Maple Leafs report cards: Mitch Marner plays defenceman and overtime hero vs. Canadiens

By / / Sports / 5 minutes of reading


The final regular-season Hockey Night in Canada for the Toronto Maple Leafs wasn’t as electric as many would expect. Instead of it being a flashy display of offence between two skilled teams, it wound up being an efficient defensive performance through and through. The scoring chances were relatively even all night, but there was a significant difference in shots on goal. Montreal didn’t hit double-digit shots until the 5:50 mark of the third, and by the time regulation ended, the Leafs were up 34-15.

Craig Berube emphasized the importance of team defence ahead of this game, with the Leafs only dressing five defenders, and the team answered the call. Stolarz had a relatively easy night aside from some moments here and there. Toronto limited the Habs’ offensive zone time and kept things to the outside. They also did a good job preventing second and third opportunities on Stolarz, which they got on Jakub Dobes on occasion.

Things opened for a few minutes in the third, and it looked like the hockey gods might turn around and ironically smile on Montreal for what Dobes was doing in net. Now, I wouldn’t say he was stealing the game for the Habs. The power play is likely the main stain on the Leafs’ night, with them not scoring on four opportunities. On a night like this, the man advantage could’ve taken Montreal out of it completely, but Toronto needed to wait for its only shot in overtime to beat Dobes for a 1-0 win.

The Leafs clinched a playoff spot, and now they’ve clinched home ice in the first round. Next stop: the Atlantic Division title.

Final grade: A

Player reports

Brandon Carlo: A+

Carlo was fantastic — ignoring the stumble in overtime — especially in the neutral zone. He did a good job using his body to break up the transition in the neutral zone, which worked well when he was on his offside. His best play in the game was a great use of hand-eye coordination to knock down a breakaway pass to Josh Anderson. If that got by, Anderson was gone, and given his love of scoring against the Leafs, it could’ve been a difference.

Anthony Stolarz: A

With how well the Leafs defended, Stolarz didn’t have to do much, but he showed up when needed for the 15-save shutout. The game was in “first goal wins” territory for a while, and he stopped everything he faced amidst some rebound scares here and there. Ironically, his best moment wasn’t registered as a save. Nick Suzuki had the game on his stick in overtime, and Stolarz stuck with him the whole way, stretching his pads.

Morgan Rielly: A

Led all defencemen in ice time (25:43) and tied for most shot attempts at five-on-five, and he came up clutch with his stick checks. His best by far came off an odd-man rush where Suzuki shot to create a rebound for Cole Caufield. Rielly got to him with a stick check and stopped the shot from going off.

Simon Benoit: A

Two shots and five hits for Benoit. He’s still jumping in and continuing his steady play.

Chris Tanev: A

Excellent lane coverage at five-on-five, especially on the penalty kill.

Auston Matthews: A

Five shots on the night for Matthews, and he did a good job going up against the Suzuki line. He nearly fired off a vintage toe-drag snipe, but it was blocked in the slot.

Mitch Marner: A-

It was no surprise seeing Marner lineup on the blue line with Carlo. Two of the team’s defensive lapses came off his stick, leading to odd-man rushes against, but he came up big on special teams and overtime. All it took was one shot.

John Tavares: B+

Tied with Marner for most shots on net at six. His scoring chances created a lot of chaos for Dobes. Those net-drive sequences were one thing, but he forced save after save on the man advantage. He was also pretty strong one-on-one against Lane Hutson. At times, he would forget the puck and just take the body on him.

Nick Robertson: B+

Robertson was shot out of a cannon to start the game. He had hits on Juraj Slafkovský and Caufield off his opening shift and kept them going as the game went on. He also had one of the team’s best chances to score.

William Nylander: B

He briefly left the game in the first but came back and put four shots on net, going on to get the primary assist on Marner’s game winner.

Matthew Knies: B

It wasn’t an offensive night for Knies; his only shot came off the power play from the blue paint, but he did a good job putting pressure on the Habs’ backchecking.

Philippe Myers: B

Played the fewest minutes on the blue line. He had some shaky moments, including a failed zone clear along the boards that gave the Habs an extended run in the Leafs’ end.

Scott Laughton: B

Back-to-back games with a goal-saving stick check on Jake Evans. Laughton also went 4-0 in the faceoff dot.

Calle Järnkrok: B

Järnkrok had two high-danger chances for the Leafs, but only one hit the net. He also had a good post-penalty kill shift with Robertson, where he drew a holding penalty spinning around Brendan Gallagher.

Max Domi: B

He had a centre-ice fight against Kaiden Guhle after Guhle had big hits on Bobby McMann and Tavares. Domi also had three odd-man rushes in the third with his speed, but not much was generated from them.

Pontus Holmberg: C

The 2LW carousel went around a bit in the third, and Holmberg got a turn.

Bobby McMann: C

I thought maybe McMann may be reunited with Tavares and Nylander, but he didn’t have any shots and only one attempt in the game.

Steven Lorentz: C

Lorentz played the fewest minutes, threw two hits, but didn’t have a shot attempt.

Game Score

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What’s next for the Leafs?

It’s the final back-to-back of the season for the Leafs as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. on Sportsnet.

(Photo: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)





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