Toronto Maple Leafs’ centre Auston Matthews (34) is stopped by Nashville Predators goaltender Justus Annunen (29) in the second period of their game in Toronto on Tuesday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
One home win doesn’t cure all ills, but the Toronto Maple Leafs will feel an awful lot better about their situation following Tuesday night’s 7-4 victory over the Nashville Predators.
The National Hockey League season is only four games old, but after home-and-home losses against the Detroit Red Wings – a team which finished 22 points behind the Leafs last year – over the Thanksgiving weekend, Toronto needed a bounce-back effort, and got one.
“Overall, was a pretty good game,” head coach Craig Berube said. “A lot of good things, back-to-back games. There’s a lot of good to like in the game, and there’s obviously stuff that we got to be better at.”
Chief amongst the good stuff was the return to scoring ways of many of his big guns, most of whom had spluttered and misfired over the opening three games.
William Nylander and Auston Matthews – who combined for 78 goals and 162 points a year ago – came into the game with just two empty-net goals on the season. Both bounced back in style Tuesday, with Nylander adding an empty-net goal to his two primary assists, while Matthews had a pair of goals – including one empty-netter.
“I think it’s coming along,” Nylander said of finding his game. “I mean, it’s obviously still at the beginning of the season, so just getting that back.”
Matthews’s goal – which came on a neat passing play with Matthews Knies – stood up as the game winner, the 64th of the Leaf captain’s career, moving him past legendary Leaf captain Dave Keon for second-most in franchise history behind Mats Sundin’s 79.
That goal also featured a secondary assist for Easton Cowan, with the rookie getting his first NHL point in his second career game. Knies finished the game with three assists.
John Tavares also registered his first goal of the season midway through the second, and added two assists for his 82nd career game with three or more points.
William Nylander (88) is chased by Nashville Predators’ Filip Forsberg (9) and Ryan O’Reilly (90) during the second period of their game in Toronto on Tuesday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
“Not to overthink things or over complicated here in the early going, but you understand the importance of each and every night,” the 35-year-old said. “So you just want to keep getting better. And today was the next opportunity to get out there and compete.”
Tuesday’s win also showcased the depth of this team, with defencemen Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson handing the Leafs a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period, the ninth and 10th different scorers the team has had this season. Tavares made it 11 with his goal midway through the second.
“I think that’s one thing that we talked about before the year, going into the season, that we need everybody to chip in and play up to the standards that everybody can,” said Ekman-Larsson, who also had two assists to go with his goal. “And I think tonight was a good example of that.”
That depth extended to the crease too. With Anthony Stolarz getting the night off for the first time this season, Cayden Primeau was handed the opportunity to make his Maple Leafs debut. It was the first NHL game since last December for the former Montreal Canadien, and he handled the occasion well, stopping 26 of 30 shots that came his way.
Having been claimed off waivers barely a week ago after Joseph Woll took a leave for personal reasons, Primeau missed out on a training camp with Toronto, and admitted it was tough being thrown in at the deep end in regular-season play.
“I was nervous,” he said. “Not being able to play a preseason game and not being able to play the game with the group.”
But the son of Keith Primeau, the former captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, and the nephew of former Leaf Wayne Primeau managed to shake off a 44-second spell early in the second period when the Predators knotted the score at 2-2. Berube immediately called a timeout, and the Leafs managed to regain the intensity they’d shown in the first to skate off with the victory.
Tavares hopes that the team can continue to get contributions from across the lineup.
“Just the way I think we’ve started the year, [the offence has] been really spread around,” he said. “So we want to be a four line, three pair, two tandem unit every time we go out on the ice and we put the jersey on, and we’re playing together as a team, and everyone’s contributing in all areas of the game.”