Morgan Rielly (Toronto Maple Leafs, Twitter)
After a shaky road trip brought out the magnifying lens on the Leafs' mental fortitude, they prevailed in a physical game, while getting good goaltending from somebody not named Jack Campbell.
Here are my 5 takeaways from a defensive show on Long Island.
1. More of this from Mrazek, Please
`It's been a downright awful Leafs tenure for veteran goalie Petr Mrazek. He has dealt with too many injuries, hasn't been particularly excellent when he was in the net and has given Jack Campbell the near impossible task of keeping the Leafs' D-corps from sinking all on his own.
This sort of game is what Leafs fans were hoping for from the Czech. It was his first win with a .900 SV% or higher in the Blue and White. He stayed calm under pressure, making comfortable saves when the Islanders threw all their bodies at the net. He made a really nice save on Cal Clutterbuck late in the second.
With Jack Campbell's recent struggles almost certainly stemming from an excessive workload, if Mrazek can show the form he flashed at times in Carolina and Detroit, the Leafs will have one of the league's best tandems.
The Leafs have 44 games left and a lot of back-to-backs due to COVID-19-related postponements. Realistically, Mrazek should start anywhere between 15-20 of those games, allowing the Leafs to roll out a fresh Jack Campbell for the first round of the playoffs.
2. Give "Captain Morgan" his All-Star Nod
The fact that Morgan Rielly didn't make the All-Star game in his 2018-19 season, which was one of the best seasons by a Leafs defenseman in the 21st century was outrageous. Even more stunning is that Rielly has improved as a player since that year and is yet to make an All-Star roster.
He was the Leafs' best player tonight on both sides of the puck and has been utterly brilliant this season. We're a long way from the Leafs being criticized for inking Rielly to a lucrative new contract early in the season. He and his D partner TJ Brodie have been so good this campaign.
Of all regular defensemen tandems (I define "regular" as over 400 minutes played together), Brodie-Rielly is third in the league in terms of xGoals%. Only MacKenzie Weegar-Aaron Ekblad and Oliver Kylington-Chris Tanev is higher. In a year where the Leafs depth defensemen have struggled at times, their top pair has been top-tier.
3. Engvall Trade Rumours are a Thing of the Past
When Ilya Mikheyev was scheduled to return from injury, it was speculated that the Leafs would try to bury Pierre Engvall's contract or trade him for a late-round pick of some sort. Here we are, a few months later, and that proposal seems ridiculous. Engvall has been red-hot lately, combining the potential we all knew he had with some better decision-making. He has 10 points in his last 14 games.
In the absence of Ondrej Kase, the Mikheyev-Kampf-Engvall line has been incredible. They had an 88.3 xGoals% tonight. I haven't seen a mark that high in a couple weeks at least.
Kampf's defensive prowess has been well-documented (he led the Leafs in short-handed minutes yet again), though Mikheyev and Engvall's speed constantly impresses me. Kampf can't drive play very well, but with the two speedsters on his wing, the Leafs are rarely troubled in their own zone with that line on the ice.
We'll see what happens with Engvall when Kase returns, but the Swede is putting in a good account of himself.
4. The Atlantic is Loaded
4 of the top 10 teams in the league in terms of points percentage are in the Atlantic Division. The red-hot Boston Bruins are just three points behind the Leafs and could kick the Leafs out of the top-3 in the division soon at the rate they are playing.
The hilarious thing is that this could benefit the Leafs. Right now, the Leafs would play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first-round. The same Tampa Bay Lightning that have won two consecutive Stanley Cups. By falling behind the Bruins, the Leafs would play either the Florida Panthers or the Carolina Hurricanes. Both are incredible teams, don't get me wrong, but neither of them have the postseason experience of the Lightning.
The Leafs will try to keep winning, but because of the outrageous playoff system, they'll have to face a titan of the league in the first round.
5. The Islanders are Finding their Identity
The Islanders are not making the playoffs. They started off too poorly to really make a run. However, they seem to be giving a fight, which is what they always do.
The difference in intensity from the last time I watched an Isles game and now is notable. Even after the loss last night, they are 7-3-1 in their last 11. They lay out big hits, get good goaltending and have a frustrating penalty kill. They could definitely play spoiler to a few teams, which is why I'm happy the Leafs came out with the passion to match New York's.
On that note, rest in peace to Islanders legend Clark Gillies. From what I've heard and read, he was one of the nastiest players to play against due to his aggressive style, but he could just as easily score 30 goals in a season as he could shut the best players down.
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