- www.nytimes.com Another Maple Leafs forward injury means more changes are coming up front
Bobby McMann left the second period of the Leafs' loss to the Panthers, putting coach Craig Berube into yet another quandary.
Mitch Marner exhaled and said out loud what so many within the Toronto Maple Leafs organization were probably thinking.
“We’re missing half our team up front, man,” Marner said when asked what his ailing Leafs team must do to score more at five-on-five.
The score in the Leafs’ 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers made the game seem far more lopsided than it was. If the Leafs had iced a lineup they hope will be ready to face teams like the Panthers in the playoffs, a 5-1 loss might have alarm bells ringing.
. . .
And now the Leafs can add Bobby McMann to their list of players nursing wounds. The left winger was on a decent run of form playing on a new-look top line with John Tavares and Marner. But McMann did not return to the game for the second period with what the Leafs are calling a lower-body injury.
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GDT - Toronto at Florida - Nov 27 - 7:30pm ET
>Auston Matthews isn’t quite ready to return for this Atlantic Division showdown between the surging Maple Leafs and the slumping Florida Panthers, who have won and lost four in a row, respectively (7:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).
Nicholas Robertson -- Pontus Holmberg -- William Nylander Bobby McMann -- John Tavares -- Mitch Marner Nikita Grebenkin -- Fraser Minten -- Alex Nylander Alex Steeves -- Connor Dewar -- Steven Lorentz
Morgan Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jake McCabe -- Chris Tanev Simon Benoit -- Conor Timmins
Anthony Stolarz Joseph Woll
Scratched: Jani Hakanpaa
Injured: Auston Matthews (upper body), David Kampf (lower body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Domi (lower body), Matthew Knies (upper body), Dakota Mermis (upper body)
Suspended: Ryan Reaves
- www.nytimes.com Why Auston Matthews won’t return to Maple Leafs lineup vs. Panthers: ‘Not a healing thing’
Matthews will miss his ninth straight game with a mysterious injury, but Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said "he's feeling good."
Auston Matthews will not return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. His mysterious injury will keep him out for a ninth straight game.
“Matthews had a real good practice yesterday, but he’s been off a while. Getting into a full practice was really important. But I think both him and I and the organization feel like he needs a little bit more to be ready to go,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said on Wednesday.
The Leafs had targeted Wednesday’s game as a possible return date for Matthews, heightening anticipation surrounding the two-time 60-goal scorer.
But instead, patience appears to be a priority. The Leafs seem intent on getting his stamina back to a place that will benefit him during game action. The Leafs’ next game is Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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GDT - Utah at Toronto - Nov 24 - 7pm ET
> The depth continues to be tested as the bodies keep dropping out of the lineup up front. Tonight, a resilient Maple Leafs team is seeking its fourth consecutive win as Alex Nylander debuts on an all-Marlies line against a tired 8-9-2 Utah Hockey Club (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
Nicholas Robertson — Pontus Holmberg — William Nylander Bobby McMann — John Tavares — Mitch Marner Nikita Grebenkin — Fraser Minten — Alex Nylander Alex Steeves — Connor Dewar — Steven Lorentz
Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev Simon Benoit — Conor Timmins
Joseph Woll Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Jani Hakanpaa
Injured: Auston Matthews (upper body), David Kampf (lower body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Domi (lower body), Matthew Knies (upper body), Dakota Mermis (upper body)
Suspended: Ryan Reaves
- www.nytimes.com William, Alex Nylander ready to add chapter to NHL’s long history of brotherly acts
Sunday night, William Nylander and his younger brother, Alex, will join four other sets of brothers who have played together as Leafs.
It last happened way back on May 3, 1987, more than 37 years ago.
Two brothers lining up, side by side, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two kids from overseas with big, far-fetched dreams, getting to live them out together on one of hockey’s biggest stages.
Sunday night, William Nylander and his younger brother, Alex, will add to that history, joining four other sets of brothers who have played together with the Leafs. It last happened in Game 7 of a second-round series, a matchup that featured Peter and Miroslav Ihnačák on the wrong end of a 3-0 loss.
- www.nytimes.com Auston Matthews returns to ice, discusses mysterious injury for first time
Matthews skated on his own ahead of Leafs practice Saturday. It was his first time on the ice since Nov. 10.
Auston Matthews stood looking relaxed in a place he hasn’t been seen much lately: At the front of the Toronto Maple Leafs practice facility locker room.
“From where I was at up to now, I feel night and day, a lot better,” Matthews told reporters. An injury has kept him out of the Leafs lineup since a Nov. 3 overtime loss against the Minnesota Wild. The Leafs are only calling the injury “upper body.”
“Everything’s moving in a positive direction,” Matthews said.
Matthews skated on his own ahead of Leafs practice Saturday. It was his first time on the ice since Nov. 10. Matthews said he and the team will monitor his injury before returning.
- www.nytimes.com What we’ve learned about the Maple Leafs at the quarter mark of the season
It's a good time to take stock of where the Maple Leafs are at, through the highs and lows of their season so far.
