The Toronto Maple Leafs were in action last night on the second half of a back-to-back against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Maple Leafs’ 4-2 Loss to Capitals
They came into last night’s game after dropping a game that they should have won against the Washington Capitals the night prior. They had a 2-0 lead and ended up losing 7-4. However, against the Penguins, it was a completely different story. They played a very complete game and it showed offensively, as they put up a touchdown for just the second time all season. They also got goals from all four lines, which is something that hasn’t happened all season. This was a good character building game, one that they can build off of and keep rolling into the next few.
With that, let’s take a look at a few takeaways from the game last night.
Hildeby Has Solid Night
Last night was the first time in Dennis Hildeby‘s career that he got to face Sidney Crosby and he did not disappoint. He stood tall when the team needed him and allowed them to get out to a comfortable lead and they never looked back. It was fun to see a goalie other than Joseph Woll play that well. Unfortunately, this season, the Maple Leafs have struggled badly in the crease. But, over the last few nights, including last night, they have kept them in the game.
Dennis Hildeby, Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
Hildeby ended the night stopping 33 of 35 shots that he faced, which is good enough for a .943 save percentage. That brings his record on the season to 1-2-1 with a 3.07 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
It has been a while since Leafs Nation has seen a defenseman that has been this impactful on a lineup. Last night, Oliver Ekman-Larsson looked like prime Tomas Kaberle. With his goal on the first shot of the game, he not only looked like vintage OEL, but he also extended his point streak to nine games. That now ties him for the second longest in franchise history by a defenseman, only behind Tom Kurvers who did it during the 1989-90 season.
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In a year where the Maple Leafs have struggled offensively, it has been nice to see OEL step up and show that he can help produce points. That now gives him three goals and 15 assists for 18 points in 24 games. Unfortunately, he left the game due to an upper-body injury. And, at this time, the team doesn’t know the severity, but Craig Berube hopes it isn’t serious.
Most Convincing Win of the Season
The last takeaway is the most obvious. Their 7-2 win over the Penguins was by far the most convincing win of the season. There was no panic when they gave up the lead just two minutes after Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring. That has been something that Leafs Nation has seen quite a bit this season. Instead, they continued to battle and it led to Easton Cowan scoring to give them the lead heading into the first intermission.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies and forward John Tavares and defenseman Brandon Carlo congratulate forward Max Domi on scoring the game winning goal against the Calgary Flames (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)
After that, it was all Maple Leafs for the last 40 minutes of the game. They scored three in the second and two in the third to round out the game. With Auston Matthews’ goal in the third, it gave each forward line a goal, which is the first time that has happened this season. The game also saw seven different goal scorers without William Nylander being one of them. They did all that on just 23 shots on net and had four goals on their first nine shots of the game. Overall, it was a great game and one that every member of Leafs Nation hopes they can build off of and string some wins together and move back up the standings.
