The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens met again in their second of two games in the preseason with Montreal winning 4-2. On Thursday night, the Canadiens dressed more of an NHL-heavy lineup and the Maple Leafs didn’t. Last night, the Maple Leafs had a good portion of their NHL regulars. For some of them, this could be their last game of the preseason, as teams will usually dress their closest to opening night roster in the final preseason game.
Last night, we saw the unofficial debut of Nicolas Roy, who was acquired in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade this summer. Max Domi, Jake McCabe and Anthony Stolarz all got into preseason action for the first time as well. It was also reported that Auston Matthews will take part in one more preseason game, with that likely coming in the final game against the Detroit Red Wings next Saturday.
Now, on to the takeaways from the game.
Roy is an Upgrade Over Kampf
As mentioned above, Roy made his unofficial debut for the Maple Leafs and right from the jump, he looked good. He closes gaps quickly, he is good in his own end, and he showed some offensive ability. There were a few times in the game where he went below his own net to force the Canadiens player to move the puck.
David Kampf, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
It is easy to see how much better he is on both sides of the puck compared to David Kampf. That isn’t a knock on Kampf, who is a strong defensive player. But he lacks offensive production, and that is something the Maple Leafs need as they try to replace points after the loss of Marner.
Robertson & Kampf are on the Outside Looking In
Last night also showed that the Maple Leafs’ offseason additions have made it very tough to crack the opening night roster. Brad Treliving and Craig Berube have built this roster to compete with the Florida Panthers. They want a team that is big, physical and can hold their own. Unfortunately, Nicholas Robertson and Kampf don’t really fit that style. There is also a chance that Calle Jarnkrok doesn’t fit either. However, if Easton Cowan doesn’t make the opening night roster, it would make sense for Berube to keep Jarnkrok for the fourth line.
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That said, the Maple Leafs could move Dakota Joshua down and keep Robertson in a top-nine role. But it doesn’t feel like this is the year they avoid making tough decisions within the forward group. This could lead to Robertson and Kampf either being waived or traded before the season starts.
Stolarz Looked Good, But Needs Another Game
The last takeaway from the Maple Leafs is about their starting goalie, Stolarz. Overall, he looked good. He played in two periods of the game and faced 18 shots. On those 18 shots, he allowed three goals and finished the night with a .833 save percentage. Not a bad showing for his first preseason action of the year, but he will need to get into another game. That will most likely come next Saturday against the Red Wings, in the team’s final game before the season opener on Oct. 9 against the Canadiens
Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
This year is different from last season, where there was some uncertainty about who the starter would be. This time around, Stolarz came into training camp as the starter, with Joseph Woll as the backup. Yes, they will share the net, but there was always going to be a clear number one. Because of that, he was able to wait a little longer before getting into preseason action. The good news is, even though he was playing for the first time, he didn’t look rusty. He had some big saves and looked as confident as he did last season, which is all you can really ask for in a meaningless preseason game.
