The Toronto Maple Leafs never held the lead against the Winnipeg Jets, mostly due to some glaring defensive errors, but the Leafs salvaged a point as Auston Matthews scored with 14 seconds left in regulation in a 4-3 shootout loss at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
Matthews scored his club-leading 30th and 31st goals of the season, and Dmytro Timashov added his fourth of the year, but Toronto was plagued by giveaways and mistakes. Nikolaj Ehlers opening goal resulted from Frederik Andersen stumbling behind the net, while Mason Appleton’s short-handed marker and Mark Scheifele’s tally were as a result of giveaways by team captain John Tavares.
The Leafs leading scorer played just under 26 minutes on the night and with the two goals is on pace for eclipsing the 50-goal plateau, which is even more impressive after Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported that Matthews has been playing through a minor injury.
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has increased Matthews ice time by almost a minute since taking over from Mike Babcock in late November, which has resulted in increased production (17 goals in the last 22 games), but the Leafs head coach is cognizant that he should not overuse his star center.
“I just try and manage (the urge to play Matthews all the time), trying to not have others sitting for too long, but also trying to keep his rhythm and keep him going.” Keefe said after the game. “TV timeouts, when you see him get a breather and you sense that he's ready to go, it's hard not to put him back out.”
The club held an outdoor practice at Nathan Phillips Square on Thursday, entertaining fans with a three-on-three tournament. Injured forward Andreas Johnsson has skated this week and will accompany the club to Florida this weekend, but will not play against the Panthers on Sunday night.
******
Auston Matthews
In the first year of a five-year, $58.1 Million contract extension, Matthews was successful in handling a heavy offensive burden with John Tavares and Mitch Marner injured and moved past the distraction of an off-season incident in Arizona.
The 22-year-old leads the Leafs in goals (31), points (54), plus/minus (+17), power play points (16), game-winning goals(3) and trails only Marner in average time-on-ice (20:15). Matthews has scored the majority of his goals on home ice, but has been able to play at a high level with both Marner and William Nylander on the wing.
Grade – A+
John Tavares
The Leafs team captain started slow, but returned to his consistent form after missing three weeks with a finger injury and returning in early November. The 29-year-old is at nearly a point-per-game pace (16 goals, 20 assists in 38 games) and draws the tough matchups against the opposition’s top centers, but has found success with new linemate Nylander.
Grade – A-
Alex Kerfoot
Acquired from Colorado in the deal for Nazem Kadri, Kerfoot is a speedy smallish center who makes good decisions and provides secondary offense, but has not been adept at winning faceoffs (46.8%). The Vancouver native was effective when called upon to replace Tavares after breaking his finger and recently was shifted to the wing to play in the top six with Andreas Johnsson, Trevor Moore and Ilya Mikheyev out. The 25-year-old has 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) and his play has improved in the last few weeks after a serious facial injury in early November.
Grade – B
Jason Spezza
Spezza was the poster child for Mike Babcock’s misuse of the roster. The 36-year-old was scratched on opening night against Ottawa and was in and out of the lineup until Keefe took over, but since has 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 21 games, has been elevated to the third line with Pierre Engvall and Kasperi Kapanen, and on the Leafs second power play.
Grade – B-
Frederik Gauthier
Gauthier has made remarkable strides since being the Leafs first-round pick in 2013, and has developed into an effective fourth line winger/center. The 6’5” 232-pound forward will never be a big offensive contributor, but has scored a career-high five goals in 41 games and is the club’s best faceoff man (58.1%).
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»