Craig Berube’s Toronto Maple Leafs debut didn’t exactly go as planned, as his team looked determined to boost Samuel Montembeault’s save percentage with low-danger point shots.
Toronto looked strong defensively, but their power play was dreadful, and their offensive game plan at even strength looked far too simple. Newcomers like Anthony Stolarz and Steven Lorentz impressed, but the Leafs were ultimately shutout for the first time since Nov. 20, 2021 in a 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
It wasn’t exactly an ideal season opener, and for that, the overall team grade is a C-. Now onto the player grades.
Player Grades
Anthony Stolarz: A+
The Leafs took two penalties in the opening ten minutes, and while Stolarz bailed his team out on the first penalty kill, he was unable to do so on the second. However, he was pretty much left hung out to dry on the play, and he made a big stop on Christian Dvorak early in the second.
The Leafs couldn’t find a way to score, and they also couldn’t find a way to stay out of the penalty box, but Stolarz kept the game close with a solid debut.
The fourth line (Steven Lorentz, David Kämpf, Ryan Reaves): A
Berube used Holmberg and Lorentz to start on the penalty kill, and regularly followed up with Matthews and Marner. That’s a tough look for Kämpf, a fourth-line centre with a $2.4 million cap hit. However, this line played well in limited minutes at even strength, and Lorentz looked completely fired up to play for the blue and white.
Chris Tanev: B+
Tanev looked as advertised in his Leafs debut, as the Canadiens failed to generate much of anything during his minutes. He didn’t do a ton offensively, but that’s not really his job. His partner needs to be better.
Simon Benoit: B+
Benoit played on opening night for the first time in his career, and he did his job effectively. Montreal failed to generate much of anything during his five-on-five minutes.
William Nylander: B
Nylander made a wicked no-look pass to set up Tavares for a quality chance, then hit the post in the early second. He was Toronto’s best forward early on, but he ultimately failed to register a point against a weak opponent.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: B-
The 33-year-old veteran made his Leafs debut in the top four, and he was on for Montreal’s opening power-play goal. He then had one of the worst breakaway chances that I’ve ever seen. Despite these two rough moments, Ekman-Larsson played quite well. His pair wasn’t on for many chances against, and he impressed in the offensive zone.
OEL gets a breakaway out of the box pic.twitter.com/u1kjV2QFfK
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 10, 2024
Max Pacioretty: C+
The former Canadiens captain got off to a strong start in his Leafs debut, as he helped to draw two penalties in the opening period. However, his team failed to capitalize, and his line was otherwise pretty quiet.
Jake McCabe: C+
McCabe was unable to capitalize on an A+ scoring chance to start the second, and he later took a blatant penalty to hand Montreal an extended five-on-three. His pair was quite effective at even strength, but that penalty was a pretty big mistake, even if it didn’t end up costing them.
Conor Timmins: C
Timmins took a first-period slashing penalty, and Cole Caufield capitalized with a power-play goal. His play was okay outside of that one mistake, but I won’t be surprised if he’s out of the lineup Thursday night.
Pontus Holmberg: C
Holmberg started on the top penalty-kill unit over Kämpf, and he played a major role in killing off an extended five-on-three by winning a face-off cleanly. However, his line needs to create far more at even strength, especially given the lack of scoring on the fourth line.
Nick Robertson: C-
Robertson was excellent in the preseason, but got off to a rough start, as it sure felt like he was falling down and fumbling the puck a lot. He drew a penalty in the first to give the Leafs a power play, but was otherwise quiet. Their third line looked iffy at best.
John Tavares: C-
Tavares struggled to get into a groove in his first game without the “C”, as he doesn’t kill penalties, and his team kept taking trips to the box. Like many others on the team, he wasn’t on for many chances against but didn’t quite generate enough offensively.
Max Domi: C-
Domi took a penalty on his first shift, but set up McCabe for a quality chance to start the second. He looked like his old self, someone who can impress on the playmaking side, but doesn’t bring much to the table in terms of hitting, forechecking, and defensive play.
The top line (Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner): C-
They’re counted on to score, and they failed to do so against one of the bottom teams in the league. Knies looked like more of a passenger than a play-driver on the top line. Marner made a couple of huge defensive plays to help his team kill a five-on-three, but like Matthews, he deserves a share of the blame for the early power play struggles.
Matthews had two great scoring chances in the second, and one hit the crossbar. He spent the bulk of his minutes in the offensive zone, but he’s ultimately paid to score. These three are held to a high standard, and they failed to live up to it.
Morgan Rielly: D
Rielly got off to a rough start on the top power-play unit, and he was equally as boring offensively at even strength. He was playing with a new partner, but it wasn’t Tanev who was at fault for Rielly’s struggles. He’s Toronto’s highest-paid defenceman, and he’s expected to create far more offensively.
Game Score
What’s Next?
Right back at it against Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. 7 p.m. on TSN.
(Top photo: Eric Bolte / Imagn Images)