I don’t think many of us had “Auston Matthews goes out of the lineup and the Maple Leafs go on a 6-1-0 run” on our bingo card for how the first month and a half of the season would go.
But it’s been that kind of an unpredictable year so far in Toronto.
We’re now at the 20-game mark, a quarter of the way through the season, so it’s a good time to take stock of where the Leafs are at through the highs (their current hot streak) and lows (a 3-4-2 stretch prior to that) of their season.
- www.nytimes.com Maple Leafs 20-game progress reports: Who’s thriving? Who’s struggling?
Twenty games in, the Leafs' record sits at 12-6-2. How's everyone doing? Let's evaluate the roster from top to bottom.
The Toronto Maple Leafs scored maybe their most impressive win all season on Wednesday night, shutting out the Stanley Cup contender Vegas Golden Knights without their best player (Auston Matthews), two other centres (Max Domi and David Kämpf) and two top-nine wingers (Calle Järnkrok and Max Pacioretty). They also lost Matthew Knies to a possible concussion halfway through.
The victory improved the Leafs’ record to 12-6-2 after 20 games, slightly besting their pace from last season (11-6-3).
How’s everyone doing? Twenty games feels like the right time to take a step back and evaluate the roster from top to bottom (in no particular order).
- www.nytimes.com Maple Leafs report cards: Gritty effort earns shutout win over Golden Knights
With a 3-0 victory over Vegas, the Maple Leafs picked up their sixth win in seven games without their captain this season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ “draft and develop” ability was on full display against the Vegas Golden Knights, as Joseph Woll earned a 31-save shutout, William Nylander set up Fraser Minten’s first NHL goal, and Nikita Grebenkin looked like a complete menace.
There were plenty of scrums and some questionable officiating, but the Leafs got the job done against a tough opponent with a 3-0 victory. The Leafs picked up their sixth win in seven games without their captain this season, and while they were outplayed in the second period, their overall team grade is an A after a gritty effort.
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GDT - Vegas @ Toronto - Nov 20 - 7:30pm ET
>Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs will look to make it three straight when they face off with the Vegas Golden Knights. While Toronto is fresh off back-to-back overtime wins over Washington and Edmonton, Vegas will be looking to bounce back from a 5-2 loss to the Capitals on Sunday which dropped them to 11-5-2 on the season.
Matthew Knies — Pontus Holmberg — Mitch Marner Bobby McMann — John Tavares — William Nylander Nicholas Robertson — Fraser Minten — Nikita Grebenkin Connor Dewar — Steven Lorentz — Alex Steeves
Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev Simon Benoit — Conor Timmins
Joseph Woll Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Jani Hakanpaa
Injured: Auston Matthews (upper body), David Kampf (lower body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Domi (lower body), Dakota Mermis (upper body)
Suspended: Ryan Reaves
- www.nytimes.com Maple Leafs need Fraser Minten right now. What can they expect from him?
Injuries and a lack of bottom-six centre options have dictated that the Maple Leafs need their 2022 second-round pick right now.
... When Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving called Minten on Monday afternoon in the middle of the 20-year-old’s lunch — a healthy lunch for the pro, no doubt — the young centre wasn’t overwhelmed. It’s a call-up he was ready for.
“They believe in me,” Minten said confidently. “That’s why I’m here.”
Injuries and a lack of bottom-six centre options have dictated that the Leafs need their 2022 second-round pick right now. Minten has played some of his best hockey after returning from a high-ankle sprain injury during a rookie tournament game against the Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 15. In his first four AHL games, the Marlies loaded Minten up with top-six minutes alongside talented players like Alex Nylander and Nikita Grebenkin. He notched two goals and four points in five games. Both of his goals had come at five-on-five, an area the Leafs have lacked offensive punch lately.
By bringing up Minten, the Leafs are not rolling the dice with, say, a recently drafted prospect. They are bringing up a known commodity.
- www.nytimes.com Auston Matthews receiving treatment for injury in Germany
“It’s not alarming,” Leafs GM Brad Treliving stressed but Auston Matthews will likely miss a couple more games.
Auston Matthews is in Germany to see a doctor for treatment on the undisclosed injury that has kept him out of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup for the last six games.
Matthews decided to go to Germany as it was his preference, league sources told The Athletic.
On Tuesday, Leafs GM Brad Treliving told reporters that Leafs medical director Dr. Noah Forman accompanied Matthews overseas. According to Treliving, no surgery will be required for the injury.
. . .
Treliving called the visit “more as a general checkup, but also to get some work done” on Matthews’ upper-body injury. There remains an air of secrecy around Matthews and his injury. When asked, Treliving declined to specifically name the injury.
- www.nytimes.com Mitch Marner heats up just in time for Maple Leafs and Team Canada: Monday Morning Leafs Report
Marner played his best game of the season Saturday, is on pace for a career-best 104 points and should be a lock for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Mitch Marner played his best game of the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
He logged a team-high 24 minutes. He scored the overtime winner moments after he disrupted hockey’s most inevitable two-on-one by somehow batting down Leon Draisaitl’s passing attempt to Connor McDavid. He became the 16th Leaf to score 200 goals.
