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5 Takeaways: TOR 1-ARI 2

 

Mark J. Rebilas (USA Today)

    The Leafs went into an obvious trap game in Arizona and lost despite outplaying the Yotes for the entire game. 
    Here are my 5 takeaways from Toronto's frustrating loss in the desert.

1. Conditioning Needs Work

    Though I really wasn't annoyed with how the Leafs played tonight, Sheldon Keefe was adamant that this was by far their worst game of this recent road trip. He brought up conditioning often, saying that when the Leafs needed Mrazek to make a big save, he wasn't ready. He also said that the power play looked tired last night, which I can agree with wholeheartedly.
    It's not just the Leafs either. Turns out it is hard to play a hard game of hockey two nights in a row. Of all 88 instances this season in which an NHL team has played two away games on successive nights, there have only been 16 times in which a team has swept the pair of games.
    However, the Leafs need to work on this for the playoffs. The postseason is a tough time, where players often collapse from exhaustion and pressure.
    Keefe needs to instill this mental and physical fortitude to avoid silly results like the one in Arizona tonight.

2. Vejmelka is Czech for Vezina

    I've watched two Arizona Coyotes games this season prior to the game last night. One of them was the Columbus Blue Jackets bombarding Carter Hutton on the first day of their season. The second was Czech rookie goalie Karel Vejmelka standing on his head against the Winnipeg Jets in a shootout victory. 
    Vejmelka has saved exactly 0.0 goals above expected, meaning he is quite possibly the most average goaltender in the NHL, but he is putting up a very respectable .910 SV% on a terrible team.
    In last night's game, the Leafs put up 5.89 expected goals, as per Natural Stat Trick. After 40 minutes, their expected goal tally surpassed all but three games that they have played this season. Yet Vejmelka stood strong. 
    Vejmelka is the next Kevin Lankinen. An unknown rookie goalie who steps into an important role and takes over the crease for a rebuilding team. Let's see if his play loses them Shane Wright, as they have now overtaken Montreal for 31st in the league.

3. Part of the Game

    The Leafs were served a dose of their own medicine tonight. After months of Jack Campbell saving the Leafs late in games, Toronto was "goalie'd" tonight. They didn't deserve to leave Gila River Arena with nothing to show for it, but you could probably argue that they didn't deserve to leave Vegas with two points either.
    It just wasn't their night and it was Vejmelka's.
    They'll need to find ways to execute their chances to make sure this doesn't happen again. However, if they keep getting chances, they should be fine whether it be against the worst teams in the league or the best teams.

4. Auston Matthews Dominates at Home

    The recurring joke last night was that Matthews would never sign in Arizona as he'd have to play second fiddle to Karel Vejmelka. As funny as that joke is, Matthews was the only player tonight even close to reaching Vejmelka's level. He has now broken the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise record for consecutive road games with a goal (9). 
    He showcased his slick release on the only Leafs goal of the night, but his skill was even more on display. He made some crisp passes, cycled the puck well and his stickhandling was beautiful.
    As pointed out by theAthletic's James Mirtle, Matthews is now on pace for 60 goals this year, despite missing some games at the start of the year. Frankly it's hard to expect anything other than 60. He might now be the favourite for the Rocket Richard Trophy. 

5. Make-or-Break Time for the Leafs 

    Toronto has 6 games before the February break which was previously scheduled for Olympics. They have at least 2 days between each of their next 6 games, meaning conditioning shouldn't be an issue like it was. Yes, the Blues and the Rangers (their next two opponents) are both excellent teams competing for their respective division titles, but it isn't unreasonable to expect Toronto to go 6-0-0 over the next few weeks. 
    If they can go undefeated, they'll trim the gap to the Panthers and Lightning. If they want to win the Atlantic Division, they must do well at the end of this road trip. That would likely mean a matchup with the Boston Bruins, which is scary due to the two teams' history. However, they need to avoid the two Florida juggernauts at all costs.
    If they go 3-3-0 or something along those lines, a playoff berth might not be guaranteed. It's time to get ready for a crucial period in Leafs Nation.

    



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