Quite the road warriors, these Maple Leafs.
After beating the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena, the Leafs will go for a four-game western trip sweep when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Including wins in recent days in Calgary and Edmonton, the Leafs have improved to 14-8-2 on the road and are one point behind the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division. And they’re six points up on third-place Tampa Bay.
Our takeaways from the Leafs’ 33rd win in 54 games in 2024-25:
ANTHONY AWESOME
In returning from a knee injury, goaltender Anthony Stolarz wanted to ensure he was all the way back and gave himself enough practices to cement that feeling.
In his first game since Dec. 12, when he had to leave a game against the Anaheim Ducks, Stolarz played like he missed no time at all.
Stolarz moved around the crease like he did in the first couple months of the season, when he recorded a .927 save percentage, good for first in the National Hockey League, before he was hurt.
There was no hesitation in the way Stolarz played, and on the odd occasion he was not square to the puck, his athleticism allowed him make some big saves.
“Missing that much time, you want to come out and have a positive result and get the two points, but the guys did a great job helping me ease back into it,” Stolarz told media in Seattle. “Probably two days ago, I knew this was where I wanted to be and this was where I wanted to start. Thought it was a good opportunity to get one in before the break.”
How crucial was it for Stolarz to get a start before the 4 Nations Face-Off break?
“I checked all the boxes and there was really nothing else left to do (in preparation),” Stolarz said. “If we had games and I was ready, I wanted to get in there.”
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Stolarz was named the first star after making 26 saves. Though Seattle scored its only goal in the third period, Stolarz made 10 saves in the final 20 minutes, none bigger than a point-blank save (without his stick) on Shane Wright as Max Pacioretty served a tripping minor.
In the second, Stolarz snared a Brandon Montour shot from the slot with ease.
What the Leafs have now, with one game remaining before the break, is a good problem. Joseph Woll was steady, and excellent at times, during the span that Stolarz was absent.
Once the Leafs get back to action after the break on Feb. 22 against the Carolina Hurricanes, coach Craig Berube and his staff will map out a plan as it pertains to the team’s two goalies. He really can’t go wrong with either one, no matter the situation.
Looking at it from the season as a whole, there has been nothing to indicate from Stolarz or Woll that they can’t handle, and excel in, whatever comes at them.
“You feel it all the way through,” winger Bobby McMann said of the confidence that is derived from the Leafs’ goaltending. “You know that sometimes you’re going to give up some tough looks and they have been there backstopping us all year and sometimes we take advantage of it.
“We want to appreciate them every single game and every single play and every big stop they make because it really drives us.”
MARNER MILESTONE
Every few games or so, it seems, Mitch Marner hits another milestone that most NHL players can’t hope to attain.
On Thursday, when Marner assisted on defenceman Philippe Myers’ goal in the first period, it was Marner’s 500th assist in his NHL career, coming in his 629th game.
Not only did Marner become just the fourth Leafs player in team history with 500 assists, he became the fastest Leafs member to do so.
Others in the Leafs’ 500-assist club include Borje Salming (620 assists), Mats Sundin (567) and Darryl Sittler (527).
“It’s really cool,” Marner said. “I don’t really want solo achievements in this league, or enjoy them as much as maybe people (think he) should, so a lot of credit to the guys around me who have been here since Day 1, and some guys who have moved on.
“They’re the ones putting the puck in the net and I’m just trying to find them in the right areas and lucky enough it has worked out.
“I’ll enjoy it for the night and then forget about it.”
We think Marner should take the time to recognize these feats, as rare as they are.
His teammates have no problems tossing accolades in his direction.
“I think the sees the ice better than anyone, the way he plays the game, the way he thinks it is different,” McMann said. “Not surprised he has 500, it’s an incredible milestone.”
It wasn’t a great night for the new line of John Tavares between William Nylander on the left and Marner on the right. Nylander had two shots on goal, Marner one and Tavares none.
“I thought they were fine but I thought they could have executed better on some situations that they didn’t, they normally would,” Berube said. “There were opportunities for them to strike, but I didn’t think that they executed well enough. In general, our team execution was off.”
Put us in the group that figures it won’t be too long before Marner is back with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
RATHER SPECIAL
Not only did the power play provide another goal — the Leafs are 5-for-9 on the trip and have scored with a man advantage in each game — the penalty kill was on point.
Seattle was 0-for-5 on the power play.
“It was our structure,” Berube said. “When the goalie needed to make a save, he did. The PK was aggressive, I didn’t think we gave them too much time, I thought we pressured well, cleared pucks when we needed to and did all the little things right.”
On the trip, the Leafs are 10-for-12 on the kill.
The narrative that the power play is struggling is stale. Since Jan. 1, the Leafs are fourth in the NHL on the power play at 32.4%. That’s more in line with the talent the club boasts.
McMann scored on the power play on Thursday, re-directing a Morgan Rielly shot past goalie Joey Daccord. The Leafs were 1-for-3.
“We’re shooting pucks a little more and playing a bit more free,” McMann said of the reasons for success. “When you’re always a threat to shoot the puck, I think teams respect that a little bit more. We found some stuff around the net and from there, it opens the seams and those plays we’ve been able to hit.”
There’s no reason that should not continue.
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