. . .
The Leafs have somehow won five of six games without Auston Matthews. Marner has multi-point games in all five wins. In addition to Saturday’s OT winner, Marner scored the game-tying goal with less than a minute left in regulation when the Leafs beat the Washington Capitals, also in OT.
Marner is on pace for what would be a career-best 104 points.
- www.nytimes.com Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves suspended 5 games for ‘dangerous’ hit on Oilers’ Darnell Nurse
Nurse was knocked out of Saturday’s game after taking the hit from Reaves early in the second period.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves has been suspended five games for an illegal check to the head against Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Sunday.
Nurse was knocked out of Saturday’s game after taking the hit from Reaves early in the second period.
After seeing their teammate bloodied and dazed by the hit, multiple members of the Oilers questioned why Reaves didn’t do more to ensure the collision was delivered more safely.
- www.nytimes.com Maple Leafs report cards: Mitch Marner secures well-fought and deserved win
Mitch Marner's 200th career goal lifted the Maple Leafs past the Oilers 4-3 in overtime.
Speed and pace were the themes of this game. The Edmonton Oilers had the edge with their top line getting big minutes in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ end while also scoring the night’s first goal thanks to Adam Henrique. Not only did the Leafs keep up with the Oilers, they pushed the pace themselves. Bobby McMann tied the game off a heavy shift with John Tavares and Mitch Marner while the top power-play unit built up on more scoring chances.
. . .
The Leafs found the luck they needed with two unassisted goals in the third period from Matthew Knies and McMann’s second of the game. Leon Draisaitl secured a point for the Oilers as his 13th of the season tied it with a minute and a half to go in regulation. After a failed two-on-one and a huge stop on Connor McDavid by Anthony Stolarz, Marner ended the game with his 200th career goal.
This was a well-fought and deserved 4-3 overtime win for the Leafs. They defended well at five-on-five and made the Oilers pay for the opportunities they gave up. The energy of this game was playoff-like and the Leafs coming away with the win, again without Auston Matthews, is another chapter in their book of “If you play this way, you win.” The Leafs brought their A-game, their grade for the night.
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Pacioretty week to week for Maple Leafs with lower-body injury
www.nhl.com Pacioretty week to week for Maple Leafs with lower-body injury | NHL.comForward placed on injured reserve; Jarnkrok has ‘setback’ in recovery
Didn't see the play, but not surprised he's injured again. Tough luck. He's been alright this season.
- www.nytimes.com Maple Leafs report cards: Power play stays hot in victory over Canadiens
Toronto did what it was supposed to do against a team at the bottom of the division in a 4-1 win over Montreal.
The Toronto Maple Leafs completed their third and hopefully last game without their captain with another power-play-style victory on home ice. Conor Timmins put the Leafs in the lead after a well-executed opening period. The special teams were next in the second period as William Nylander and Mitch Marner scored on the power play and penalty kill, respectively. Brendan Gallagher answered for the Montreal Canadiens with a man-advantage goal, but John Tavares restored the three-goal lead to close out the middle frame.
. . .
The Leafs did what they were supposed to against a team at the bottom of the division. Montreal tried to get them to bend, but they didn’t break and limited their mistakes. They also didn’t give up much in front of Woll at five-on-five save for Gallagher’s goal. Of all the positives from this one, the power play not being a flash in the pan stands out the most. With the players on this roster, the power play should strike fear into their opponents. With another two goals on four opportunities, it’s finally starting to look like it. The team gets an A-.
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GDT - Montreal at Toronto - Nov 9 - 7pm ET
>The Maple Leafs are looking to make it three wins in a row while redeeming their season-opening loss to the Montreal Canadiens, who are mired in a five-game losing slump entering tonight’s HNIC matchup at the SBA (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Matthew Knies — Max Domi — Mitch Marner Max Pacioretty — John Tavares — William Nylander Nicholas Robertson — Pontus Holmberg — Bobby McMann Steven Lorentz — David Kampf — Ryan Reaves
Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev Simon Benoit — Conor Timmins
Joseph Woll Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Philippe Myers, Matt Benning
Injured: Auston Matthews (upper body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Connor Dewar (upper body), Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Dakota Mermis (upper body)
- www.nytimes.com Maple Leafs report cards: Red-hot power play fuels win over Red Wings
After a horrendous start to the season, Toronto's power play is officially on fire with another pair of goals in a 3-1 win over Detroit.
After a horrendous start to the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs power play is officially red hot.
The Leafs scored three power-play goals against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, and they kept the momentum going with a pair of goals against another Original Six team in the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. Mitch Marner opened the scoring on the man advantage in the first, and John Tavares followed suit in the second to give his team a one-goal lead heading into the final frame.
The Leafs did not score or allow a five-on-five goal for the second consecutive game, and Tavares iced it with an empty net goal. This was a defensive battle with few scoring chances at either end, but the Leafs deserve a B-plus for picking up a 3-1 win without their captain.
