Postgame Report: Maple Leafs' Revenge Tour Doesn't Go As Planned, Panthers Win 3-1
Welcome to my Toronto Maple Leafs postgame report where I give you my thoughts, feelings, and analysis about each Leafs game. Whether you missed the game or want my opinion on what transpired, I’ve got you covered.
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Now, onto the Maple Leafs game versus the Panthers!
1st Period - Another Slow Start, Lack of Physicality & 2 Goal Deficits
It is four games into the 2023–24 NHL season, and the Maple Leafs have yet to score first. I had this as one of three keys to the game; they needed a first-period goal, but instead, they gave up two in the last five minutes of the period. The Florida Panthers saw goals from Kevin Stenlund and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, both newcomers to the Panthers team, this past offseason. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see the Maple Leafs take the lead early and carry that to the first intermission?
It truly did seem like the same Maple Leafs team that we saw last year in the first. They tried to play a speed game and run-and-gun style, but unfortunately, that doesn’t always work against a team like the Panthers. The first three games saw Ryan Reaves get involved early; however, in this one, we didn’t.
2nd Period - Urgency, Line Juggling & Marner’s First
Another game, more Maple Leafs line-juggling. This time, coach Keefe put Jarnkrok alongside Matthews and Marner to start the third. Tavares’ line stays the same and has been good all night. Domi, Kampf, and Bertuzzi are interesting, though. In their first shift together, they seemed to bring some energy. However, don't expect this long-term. Bertuzzi signed to come to Toronto to play with the big boys. Minten shifted down to the last line with Gregor and Reaves, which could be the first indication that he could be heading back to the WHL with this demotion.
Marner collected his first goal of the season; it came on the power play off of a rebound. This pushes him to four points in four games to start the season. Speaking of power plays, there were seven penalties called in the second period. It seemed that the refs were calling everything for both teams. Unfortunately, this brings me back to another one of my three keys to the game. The third key, which was “Ignore Matthew Tkachuk”, I mentioned that the Maple Leafs need flow in their games, and in these style games where it is penalty-filled, they lack flow. This typically impacts the game a lot, as it leads to slow starts and less attention to detail.
Overall, this was a better period than the first. The team came out with urgency and pace, which led them to score a goal, albeit on the power play. The whole group pushed the pace and made things happen. I’d expect the Maple Leafs to take control of this game in the third and hopefully pull off their third come-from-behind victory of the season.
3rd Period - No Urgency, Over Coaching & Empty Net Goals
After that second period, you would think that the Maple Leafs would come out and take over. I even said, “I’d expect the Maple Leafs to take control of this game in the third and hopefully pull off their third come-from-behind victory of the season.” Well, that didn’t happen; in fact, the opposite happened. The Maple Leafs relied on the core four too much in the third, and it didn’t work. They came into the third with effort, but not the type of effort you want to see being down 2-1. Unfortunately, the Leafs didn’t play a game tailored to five-on-five; instead, they seemed to try to generate offence through their power play, and that also failed.
It appears Keefe may have over-coached tonight. He juggled the lines a lot tonight, which made things feel out of sync. Knies only played 11:17 minutes after starting on the second line. There shouldn't be panic in Leafs Land yet; however, there was something that I noticed tonight with the lines. Domi-Kampf-Bertuzzi could be a good checking line that can go out there and provide energy to the team. When this change was made, although they didn’t produce offensively, they stuck out to me as a good energy line. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was unable to continue any energy, which resulted in a loss.
Final Thoughts:
The defensive pairings didn’t look too bad. They need to work on staying above their opponents and limiting being out of position. All in all, they didn’t look as bad as they did this season.
The Maple Leafs’ coaching staff needs to trust other lines. They are riding Matthews and Nylander’s heaters, but it's a flawed strategy. With the trust in the bottom six comes more point production from the bottom six.
It appears that Jarnkrok, who found himself in trade rumours during the preseason, could be the new “Alex Kerfoot”. All Leafs fans will know what that means; he is the go-to player for the coach and is used whenever he needs someone to fill a hole or give him a different look.
Once again, the Maple Leafs lost to a team that they should have beaten. The Panthers are missing three of the best players and are just trying to stay alive in the playoff race until their injured players return. This is the type of game where the Maple Leafs need to find a way to come out with two points, or even one, but to leave with zero. It’s inexcusable.
Nylander took a hard hit low in the corner. He went down awkwardly and was slow to get up, but he did stay in the game. He didn’t show any signs of injuries, but this is something to keep an eye on.