Less than a week after setting up Connor McDavid to win the 4 Nations Face-Off, Marner returned to Boston and deked his way past Jeremy Swayman for the overtime winner. Toronto completed a three-goal comeback in the third, and while David Pastrnak restored Boston’s lead shortly after, Pontus Holmberg found a way to tie it in the final minute.
The overall team grade is a B. Unfortunately, Chris Tanev and William Nylander both appeared to suffer an injury.
Nick Robertson: A+
Robertson tied the game at three by corralling a stretch pass on his backhand and firing a hard wrist shot by Swayman. Robertson wasn’t done there, as he stole the puck in the final minute and set up Holmberg in the slot to tie the game at four.
Morgan Rielly: A
Rielly opened the scoring for the Leafs halfway through the second, and completed a beautiful stretch pass to spring Robertson for a game-tying goal in the third.
Morgan Rielly has his 7th of the season 🚨 pic.twitter.com/oDHmZcVwpU
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) February 26, 2025
Pontus Holmberg: A-
His line wasn’t overly dangerous until he somehow got on the ice with the extra attacker on in the final minute. Holmberg kicked the puck up to his stick and tied the game, and I can’t believe that I’m writing this, but it was his fourth goal in three games.
PONTUS HOLMBERG 🚨
THE LEAFS TIE IT WITH 46 SECONDS TO GO! pic.twitter.com/mIROaedJd7
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) February 26, 2025
Mitch Marner: A-
Marner showed off his impressive vision and patience to set up Auston Matthews twelve minutes in. He had a terrible giveaway at the offensive blue line in the mid-second, but hustled back to help limit the shot quality. The Leafs also gave up a short-handed breakaway to Brad Marchand at the end of the second, and it’s ultimately Marner’s responsibility to be the last guy back on the power play.
He was far better to start the third, as he pulled his team within one with a crafty power-play goal in the opening minute, and fired another high-danger chance on net moments later. He looked like a superstar in overtime and won the game with a beautiful move on Swayman.
MITCH MARNER ENDS IT!
THE LEAFS COMPLETE THE COMEBACK! pic.twitter.com/y7egA3rJsf
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) February 26, 2025
Anthony Stolarz: A-
Stolarz let in two goals in the first, but he could have easily allowed three or four. Pastrnak fired a perfectly placed shot past him on a breakaway 29 seconds in, and Marchand scored a lucky goal after the puck bounced right to him off Jake McCabe’s face. Stolarz stopped a dangerous chance in the slot from Mason Lohrei halfway through the frame, and robbed Morgan Geekie on back-to-back chances in the final seconds.
Stolarz was beaten for a third time in the second, as Geekie cashed in on a rebound for a power-play goal. Pastrnak then scored a beauty to restore Boston’s lead in the third. While it’s tough to praise a goaltender when he gives up four goals, there weren’t really any soft ones.
Auston Matthews: B+
Matthews had a quality chance in the slot twelve minutes in, and followed that up by hitting the post on a shorthanded two-on-one a couple of minutes later. However, his poor defensive coverage led to an A+ chance for Morgan Geekie at the end of the first.
Toronto’s captain woke up for the third. He picked up an assist on Marner’s power-play goal, set him up for another great chance off a clever faceoff play, then missed on a close chance of his own moments later. He hit the goal post with the extra attacker on, but set up Marner for the overtime winner.
Max Domi: B-
Domi received the only penalty in a scrum in the early second, and it was deserved, as it was a blatant cross-check. However, he won a faceoff that immediately led to Toronto’s first goal, and led his team in shots through forty.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: B-
It felt like Ekman-Larsson was involved in a thousand scrums in the second. While he picked up an assist on Rielly’s second-period goal, he spent a little too much time in his own end early on.
Conor Timmins: C+
He didn’t make much of an impact on this game. He was on for Boston’s fourth goal, but it was solely McCabe’s fault.
David Kämpf and Alex Steeves – C+
Steeves was left all alone in front at the end of the second, but Lorentz wasn’t able to find him with a pass. He barely played, partially due to all the penalties in this game. Kämpf spent a lot of his minutes on the penalty kill, but didn’t make a major impact on the outcome.
John Tavares and William Nylander: C+
Their line was fine defensively, but a bit quiet offensively. Nylander made a bad turnover early in the first that led to a quality chance for Mason Lohrei, but set up Matthews for a half-decent chance during some four-on-four action in the second. Nylander didn’t play in overtime and appeared to be favouring his wrist.
Bobby McMann: C
You can usually count on McMann to rack up plenty of shots on goal, but he finished with zero.
I didn’t notice his speed and forechecking ability as much as I usually do, and it felt like he was just a passenger on a successful line.
Simon Benoit: C
Benoit threw a hard hit on Mark Kastelic halfway through the second, but wandered out of position on the penalty kill a few moments later. There’s just so much pressure on him to be perfect defensively, as he doesn’t bring anything to the table in the offensive zone.
Matthew Knies: C-
Knies took an offensive-zone holding penalty 13 minutes in that resulted in a goal against. While he picked up an assist on Rielly’s goal in the second, it wasn’t overly nice, and he took a puck-over-glass penalty shortly after.
Steven Lorentz: C-
Lorentz’s offensive limitations were evident at the end of the first, as Lorentz failed to spot Alex Steeves all alone in front. A top-six player makes that play with ease, but Lorentz isn’t exactly Mitch Marner. He then had a short-handed two-on-zero with Kämpf toward the end of the second, but once again, he looked like a clear fourth-line forward on the play.
Jake McCabe: F
McCabe got off to a terrible start, as Pastrnak got behind him and Tanev for a breakaway goal in the opening minute. Things got worse, as a shot bounced off his face on the penalty kill, and proceeded to land right on Marchand’s stick for a tap-in. He then took a penalty in the second that immediately led to a goal against.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, he made a horrendous giveaway that let Pastrnak give Boston a 4-3 lead.
Chris Tanev: Incomplete
Pastrnak scored in the opening minute, as a stretch pass got by him and McCabe. He was shaken up by a hit from John Beecher shortly after, and ended up playing less than a minute in the game.
Game Score
What’s Next?
Heading to New York to play the Rangers on Friday at 7 p.m. on Sportsnet.
(Photo: Brian Fluharty / Imagn Images)
