TORONTO — Amid a campaign that’s been all tumult, all peaks and valleys, it was a familiar sight for the fans packing the Scotiabank Arena stands. A night that saw their Toronto Maple Leafs seemingly find progress — only to see injuries, past ghosts and ill-timed moments of wobbly focus undo them in the end.
A lacklustre third period sunk the blue-and-white Thursday, allowing the San Jose Sharks to claw their way back, level the game at 2-2 in the final minutes and ultimately take the extra point courtesy of Alexander Wennberg's overtime winner.
“It could’ve gone either way, honestly. I thought we played a pretty solid game,” captain Auston Matthews assessed from the Maple Leafs’ locker room after the dust settled on the 3-2 Sharks win. “They tie the game late — it’s always a battle there those last couple minutes, especially 6-on-5 and they were able to find a way through to tie it. It could’ve gone either way.
“It’s tough being on the wrong side of it, but I thought there were a lot of good things that we did today.”
Tops among those bright spots, no doubt, was the resuscitation of the Maple Leafs’ long-lifeless power play, which looked fluid, dangerous and promising for perhaps the first time this season.
Heading into the night, the club’s man-advantage had looked anything but. Humming along at a paltry 13.7 per cent leading up to Thursday’s affair, Toronto’s power play ranked dead last in the league — well below plenty of clubs who don’t send more than $40 million worth of salary over the boards on PP1.
But more than the lack of results, it was the lack of any signs those results might be coming. The group looked stagnant, without direction, often stymied as they tried to calculate their next move, let alone when they tried to actually put it into motion.
A day before they hit the ice against the Sharks, head coach Craig Berube put his squad through a lengthy practice session focused on reviving the power play. The veteran bench boss’s message to the group was clear.
“We’ve got to have a more simple approach to it all,” Berube said after Wednesday’s practice. “The puck needs to move quicker. Reset, and look to get it to the net. That’s really, right now, where it’s at. Other good things will happen after you start getting some momentum from that — good touch, good touch, shot; good touch, good touch, shot.
“You know, we’re trying to look for the perfect play too much, and it’s not there. So we’ve got to work our way through that. It’s just execution. It’s making the play that’s available — make it, and make it quickly. And if we can get pucks to the net, then get them to the net.”
Thursday night, his squad got the message.
Granted their first chance to prove themselves early in the second period, the familiar top-unit group — Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly — were sent over the boards. They took their positions, Tavares won the draw and they set up in the Sharks’ zone.
For a moment, the old habits seemed to creep back in, as Matthews collected the puck on the right side and tried to filter a saucer pass to Tavares — surrounded by three Sharks and turning away from No. 34 — on the off-chance the veteran might be able to corral it and create something.
The next time the puck came to the captain, he took the more straightforward approach, loading up and wiring a one-timer towards the net. Off the next faceoff, the puck made its way to Nylander — he did the same, whipping it on net, causing some chaos in the slot, spurring a rebound Matthews was nearly able to pounce on. It came back to Nylander on the left side — he held the puck for a moment, the Sharks backed off, and No. 88 wired a pass through traffic to a waiting Matthews, who threw it on net again.
The chances kept coming, the Maple Leafs continued to filter pucks towards the cage and the second unit kept up the pressure. San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic held them at bay, but for the first time in what’s seemed like eons, Toronto had managed to drum up some momentum from their man-advantage, had managed to tilt the ice ever so slightly in their direction.
A few minutes later, they got another opportunity, a Macklin Celebrini hook on Troy Stecher sending Toronto back to the power play.
The face-off was won — Tavares blasted it on net from the high slot. The puck came to Matthews behind the net — he tried to jam it past Nedeljkovic’s pad. And 30 seconds into the opportunity, the group finally broke through, Nylander trying another cross-ice pass through traffic, Matthews trying another one-timer, and the pair connecting to flutter the twine.
It was the first power-play marker tallied by the Maple Leafs since their win over Pittsburgh five games ago, snapping a 16-game power-play goalless drought for Matthews.
“The whole power play tonight in general was good,” Berube said post-game. “They moved it, shot it; moved it, shot it. And things opened up. A seam finally opened up, and they took advantage of it.”
The group got one more opportunity in the third, and once again managed to build some momentum, get some chances, tilt the ice.
It was far from a flawless showing — for all the puck movement and quality looks, the Maple Leafs finished with one goal on three opportunities, and lost a narrow game that could’ve used a couple insurance markers. Still, given how it’s looked of late, the signs of life for the top unit were crucial.
“It’s good. I thought we had some good looks tonight,” Matthews said. “I thought we were moving it quicker, shooting pucks and those pucks were getting through and creating good chances. It’s always nice to see one go in — it gives the power play a bit of a boost.
“We just want to continue to stay diligent, and continue to move forward with positive momentum on the power play."
“We were due for one,” Nylander added. "I feel like we haven’t scored one in a long time. We should be able to score way more on the power play. You know, that was a confidence builder, and I thought we moved the puck pretty well today, could’ve had a few. So, that’s good.”
The mercurial winger was under the spotlight himself heading into the tilt — riding a cold streak, called out by his coach yet again and moved to a new line to try to spark the return of his offensive dynamism.
No. 88 answered, playing a part in both Maple Leafs goals on the night, and showing some fight in his own end, too.
“It was the best game I’ve seen him play in a while. He was engaged,” Berube said of his star winger. “When I see him skating and handling the puck, keeping the puck, and doing things he did tonight with the puck, I know he’s ready to go.”
Still, for all the progress found — by Nylander, by his power-play mates — a late collapse and a dropped point shows their are holes still in need of filling.
“Third period, to me, we didn’t come out and dictate how to play the game,” Berube said late Thursday, diagnosing the dip in form that ultimately sunk them against the Sharks. “Turned pucks over. Passive. We didn’t finish them off.”
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