The Toronto Maple Leafs were without Auston Matthews and T.J. Brodie, but it turned out not to be a deterrent in the slightest. This wasn’t the first time the Leafs posted a shutout this season, but this was their most dominating performance of the season.
It was all Leafs from start to finish, and the goals came from up and down the lineup. Matthew Knies, Mitch Marner and Bobby McMann had the first three of the game, the last of which was the first of his 18-game career.
BOBBY MCMANN! FIRST NHL GOAL! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/C1mi5o6Rmi
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
Max Domi, John Tavares and Noah Gregor doubled the Leafs’ score in the second period, and William Nylander completed the Leafs’ touchdown and extra point in the third period.
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You can’t ignore the elephant in the room, with this being former Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas’ first game in Toronto since his departure in June. I’m not sure how much extra juice that gives the players on the ice, but it all began and ended with them. The Pittsburgh Penguins had no answer for the Leafs, and if not for some huge saves, the post and an unchallenged overturned goal, the score could’ve been a lot worse.
Three stars
1. Max Domi
With Matthews out, Domi was bumped up to the top six with two new yet familiar linemates, and he more than delivered on the opportunity. He was on point defensively, especially in the first, and kept his offence going, finishing the game with a goal and two assists, his first three-point game in a Leafs uniform. The only downside of Domi’s night was another lost tooth, but who knows, he may take that as a win as well.
MAX DOMI 🚨
MAXIMUM EFFORT pic.twitter.com/NGyTHuyOKH
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
2. Matthew Knies
First game since Dec. 11, first assist since Dec. 12, first goal since Nov. 19, and first fight in his NHL career. Put that together and you have the Leafs’ first Gordie Howe hat trick since 2015.
3. Martin Jones
Another set of firsts but this time in goal. Jones stopped all 38 shots faced for his first shutout as a member of the Leafs. The danger of the shots peaked in the second half of the third period leading into the third, and Jones didn’t let a single one beat him.
Honourary fourth star
Tyler Bertuzzi is getting better and better with each game he plays. The effort and tenacity in all three zones are consistent, and he’s getting the raw production to back it up. Bertuzzi finished with three assists and was an active participant on each. His third stood out the most skill-wise. Bertuzzi had Alex Nedeljkovic thinking he was shooting the entire way. Not only did he hold on to it long enough, but Bertuzzi had a slight kick in his right leg, perfectly selling the shot before passing it to Nylander.
WILLIAM NYLANDER 🚨
filthy patience from Bertuzzi pic.twitter.com/9XZx9HnOdn
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
Liljegren’s return
It was a bit of a return trial by fire for Timothy Liljegren. He lined up with Morgan Rielly on the top pair and finished the night with 20:22, including being on the ice for an entire penalty-kill sequence. His timing was off at times and he had some turnovers in front of the net, but he looked more comfortable as the game went on.
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Tale of two teams in their zone
The Leafs have had better first periods in this chapter of the season, but this one is going to stand out for Keefe and the coaching staff. Each team had 11 shots, but it wasn’t even close to telling the full story. One team didn’t have a scoring chance in the slot or in the areas right in front of the goaltender, and the other team was the Leafs. Tristan Jarry had a much more difficult first period than Jones and held the Leafs to only three goals. Pittsburgh’s only chance in front of Jones was a tip-in from Jake Guentzel on the power play.
Powerhouse return
The Leafs hadn’t had a Gordie Howe hat trick in eight years. Who would’ve thought that the 23-year-old rookie returning from illness would be the one to do it?
The rest did wonders for Knies, and he took the game by storm. He was back to his aggressive forechecking ways and powered through the Pittsburgh defence on that goal. He had Marner with him on the right and had the skill to make the pass to him if he needed to. He didn’t need to.
MATTHEW KNIES 🚨
First game back and he gets the first goal pic.twitter.com/LkjJegmR6F
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
His first NHL fight came exactly three minutes later after an uncalled John Ludvig high stick on Domi. Knies reacted immediately.
Knies stands up for Domi and goes after Ludvig pic.twitter.com/orXd8UcFnh
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
The final piece of the Gordie Howe pie was a primary assist on the fourth goal. Kris Letang and Vinnie Hinostroza had their focus on Knies, and he took advantage of that, sending the pass backward for a trailing Domi.
Turnover and rebound repayment
Two of the three first-period goals came from outworking the Penguins and forcing them to turn the puck over. Yes, Pittsburgh isn’t the most defensively sound team in the NHL this year, but the Leafs ate away at their decision-making, and it continued to take a toll.
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Domi stole the puck off Jeff Carter in the neutral zone on his way into the Leafs’ zone and quickly moved it back to Nick Robertson. Bertuzzi knocked the puck off Radim Zohorna’s stick along the boards, then won the rebound from Letang and passed it to Bobby McMann for his goal. Even when they weren’t resulting in actual goals, Pittsburgh couldn’t handle the waves of pressure the Leafs threw at them all night.
Rebounds were another area the Leafs took advantage of. Shots from Nylander and Holmberg led to goals for Tavares and McMann, respectively. Tavares had a rush in the second period and got a high-danger chance for himself after following up from his initial shot. The same goes for Rielly, who created two rebounds himself and had two shots ring off the post.
Tavares fooled Crosby on that one pic.twitter.com/Z6qP18zgNR
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
Depth power
Conor Timmins, Simon Benoit and William Lagesson are three names we didn’t expect to appreciate, but they had strong moments throughout the game. Timmins had three shots and a secondary assist on Gregor’s power-play goal. Benoit finished the game with three hits and continues to be a player who refuses to let anyone sit comfortably in front of the net. Lagesson played the fewest minutes of all blueliners but was steady and had a great block on the penalty kill robbing Sidney Crosby.
William Lagesoon robs Crosby pic.twitter.com/hZLkNJDx78
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
Game Score
Final grade: A+
They attacked, attacked some more and continued to attack until the game was over. I couldn’t help but think of the New York Rangers game and how the Leafs were up 4-1 after the first and allowed the Rangers to get to within one goal of tying it. The Penguins had nothing. They had limited offensive zone time at five-on-five and couldn’t get much going on the power play, and when their chances hit the net, Jones was strong and stopped them. This is as complete of a game as you can get for the Leafs.
What’s next for the Leafs?
Speaking of the Rangers, they’re the Leafs’ next opponent at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday.
(Photo: Frank Gunn / The Canadian Press via Associated Press)
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