The stars celebrate (Christopher Mast, Getty Images)
The Maple Leafs finally got out of their funk with a dominant win against the league's newest team, the Seattle Kraken.
Here are my 5 takeaways from an impressive performance to cap off the Western road trip.
1. Mitch Marner is Incredible
Look, I'm not saying that Marner should get off the hook if he puts up another goose egg in the postseason this year. All I am saying is that maybe he deserves a little bit of leeway, because he is currently showing us that he is a dominant player at his best.
Over his last 11 games, Marner has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points, a 164-point pace over a full season. He is doing everything right at even strength, on the man advantage and particularly on the penalty kill. His play while short-handed is the obvious highlight here.
With Dean Chynoweth's new aggressive system allowing Marner to use his speed more often on the penalty kill, Marner is developing into a penalty-killing maestro. He is a major pest and his ability to break up play and quickly lead a rush back is elite.
Marner showed that ability in this game, flying down the right before making a nasty drop pass to David Kampf, who buried a short-handed goal on an empty cage. Marner made a legitimate NHL team look like they were playing junior hockey with a move that will be on highlight reels for the rest of the week.
Marner is now the third-fastest Maple Leaf in history (!) to reach 400 points, behind Syl Apps, a Hall of Famer, and Auston Matthews, a future Hall-of-Famer. Not bad for somebody who is supposedly overpaid.
2. Second Line Shows Promise
Man, the second line has not been good over the past month or so. But Alex Kerfoot, John Tavares and William Nylander each had good games at 5-on-5. Hopefully this marks a turning point for the trio, who have been downright liabilities at even strength for the past few games.
Kerfoot notched a marker against the team that passed on him in the expansion draft, which I must admit, was pretty funny. Tavares forechecked well all game and nearly had one of his own, but he was denied by the post. Nylander has two well-earned assists, though his giveaway on the first goal was downright excusable.
There have been rumours linking the Leafs with a middle-six left winger to play on this line, but acquiring a forward, whoever it may be, would likely prevent Kyle Dubas from picking up a defenseman, which would be a mistake.
If this line can get back to their best and drive the play at a consistent rate, this team is in much better shape for the playoffs.
3. Bunting for Calder
We thought that Bunting would be good when Dubas offered him a contract for under $1 million in the offseason. I don't think anybody expected this.
Bunting has been one of the best value contracts in the NHL this season. He is third in the NHL in cost per goal leaders behind fellow rookie Tanner Jeannot and Anaheim's hotshot Troy Terry, as per CapFriendly. He makes just $63K for each goal he has scored this season, which is considered outrageous by most middle-class people, but considered like a bargain in the NHL world.
Bunting has been a seamless fit on the top line. The Leafs needed to find a partner for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but because of the cap scenario, it needed to be somebody cheap. Bunting has been perfect.
Marner fits the playmaking role to a tee and Matthews is the star center who is world-class on offense and defense. Bunting helps create space for his linemates by getting in front of the net and letting his superstar teammates do the work that they appreciate.
4. Campbell Gets a Confidence Booster
We've seen Jack Campbell be hard on himself in the past, so his struggles in 2022 likely have not helped him mentally. This game was a well-deserved confidence booster for "Soupy". He wasn't excellent by any means, but it's just the second time he has conceded two goals or less over his past 9 games.
It's looking like Campbell might not even have the starter job locked up for the playoffs and that the coaching staff will favour whomever if playing at their best over the last couple of weeks of the regular season. We all know that Campbell can get there, as we watched him early in the season.
I pray that this performance will put Campbell in the right frame of mind for the next few games.
5. Kraken Whiffed on Goaltending
Boy, what a swing and a miss the Kraken had on Philipp Grubauer. The offseason after a dominant season put him in the Vezina conversation, Seattle was clearly convinced, as they tossed the bag at the German goalie. To back him up, Florida's Chris Driedger, who had often played better than Sergei Bobrovsky with the Panthers, but was left unprotected by Florida.
The Kraken, hoping to be in the playoff mix, felt that goaltending was the most important part of any contending team, so GM Ron Francis paid out hefty contracts to the two goaltenders. It's safe to say that decision has backfired.
Driedger hasn't been awful, but he hasn't been very good either. He has a goals saved above expected per 60 mark of -0.434 and his save percentage on SOGs is .890.
Grubauer, by contrast, has just been brutal. Among all goalies with 15 or more appearances, Grubauaer's mark of -0.794 goals saved above expected per 60 is easily the worst in the league.
The Kraken do a decent job of possessing the puck, as they showed in this game, but if they can't get more out of their goaltending tandem, they are doomed to rebuild.
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