It was effectively a four-point game and the Florida Panthers proved why they’re the reigning champs, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1. Toronto’s four-game winning streak was snapped and it finally looked worse for wear, facing a multitude of injuries to its forward corps. Bobby McMann left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return, compounding the depth issues for the Maple Leafs.
Mitch Marner extended his point streak to five games when he scored Toronto’s lone goal, during the second period. Aleksander Barkov, Mackie Samoskevich, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett all scored for Florida.
Here are five quick takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 5-1 loss to the Panthers:
- Toronto started the game with a few decent returns early but the game swung in Florida’s favour when Nikita Grebenkin took a boarding penalty three minutes into the contest. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov immediately capitalized on the power play, then Mackie Samoskevich added an insurance marker 50 seconds later, with Nick Robertson, Fraser Minten, Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson all standing around passively. Grebenkin and Minten rallied — Minten hit the post on a Grebenkin feed in the first, while Grebenkin earned a promotion to the team’s first power play unit and was initially credited with an assist, which would’ve stood as his first NHL point. Minten was on the ice for three goals, however, and will need to shake it off as he’s still a 20-year-old acclimating to the NHL. The kids occasionally looked like kids against the defending champions, one of the perils of an undermanned roster.
- Mitch Marner extended his point streak to five games, while scoring unassisted in the second period. It’s not a stretch to suggest that Marner, Tavares and William Nylander have effectively carried Toronto’s forwards through Auston Matthews’ absence, but the injuries are finally beginning to take their toll. Bobby McMann — who has been a staple of the new-look top-line alongside, left the game during the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. After the game, Craig Berube listed McMann as day-to-day, while Marner remarked that they’re missing ‘half our team up front’ while giving credit to the call-ups who have outperformed expectations to date.
- Auston Matthews appears likely to return Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Matthew Knies could be joining him too. One way to jump start a dormant 5-on-5 attack is to insert the world’s best goal-scorer into the lineup. It’s not a particularly novel observation, but it’s remarkable the Maple Leafs are still holding a one-point lead over the Panthers in the first place.
- It may be a bit unfair to pile on one player during a 5-1 loss but Nick Robertson has to score eventually. Robertson looked off William Nylander on a 2-on-1 and floated a harmless backhand into Sergei Bobrovsky’s pathway. He was nowhere to be found on Florida’s second goal and it’s incumbent upon Robertson to score to keep his place in the lineup. You can’t drop him into a checking line role, and with eight forwards out of the lineup, he’s been provided a chance to elevate his game and make a case for a permanent top-nine spot. It often looks like Grebenkin is going to usurp him entirely, even when the Maple Leafs return to full health.
- This was the worst game of the season for the Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev pairing. They were missing routine D-to-D hinges, they weren’t communicating with their usual efficacy and finished with the lowest expected goal shares on the Maple Leafs throughout the evening. McCabe missed Tuesday’s practice due to maintenance and it seems like a coincidence that he played his worst game of the year one day later, but it was a bit jarring, considering that McCabe-Tanev have been one of the NHL’s best defensive pairings throughout the season. Against the defending champions, you can burn the tape and move on to Saturday.
