot happen from a player like him, so I'm docking him some points. He had two in the neutral zone which seems to be a common theme this year, and one in his own zone. He still has ridiculous hands and this move looked so effortless:
John Tavares - B+
Johnny was getting to the puck first, creating chances and making solid passes. He's not a flashy player but he did his job and if he keeps that up, Mitchy should benefit greatly.
Mitch Marner - B+
He was flying as usual, but I was expecting more from him. He had a couple chances but I didn't feel he was as dominant as Willy or Auston. Still can't really complain though. He forced a turnover and then made a great cross-ice pass pass to Hyman on the first goal, which Binnington probably wants back:
Jason Spezza - B+
Spezz started out a little rocky but picked it up as the game went on. He made a terrible breakout pass that resulted in a turnover on his first shift, but he looked great on the PP throughout the game. Who knew he could shoot like that? He showed off his shot again with a great chance later in the game after a great pass from lil Petan here:
Pontus Aberg - B
I can't really say anything bad about this guy. Playing his first NHL game since March 25th, he did his job on the top line and ending up getting an assist. It was pretty much the Willy/Matthews line and Aberg would come in, chip the puck out and then disappear again into the night. I don't see him staying in the line-up once Johnsson and Moore are back though. I think Engvall has asserted himself into the line-up over Timashov now but Aberg could now be an option over Petan. We shall see.Nic Petan - B-
He didn't turn the puck over, he wasn't a liability defensively and he made some nice passes. I don't expect guys like him, Engvall and Aberg to be going out and scoring a goal or getting an assist every shift, so he deserves a solid B- for the type of player he is. Like I mentioned earlier, he made that nice little pass to Spezza who got a nice shot off, but other than, just a solidly quiet game. He used to dump the puck in as soon as he got to the red line but I can see now that he's starting to carry it in and keep possession - something Keefe has obviously implemented since being hired. We'll see if he stays in the lineup until Johnsson is back, but if everyone is healthy when he's back I think the fourth line will be Moore-Spezza-Engvall.
Kasperi Kapanen - B-
He's definitely the best player on his line but I still think he's better than this. He showed moments last year where he was a top 6 forward to me and this year I haven't seen it as much. He still moved the puck around nicely, couple turnovers but didn't see him as a liability. He was back-checking and him and Mikheyev did a solid job on the forecheck, making sure they applied pressured and not giving the defenders any room out there. In spite of his offensive woes, not complaining at all about his efforts without the puck.
Ilya Mikheyev - C+
He had great moments but he also turned the puck over a couple times and one of those turnovers cost his team a goal. I wish I had more head of this video clip to show the full play of Mikheyev on the side boards and losing the puck, but I unfortunately don't have online access to the full game. But you can see here on the Blues' second goal that he's tried to get the puck out unsuccessfully, which enables the Blues to send the puck to the opposite side which results in a goal:
The first goal wasn't necessarily his fault (Dermott turned the puck over with a no-look pass), but he was puck-watching instead of covering his man after Dermott made the poor pass which could've prevented the goal. He still used his size and speed to get around opposing players and he had a scoring chance in the first period on a play with Kapanen. Being on the ice for the only two opposing goals isn't a great look, but I still liked the rest of his game.
Alex Kerfoot - C+
I thought he had a great effort, was fast and didn't make many mistakes. Until he flipped the puck over the glass and took a penalty which is why I'm docking him a couple points. He wasn't very noticeable but his line did a decent job of keeping the puck in the Blues end and getting some shots on net. I'd like to see him stay on a line with the Soup Man and Kappy. The goals will come if they can elevate their games from this one. I didn't like his lack of defensive awareness on the Blues' second goal though. While it was Dermott's man that got the deflection, Kerfoot failed to realize that he has to cover for Ceci and instead was puck-watching, leaving a man wide open behind him. If that deflection is stopped by Freddy and there's a rebound, de la Rose could've buried:
Jake Muzzin - C+
Muzzin is still having a hard time getting the puck out of his own end and it's starting to upset me a little bit. He tried to clear it out of the zone and fanned on it on the PK which is not good timing to do that. Luckily, Blues were playing poor enough in the first period that they didn't capitalize but they ended up getting a scoring chance on the play. I didn't like his decision making the puck this game but I still love his physicality. I've always been a fan of the grinders and lunch pale workers instead of the skilled stars (Gary Roberts is my all time favourite Leaf) and other than Hyman, Muzzin is always throwing his weight around. Opposing forwards need to be afraid to play against some of the Leafs D but I think Jake is the only one. This hit was clean and we need more of it:
Tyson Barrie - C+
I wasn't thrilled with his game last night. He looked much better in the first four games since Keefe was hired, but last night he didn't look the same. I don't know if he's still bummed he's not playing for Colorado, but he needs to get over it and accept the fact that he's a Leaf and if he doesn't step it up this year, he's not getting paid as much as he should be in the off-season. It wasn't a terrible game from him; he still looks more confident with the puck than he did under Babs. I just think he's capable of much more which is why I'm docking him some points for the type of player he should be.
Cody Ceci - C-
Again, Ceci had a pretty solid game. He won battles in his own and allowed his team to break out of the zone cleanly, which is all you can ask for from a defensive defenceman with cement hands. He still made a play in the neutral zone where he dumped it in instead of keeping the possession of the puck, yet there weren't any Leafs forwards skating into the zone to get it, therefore just giving the Blues possession. He chased the puck carrier to the blue line on the Blues' second goal, but re-watching it, it's clear he was the only Leaf on the strong side that would be able to apply pressure. Dermott and Kerfoot had poor defensive coverage on the play.
Morgan Rielly - C-
I cared less for Mo's game than Barrie's. He still doesn't look like his regular self. This play, you can clearly see he doesn't have the same speed that he used to and he's forced to just get a shot off knowing he won't be able to beat the forward:
He made a really dumb pinch in the first period and then took a lazy hooking penalty trying to recover. It's really disappointing to see him have half the year he had last year.
Justin Holl - C-
He still looks like an NHL player to me (Babs...). However, not his best game. He made a terrible pass to Engvall in the second period and then took a penalty on the same play. I still feel like there would be a hole in the D-core if he wasn't in the line-up anymore though. Hopefully he can redeem himself Tuesday night.
Travis Dermott - D+
Not his best game either. He was on the ice for the Blues' only two goals: he made that brutal no-look pass to Mikheyev in his own end which resulted in a goal, he failed to cover his man who deflected the 2nd goal in and he just wasn't making Travis Dermott decisions with the puck. I still love his physicality, getting into that involuntarily fight with Troy Brouwer where he was clearing just trying to hang on until the linesman stepped in. Regardless, the Leafs need more of that "take-no-shit" mentality instead of "I-guess-we-can-take-some-shit".
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