The Toronto Maple Leafs faced the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, coming off a four-game stretch that included two dispiriting losses to the Boston Bruins, two uninspiring one-goal wins against inferior competition, and just seven goals scored.
A 6-2 win against the Flyers was just what Toronto needed.
The Maple Leafs took control of the game early and never let go, even if their grip loosened slightly in the second period, when the Flyers got within two goals. Ilya Samsonov stood tall while Toronto wavered slightly during the middle frame, but the Maple Leafs found a flurry of offence in the third that prevented things from getting dicey.
Outside of a Calle Järnkrok injury in the second, everything went according to plan for Toronto.
Three stars
1. Tyler Bertuzzi
Bertuzzi did not take long to make an impact in this one. The 29-year-old scored two minutes into the first period, and collected a primary assist on the Timothy Liljegren goal that gave Toronto a 3-0 lead later in the frame.
Neither of those plays were his most impressive of the night, though. That honour belongs to a goal that was disallowed due to a hand pass prior to this incredible tip.
TYLER BERTUZZI 🚨
Baseball swing, mid-air deflection! Unreal! pic.twitter.com/j4ClNusrlv
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 15, 2024
Bertuzzi has always been a gifted deflector of the puck, and the combination of some bad luck and a lack of PP1 time earlier in the season resulted in fewer net-front goals than expected.
The winger appears to be back on track from a finishing standpoint, as he has six goals in his last nine games after managing just seven goals in his first 55 games with Toronto.
2. William Nylander
By the time Nylander scored his 35th goal of the season, this game felt over, but his effort was strong throughout. The winger seemed to have some jump after four days off, and his play on Bertuzzi’s early goal foreshadowed the threat level he would pose all night.
Tyler Bertuzzi opens the scoring for the Leafs two minutes into the game! pic.twitter.com/BgtyIkjqlZ
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 14, 2024
Nylander was on the ice for 55.55 percent of all shots the Maple Leafs took, and 61.9 percent of the team’s high-danger chances. He also would’ve had his eighth multi-goal night of the season if it weren’t for the best save of Samuel Ersson’s rough single-period outing.
Nylander and Domi take off pic.twitter.com/91ViCTZvX3
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 15, 2024
3. Pontus Holmberg
Holmberg skated a relatively modest 14:19, but he deserves credit for breaking through offensively with two points after managing just three in his previous 19 games. He got things rolling just under 10 minutes in, when an offensive-zone faceoff win led to clean look for the 25-year-old.
Pontus Holmberg extends the Leafs leads to 2-0 halfway through the first! pic.twitter.com/3yUpbg00SF
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 15, 2024
His second point was an assist on the goal that put the game away as he sprung Matthews on the way to his 55th goal of the year.
Auston Matthews pots the Leafs fourth goal of the game! pic.twitter.com/VRCSRdJZ34
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 15, 2024
After Järnkrok went down late in the second period, Holmberg filled in on the first line well, and was also part of a sturdy effort from Toronto’s fourth line. His group, with newcomer Connor Dewar and Ryan Reaves, outshot the Flyers 3-0 with 72.20 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five.
The Matthews-Bertuzzi combo shows its potential
From the moment the Maple Leafs signed Bertuzzi, he appeared to be a logical complement to their top centre. Not only is the former Detroit Red Wing a solid forechecker and puck retriever, he’s possesses a pass-first disposition and has a talent for making things happen around the net.
That’s ideal considering that Matthews is a volume shooter who excels with linemates who feed him the puck, and creates plenty of tipping and rebound opportunities for those who like to spend time in the crease.
Despite the theoretical fit, the Maple Leafs haven’t seen fantastic results when pairing the two together, and they came in Thursday’s game being outscored 5-4 in the duo’s five-on-five minutes. The underlying number had been good, though, with Toronto earning an advantage in shots (59.38 percent), expected goals (59.50 percent) and high-danger chances (68.42 percent) in their 113:18 of ice time.
The pair demonstrated the ability to sustain offensive pressure against the Flyers and were rewarded. Toronto got three of its six goals when they were on the ice without conceding a score.
The Edmundson-Liljegren pair makes a strong second impression
While the Maple Leafs are in a tinkering phase up front as the playoffs approach, their blue line has a chance to be relatively stable in the weeks ahead. Reuniting Morgan Rielly and Ilya Lyubushkin has yielded strong results, and the team appears to see the T.J. Brodie-Jack McCabe combination as its best hope of icing a shutdown pair.
That leaves Joel Edmundson and Timothy Liljegren as two defenders who are likely stuck together for the time being. Putting a veteran stay-at-home lefty with a more imaginative — but less experienced — right-shot blueliner makes sense, but there’s never a guarantee any two players will click, even if the ingredients appear to be there.
In Edmundson and Liljegren’s first game together, against the Montreal Canadiens, the Maple Leafs were caved in during the pair’s five-on-five time, getting outshot 11-6 and managing a pitiful expected goal rate of 16.76 percent.
On Thursday, they appeared to work out the kinks nicely, moving the puck far more organically and staying out of trouble. Liljegren led the team in five-on-five expected goal rate (85.27 percent) — and made his mark on the scoresheet with a first-period knuckle puck.
Timothy Liljegren makes it 3-0 for the Leafs in the 1st period! pic.twitter.com/BySnEkC4LC
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 15, 2024
Edmundson wasn’t far behind by the same metric (84.26 percent) and even had a rare scoring chance of his own.
Edmundson gets a shorthanded chance pic.twitter.com/8HpR7lCiXZ
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 15, 2024
Game Score
Final grade: A+
There were moments in the second period when this game looked like it might tighten up, but the Maple Leafs dominated on the scoresheet with underlying numbers to match.
Any time you outscore an opponent — especially a competent one — 6-0 at five-on-five a top grade is warranted. That’s particularly true when you win the high-danger scoring chance battle 19-2.
The Maple Leafs looked a bit disjointed at the very beginning of the game, icing the puck four time in the first eight minutes, but once they settled in, it was abundantly clear that they were the better squad. A determined nitpicker could point out that the Maple Leafs lost the special-teams battle by conceding power-play and short-handed goals without producing either.
Even that tortured attempt at a critique would be misleading, as Toronto’s sixth goal was scored just seconds after a Travis Konecny penalty ended, and the short-handed goal they allowed came with 72 seconds left in the game, when the Maple Leafs were playing their fourth line with the man advantage.
What’s next for the Leafs?
They host the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.
(Photo of William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi and Auston Matthews: Len Redkoles / NHLI via Getty Images)
