The first preseason game is in the books as the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. Toronto has many things to improve on when looking back on their performance. The Senators got the best of the Maple Leafs with a 6-5 overtime win. Of course, it’s still very early to be critical of the Leafs at this time of the season. However, a few things are worth noting that Toronto can build on and improve looking forward.
Toronto Looking to Improve
Slow and Sloppy
Straight out of the gate from puck-drop, the Leafs came out aggressively. However, maybe they were too aggressive. Less than 20 seconds into the game, Matthew Knies gets called for a high-sticking penalty. That wouldn’t be the only time they would get into penalty trouble. The Maple Leafs would be called for three more minor penalties, all in the first period. Because of this, Toronto were not able to find a rhythm offensively, and Ottawa saw much of the puck. At the end of the first, the shots were 15-2 in favour of the Sens. Not a great start for Craig Berube‘s Leafs.
In between penalty kills, the Leafs were a little sloppy in their own zone when trying to advance the puck on breakouts. Berube wants his team to get the puck forward as quickly as possible. This is a strategy that’s new in Toronto and will take some time to improve on, and that’s understandable. Luckily, it’s the preseason, and this is the time to fix some things and make adjustments. Berube himself highlighted the fact that Toronto needs to improve in some aspects, specifically moving the puck.
“Too slow, too cute at times… We have a lot of work to do”
“Too slow, too cute at times,” Berube says of Leafs start, until their three-goal burst. “We have a lot of work to do.”
— Lance Hornby
(@sunhornby) September 23, 2024
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There were other moments throughout the game where it was obvious that the players were trying to get used to the new strategies. There were a few instances where players nearly ran into each other. For example, Max Domi and John Tavares almost had a nasty collision, and the results could’ve been worse.
oh jeez that could’ve been worse pic.twitter.com/XAZ6RY8DDN
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) September 23, 2024
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Nylander Experiment at Centre
Many fans know by now that Berube wants to give William Nylander a shot at centre. In game one of the preseason, Nylander got that opportunity for the first time since the experiment was tried with the old coach, Sheldon Keefe. However, it wasn’t given a fair shot, as it only lasted about two games. The biggest reason Berube wants to try this again is because of Nylander’s ability to carry the puck up the ice with speed.
On Sunday, Nylander centred a line with Domi on his left and Calle Jarnkrok on his right. On paper, this is a line that may have some defensive breakdowns. Both Domi and Nylander are blessed with outstanding offensive skills and have great stickhandling abilities. However, defence is a bit of a weakness for them. Therefore, for balance, Jarnkrok was put on that line to make up for lack of defensive responsibility, as he is a great two-way forward.
Unfortunately, that line didn’t click, and at times, it was hard to watch. Domi finished the game with a minus-three, something you don’t want to see from a second liner. Nylander would have finished with a minus-two, but he scored to send the game to overtime with the extra attacker. Apart from statistics, that line could not find much offence throughout the game. There were moments where they had the puck in the offensive zone, but they weren’t very threatening. And on the forecheck, they rarely found the puck in the corners or stripped it off the Ottawa defence.
Main Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig – USA TODAY Sports
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