The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 24-25 season has been full of ups and downs, yet they are only three points back of the division-leading Florida Panthers with a 9-5-2 record and have won three straight, all against divisional opponents. Before a challenging battle against Washington on Wednesday, the Leafs play one more Atlantic opponent on Tuesday night when the Ottawa Senators pay them a visit at Scotiabank Arena. With Joe Woll getting the start on Saturday, it appears that Anthony Stolarz will be in the net on Tuesday. The puck drops at 7:00 pm EST.
Toronto Maple Leafs Without Captain For At Least Tuesday
As usual, the Toronto Maple Leafs have not been overly forthcoming about the status of captain Auston Matthews‘ injury, but we do know that he is “doubtful” to return to the lineup on Tuesday after missing the previous three games with an upper-body injury. Matthews has been on the injured reserve since Nov. 3 and is eligible to return as of Monday. His absence from Tuesday’s game means he will most likely miss Wednesday against the Capitals as well, as he has not practiced with the club this week.
Coach Craig Berube said last week that Matthews’ injury is not related to a prior wrist injury in his career but did admit it is an issue that has been hindering the former Hart winner since training camp. Yeah, I guess. It’s probably part of it, yeah,” Berube said as passively as possible. “We’re all trying to figure it out, work on it, and make sure we get him back and that this thing doesn’t occur again over the course of the year. It’s not something you want lingering, especially with him, throughout the season, so we’re trying to do our best not to allow that to happen.”
The Toronto Maple Leafs record without Matthews is a mind-boggling 38-19-2. While they hope that trend continues this week, they need him to get as close to 100% as possible and start contributing at a high level. He’s played well thus far, but the offensive production hasn’t been there at the level that he is capable of, and now we kind of know why.
“Nobody is going to make excuses, especially him,” Berube said of how Matthews’ injury has affected his play. “I get that goals weren’t going in, but the chances were there, and the 200-foot play was excellent. — There was a lot of good going on. I know the goals weren’t going in, and that’s what most people focus on. We need him to score goals, and I get that, but his play was really good.”
Powerplay is Back to it’s Electric Ways
The previously stated winning record without Matthews is baffling. What might be more baffling, or just as, anyway, is the way that the Maple Leafs’ powerplay has completely turned around without their best-scoring threat. Before Tuesday’s game against the Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs were 4-for-40 on the powerplay, ranking dead last in the NHL. Since last Sunday, they are 8-for-14, which is 57%.
It was hard to believe that a powerplay with that much talent could stay that bad for that long. It’s even harder to believe they’ve done it without Matthews, but it’s the rest of the stars that have done their part in sparking some electricity into a powerless powerplay. Defenseman Morgan Rielly has led the way with six PP points in the last three games, Marner and Nylander have five, and John Tavares has two goals.
“It’s like we’re being more assertive and direct on the powerplay, looking to attack and shoot. It’s paying off right now.” Coach Berube said the difference he’s seen with the man advantage. “You see two guys at the net on all these goals,” Berube added. “We’re attacking downhill, we’re attacking the net, the rebounds, the loose plays. You get loose pucks, and you score goals off it.”
Final Thoughts
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said over the weekend that Max Pacioretty will be out for several weeks with a lower-body injury he suffered on Saturday night. As a human being, it was a tough thing to watch as Pacioretty went down and needed to be helped off the ice.
The 35-year-old winger has missed a large portion of the last few seasons due to injury, and we all hope this doesn’t linger for too long. “That’s a loss,” Berube said. “This guy was playing good hockey for us, power forward hockey with his physicality and his ability to hang on to pucks. I feel for him, with the injuries he’s had the last few years. He’ll grind through it. He’s a very good pro. He’ll get back.”
