Rich Graessle (Getty Images)
A pummeling of the New Jersey Devils helped the Leafs ease into the All-Star break with style.
Here are my 5 takeaways from a 7-1 win in the Garden State.
1. Marner's Goal Streak Continues
We expect a 7-game goal streak from Auston Matthews. It happens a couple times every season. Mitch Marner, on the other hand, is not the guy you'd tip to go on a run like he is right now.
Two goals and two assists on the night helped Marner have his most dynamic game of the season. Not only was he operating well inside the triangle and making intelligent passes, but he was digging deep in the corners and ripping shots from farther out than usual. His play recently has been very all-around and it is clear that he is taking some of the criticism about his lack of shooting ability personally.
He probably could have had a couple more goals as well. Jon Gillies made two nice stops when Marner used his speed to get in all alone out front. Either way, he is taking up more of a goal-scoring mentality and it is very exciting.
` Marner now has 16 points in the 7 games since he returned from quarantine, a 187-point pace.
2. Campbell Rewards Keefe's Faith
No matter which way you frame it, it's been a dismal month of January for Jack Campbell. He has basically played himself out of the Vezina Trophy race with one poor month. His worst performance of the season came on Monday, when he was pulled in the first period after giving up 3 goals on 9 shots.
It made sense for Keefe to put Campbell out there again last night, but there was possibly a little hesitancy among Leafs fans when they saw the low-on-confidence goaltender step out there against an offense that had his number just 24 hours prior.
Sure, it helped that the Devils had an atrociously bad start. They couldn't create anything, couldn't win any puck battles and were giving the puck away multiple times every shift. I've always felt that "Soupy" needs to build up some confidence with an early lead before he can reach his peak performance. An early 3-0 lead provided that for him and he passed the test.
His robbery on Nathan Bastian was vintage Campbell, stretching out to make a clever blocker save. He stayed mentally strong, which is important when your offense is so dynamic. It becomes easy to get distracted when you have so much support in front of you, but Campbell was very good.
3. Tavares and Nylander Kept Quiet Again
The Leafs have been a dynamic powerhouse on offense over the past two weeks, filling the net whenever they choose. Strangely, two of their best players, John Tavares and William Nylander, have been kept off the scoresheet for the most part.
Nylander doesn't have a point in the last three games, a span during which the Leafs have scored 19 goals. Tavares also didn't manage a point against the Devils in either game.
It hasn't been a problem because of how well the other lines are performing, but in their next game against Carolina, these two are going to need to step it up if Toronto wants to prove that they are a real powerhouse.
4. Depth Forwards Continue to Impress
` Something has gotten into the Leafs' lesser known forwards lately.
Ilya Mikheyev has tied his goal total from last year in 41 less games. After scoring just 1 goal last year, David Kampf has 5 goals and has a good chance to reach 10 to break his previous career-high. Pierre Engvall has set a new career-high in goals and points this campaign. So has Michael Bunting.
Maybe they are not on the same level as the Florida Panthers or the Colorado Avalanche in terms of lighting the lamp, but they are now fourth in the NHL in goals for per game with a mark of 3.60, only behind the other teams I mentioned and the Minnesota Wild.
Even without valuable contributions from their second line in this home-and-home sweep over the Devils, they still averaged 6.5 goals per game. This is very encouraging.
5. The Devils' Goaltending Woes
It's been a pretty rotten season for New Jersey. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt have both been very good, but they are getting very few contributions elsewhere. Dougie Hamilton has missed a lot of time with a jaw injury. But what has really doomed the Devils this year has been their goaltending issue.
The once-promising MacKenzie Blackwood has been awful with a .894 SV%. Free agent signing Jonathan Bernier hasn't been much better and his now out for the season with a long-term injury. Jon Gillies, who was awful tonight, has actually been New Jersey's best goalie this year, but still has a sub-.900 save percentage. Prospect Nico Daws has had struggles adapting to the NHL. Akira Schmid has been incredible in the AHL this season, but his staggeringly bad 4.83 goals against average proves that he is not an NHL-caliber goaltender.
In their last 15 games, the Devils have an xGoals% of 53%, twelfth in the league. They also have the third best penalty kill and the sixth best power play in the entire NHL over that span. You also need to realize that they've done it all with their best defenseman, Dougie Hamilton. Despite all those impressive analytics, an .884 SV% during that stretch means they've had to settle for an ugly 5-10-0 record.
Currently, New Jersey's goalies can't stop a beach ball.
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