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5 Takeaways: TOR 6-FLA 7 (OT)

 

Mark Giordano, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner (Kim Klement, USA Today)

    It was 5-1...
   The Leafs lost a game of the year candidate to the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers, despite going up by 4 goals.
    Here are my 5 takeaways from a historic third period collapse.

1. Muzzin-Holl Doesn't Look Great

    It would be unfair to label Jake Muzzin as poor in his return to the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Muzzin-Holl pairing once again had the same shortcomings as it before Muzzin's concussion.
    There simply isn't enough speed or stability on this pairing to defend against elite offensive teams like the Florida Panthers. Though the duo was a neutral in the +/- department and their 48.6 xG% wasn't great, but it wasn't awful, on many occasions, I watched the two players stumble about. They lacked the mobility and the presence of mind to execute breakout passes consistently. This led to the pair being overmatched. 
    On the penalty kill, though there is no shame in succumbing to the quick and efficient Panthers power play, they played really poorly. They never managed to block off the open lanes. They always seemed to leave the most dangerous players on the ice open. It was a stunningly poor effort from what was expected to be Toronto's defensive pairing.
    I'm not sure that Holl is an absolute fixture in this blueline group. On a season-long basis, Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren have both been better than Holl. Even Ilya Lyubushkin accomplishes the body-moving better than Holl does. Holl has been good with TJ Brodie, but then again, everybody has been good with Brodie. I'm not too sure how long Holl can stick around when so many other players are knocking on the door.

2. Mitch Marner Shines in a Dim Evening

    Though it was a very poor result for the Leafs, Mitch Marner's brilliance was on full display in the first half of the game. Not only was he good with his defense, but his offensive game was brilliant as usual. Marner broke the 30-goal barrier for the first year of his successful NHL career. Since January 15, Marner is humming along at a 59-goal, 157-point pace. That is really quite remarkable.
    His shorthanded goal was a thing of beauty. He spun around the entire Panthers team and deked the socks off of their defense corps before slipping it past Sergei Bobrovsky with the ease that only a superstar can replicate.
    That is because Marner is a superstar. He now has 7 successive multi-point games. If he continues on this pace on the special teams, Marner could make a late push for 40 goals and 100 points. Add that to world-class defense on the penalty kill and at 5-on-5. 
    If Matthews wasn't having a season as dominant as the one he is currently having, Marner would be a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate. Marner is a world-class player and even in the darkest of times, the winger can shine the light. 

3. Crisis is Too Strong a Word

    Sure, I was a little frustrated after the game. All Leafs fans were, in all honesty. But I don't think the alarm bells are ringing just yet. If you ignore the circumstances of the game, Toronto went into Florida to face two of the league's best teams and got 3 of 4 possible points. 
    That is darn impressive and I think that the Leafs should get more credit for this two-game stretch than they will truly get. Not many teams can go back-to-back with the two Florida teams and only succumb to an overtime loss. Fair play to the Leafs. This is an important experiment.
    Sheldon Keefe will have learned that William Nylander is still good enough to go back to the second line. He will realize that the Marner-Matthews duo is good enough to build an entire franchise around. He will figure that Justin Holl is the odd man out on defense. Most importantly of all, he will know that the Leafs are a good team with several flaws.
    I will be expecting the worst in the postseason this year, but that has nothing to do with this trip to Florida. 

4. Kallgren Isn't Ready for the Challenge

    We're starting to see just how hurtful Petr Mrazek's injury is to the Leafs' hopes and chances. Though Erik Kallgren was a revelation in his first few games, it's become clear that this was a sample size aberration. He is not good enough yet to be the backup goalie on a contending team.
    Toronto's main goal should be to keep Jack Campbell healthy and fresh for the postseason, but they can only rest him if they can trust Kallgren to stand in. If Kallgren cannot be a reliable backup for Campbell, it could spell disaster for Toronto. 
    I'm not overly positive that the young netminder is prepared for the challenge, especially not if this injury that pulled him out of the game is serious. 

5. The Comeback Kings

    The wildest stat from yesterday's game was this: in the Florida Panthers' first 27 years of existence, they came back from two 4-goal deficits. In the past week, they've done it twice. It's insane.
    Florida have won 5 games this season in which they were down by at least 3 goals at one point. No team in the league, not even Colorado, are capable of putting up a rapid offensive outburst at the same level as the Florida Panthers. 
    The Panthers' goaltending is a concern and their defense is lacking without Aaron Ekblad, but they can outscore anybody in the NHL. That makes them scary.



ALL STATS COURTESY OF MONEYPUCK AND NATURAL STAT TRICK
NO COPYRIGHT INFINGEMENT INTENDED

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