As always though, there were good things and bad things from the Leafs in this game. Much like the game against the Blues the other night, it was by no means a perfect game from the entire roster but it was a good turnout from the Tavares line, Matthews and your number one starting goaltender (again). There were a few times the D got caught sleeping which created too many breakaways for one game but Freddy bailed them out every time.
Report Cards:
Freddy Andersen - A+
I don't care if he didn't get a shutout, that was an unreal game from him so he deserves an A+. He stopped every breakaway (Boeser will be seeing him in his nightmares) bailing out his D, prevented huge rebounds and made glove saves like he was playing backyard catch. He looked poised, relaxed and confident which only helps the players in front of him. On the only goal that was scored on him, if the Leafs had focused more on throwing Canucks players on their asses instead of staring down at the puck, I think that goal could have been prevented. It also didn't help that Muzzin made a terrible giveaway that lead to a shot on goal in the first place, but we'll get to that later.
John Tavares/Zach Hyman/Mitch Marner - A
I felt like this game was just the Hyman/JT/Mitch show. They were dominant every single shift and at least one of them had a point on every Leafs goal.
This might have been Johnny's best game of the year. He was first to every puck he could, he had 5 shots on goal and got two goals and an assist. He was confident and patient with the puck, made a couple poor passes in the first period but was lights out the rest of the game. As the captain, this is how he needs to play every game.
Mitch had an even better game than he did against the Blues. His hands are just so good and he makes so many smart passes that turn into scoring chances. He made a couple ridiculous saucer passes like this one which resulted in a scoring chance:
This one in particular doesn't look very special but it was a very smart play to bank this pass off the boards out of Roussel's reach instead of making a straight pass to his D where Roussel could've gotten a stick on it:
It's little things like this that make him an elite playmaker.
It was yet another classic Hyman game: applying pressure, forcing turnovers, winning puck battles and helping to create a few scoring chances. His pressure forced a turnover where he was able to pop in a well deserved empty netter. He was also looking for passes in the offensive zone on the rush instead of dumping and chasing. However, I don't even care when he dumps it in because he's always first to the puck. It's almost a stretch pass to himself.
Auston Matthews - A
Another strong game from Papi. His hands were lethal as usual and he looked pretty dominant out there and was rewarded with a gino. I mean, look at this effortless dangle:
Travis Dermott - B+
Much better game from him than against St. Louis. He was back to his confident self with the puck in his own end and was carrying it through the neutral zone a couple times. He made a beauty between-the-legs pass behind his own net in the second period allowing the Leafs to break out of the zone. There were a few times defensively he wasn't aware of his Canucks' players around him, but I feel like half of that is because he's used to having to predict where Ceci is going to go.
Morgan Rielly - B-
Better game from Mo than against the Blues but he still looks slower than he used to and he made multiple terrible passes in this game. I thought his second half of the game was much better than his first half. There was a moment in the first period where he tried making a pass to Marner along the opposing blue line but couldn't put it on his tape, in the 2nd period he tried to make a breakout pass to Kerfoot but ended up icing it, he made two poor passes in the neutral zone to Barrie where they lost possession, and on the second Boeser breakway, he looked slow to transition but to his credit, he did a great job stopping the play with a stellar diving effort.
Tyson Barrie - B-
He's had worse games under Babs that's for sure, but he's still not the same player he was in Colorado. Like Rielly, he made some bone-head passes like this one that can't happen from a player like him:
There were a few times he got beat to the puck in his own end and was late to react to transitioning from offence to defence. He was much better on the PP than 5v5 but again, I think he and Rielly still need to tighten up defensively.
William Nylander - B-
This was a weird game for him. It wasn't terrible, it was just quiet. He started out absolutely flying in the first period with two scoring chances but then he just kind of cooled down for the rest of the game. His hands weren't as slick as they were against the Blues but he still looked like one of the more superior passers on the ice until he made this terrible pass off Aberg's skate which turned into another breakaway for Boeser:
Despite that, he didn't really make any more mistakes and he obviously still kept up with Auston but he definitely wasn't as good as he was against the Blues.
