In all fairness, the Toronto Maple Leafs had no business stealing a 2-1 overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Anthony Stolarz was downright phenomenal and was the primary reason why the Maple Leafs had a chance to win the game in overtime to begin with. Stolarz made 37 saves on 38 shots, while saving 3.53 expected goals in all situations via Natural Stat Trick. Playing in front of his hometown crowd, Stolarz robbed Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier among other several times, keeping the Maple Leafs in the contest. Toronto was outshot 15-1 at the end of the first period, it was trailing by a 27-6 shot differential at the second intermission, while New Jersey held a 1-0 lead. It was an anemic 40 minutes for the Maple Leafs, arguably their worst showing of the year.
After Stolarz shut the door again during another Maple Leafs’ penalty kill, Chris Tanev finished the puck out to Connor Dewar, who flipped the puck up the ice. Dewar raced down, won the puck back to Pontus Holmberg, who beat an unsuspecting Jacob Markstrom for the game-tying goal.
Auston Matthews was one of the few Maple Leafs forwards who generated chances, with three partial breakaways throughout the contest. Matthews missed the net twice, while hunting for chances constantly, finishing the game with a team-best five shots — no other Maple Leafs player generated greater than two shots on goal. Matthews has been in excellent form since returning from injury and his poor shooting luck could’ve resulted in a frustrating evening but he sped past Brett Pesce in overtime and made no mistake to cap off a thrilling win.
“It felt really good. Couldn’t quite seem to find my spot a couple of times, just tried to stick with it. The game was very ugly on our side for most of the game,” Matthews said post-game.
CAP-TONE CALLED GAME!!!!! pic.twitter.com/NvWxeScqAz
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 11, 2024
Stolarz, as expected, was granted the team’s belt, given to the best or most impactful player in a winning effort.
We all knew it was coming pic.twitter.com/9IYf6ZkWsW
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 11, 2024
Anthony Stolarz saved 2.28 expected goals during the first period via Natural Stat Trick as the Leafs were outshot 15-1.
— Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) December 11, 2024
Here are XX takeaways from the Maple Leafs XX result:
- Anthony Stolarz is the lone reason why the Maple Leafs stole a point in the first place. Stolarz made four saves in the opening minute, he had to constantly fend off several Devils in the net-front, he made excellent saves in traffic and always looked cool and composed as his team made several unforced errors throughout the game. Stolarz saved 3.53 expected goals in all situations via Natural Stat Trick, although you could argue the Devils could’ve been up 5-0 through two periods and no one would’ve blinked. He was downright tremendous on a night where the Maple Leafs didn’t generate a goal at 5-on-5 and struggled to keep up with the Devils’ blistering pace. Stolarz was the first, second, and third star of the Maple Leafs’ victory in our opinion.
- We don’t want to make our arguments from a defensive posture, but there’s been this unfounded idea that Auston Matthews hasn’t been in top form since returning from injury. Matthews has four goals and eight points in six games since re-entering the lineup while being tasked with suffocating the opponent’s best forwards on the other end of the ice. What is the expectation for Matthews if this doesn’t constitute elite play? For large stretches of the evening, this was a moot point, even if Matthews was Toronto’s best skater by some distance. He’s all the way back and on a night where he could’ve notched a hat-trick against the run of play, we can put this false notion to rest.
- Max Domi returned to the lineup after eight games and it was a mixed performance. Domi, like many Maple Leafs, failed to generate meaningful offense for most of the contest, and finished the game with three giveaways. He was trying to create laterally and opened up some good looks for Fraser Minten, he generated six individual scoring chances, and finished second only to Minten with a 61 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5. Perhaps some real chemistry will emerge between Minten and Domi, as the Maple Leafs desperately look to generate some secondary scoring. Everything looks better in a winning effort, as Domi looks to snap a 14-game point drought on Thursday.
- Max Pacioretty hasn’t always been known for his physical play but he delivered a massive hit on Jack Hughes, which may have woken up a dormant Maple Leafs team in the second period. Pacioretty didn’t make the most of his opportunities alongside Matthews and Marner for the most part, but he finished the game with a team-best four hits, and this is a quality that will be appreciated whether he factors in on the first line, or the fourth.
- Pontus Holmberg and Connor Dewar needed to justify their roles on the team and evidently, if they can be plus-assets on the penalty kill, it may be their ticket in the lineup. Toronto needs secondary scoring in a bad way, Holmberg hasn’t delivered on this expectation whatsoever, especially when placed in a top-six role among star forwards. Toronto appeared to be doomed, before Dewar raced up the ice, boxed out an opponent and Holmberg beat an unsuspecting Jacob Markstrom for the game-tying goal. Fraser Minten has outplayed both players and deserves an extended look even when Bobby McMann returns, but there is real utility to be found on the penalty kill. It doesn’t excuse Holmberg’s poor start to the year, but timely goals certainly go a long way and he may be safe until the Christmas break.
- It’s hard to single out one Maple Leafs defender, but Simon Benoit constantly put Conor Timmins and Chris Tanev in poor scenarios, and while Benoit’s physical play should usually be commended, it often put Toronto in a tough spot. Benoit took a puck over glass penalty to end the first period, putting Toronto at a disadvantage to start the second frame, and he couldn’t handle the Devils’ elite team speed. If Jake McCabe returns Thursday, Benoit could be the odd man out for a night.