Pierre Engvall - B-
He wasn't noticeable but he did a solid job on the PK again and I love the way he uses his wide stance to defend against opposing players trying to carry the puck around him. He seems like he's fairly tough to play against and it's what he does without the puck that makes him a smart player. I honestly didn't see mistakes from him last night and he managed to get two shots on goal. I think he's had a better game in the past but I don't have anything bad to say about him which keeps him in the B grade range.
Cody Ceci - B-
Shockingly, another pretty solid game from Ceci. There was one moment where he made a brutal pass into Kerfoot's feet in his own end and the puck ended up staying in his own end until Freddy was able to freeze it. But he had a nice shot in the 2nd that Tavares was able to tip in beautifully. Almost all of his passes were on the tape - however there was one moment where he slapped the puck up his own boards and it was stopped by the Canucks' D and kept in the zone (classic Ceci play that drives me nuts) - but I'm still giving him a B- and not a C+ for getting a point and making less than four mistakes.
Justin Holl - C+
I know he got two assists but that's why I'm bumping him up from a C- to a C+. There were good moments of course but overall I didn't think he had a very good game because I've seen a much better 60 minutes from him before. Most of his woes occurred in his own zone; a few times he tried to throw the puck off the boards or tried to make a breakout pass which resulted in a turnover which then lead to a shot on Freddy. He lost a couple puck battles in the corners and made some poor passes behind his own net. He was beat to the outside by Leivo in the third period which again resulted in a shot on goal. However, on the opposite end of the ice, I thought he played well. I'm not faulting him for the first Boeser breakaway because Muzzin left him out to dry. He made a nice move at the blue line to make a pass to Marner who got a shot off 5 minutes into the first period, he got that shot off just wide of the net on the first goal where Matthews was able to put it in, and then he had great patience with the puck on the PP to make a pass to JT to score. But his defensive game demotes his grade to a C+.
Alex Kerfoot - C+
He wasn't terrible last night, but multiple times he couldn't get the puck in the o-zone. He was either rubbed out along the boards and lost possession or turned it over. I still liked his effort but I've seen him carry it in and set up before and last night he just didn't have it. His line didn't generate any offence at all but out of the three of them, I think he was the best player.
Ilya Mikheyev, Pontus Aberg and Jason Spezza - C
I'm lumping all three of these guys together because I barely noticed any of them. Up until the end of the second period, I honestly didn't even know Aberg and Spezza were playing. Mikheyev still managed to get three shots on goal, but he didn't look as good as he has earlier this year. Aberg won two puck battles but other than that, I didn't really notice him except when he either fell or was knocked over twice. None of them made any egregious mistakes and for that, an average grade for an average game.
Kasperi Kapanen - C-
I was going to give him a D but I'm bumping him up to a C- for sticking up for his goaltender at the end of the game and mixing it up with Beagle. I know the Leafs aren't a physical, tough team but it's part of the hockey code to stick up for your players and I rarely see any of that, so it's great to finally see. I also loved that he blocked a shot at the end of the game. He had about one good shift in the 3rd, but the rest of the game he really fought the puck and couldn't get anything going. He made multiple terrible passes that lead to turnovers. Additionally, I put $20 on him to have a bounce back game and score last night but instead he had a brutal game and didn't even get a point, so I'm a little pissed he cost me money too.
Nic Petan - D
Poor kid. This was unfortunately an even worse game than the other night. He was really fighting the puck. Three times he lost possession which lead to shots on Freddy, one of which just missed the net and could've been a goal. At one point in the 2nd, he was carrying it through the neutral zone and had a clear outlet pass to Engvall but instead flipped the puck in the zone which lead to nothing. I think it's safe to say he's definitely the odd man out once Moore is back (which should be soon).
Jake Muzzin - D
I think this was one of Muzzin's worst games. I lost count of how many turnovers he had and how many times he didn't get the puck out of his zone (again) but it's not a good look. On this play, I don't know why he felt the need to go across the ice to the side Holl is already on and try to pinch, leaving Boeser all alone on the far side and Holl having to bust his ass to try and stop a breakaway:
It was also his giveaway that lead to the Canucks' first goal, and then - like I mentioned earlier - he didn't use his body to throw guys out of the crease and instead stared at the puck until Leivo poked it in the net. Can't have games like this if (big "if") they make the playoffs.
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