Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs’ OT Win vs. Panthers NHL Trade Talk.
It was a wild game. In the end, the Toronto Maple Leafs came from far behind (they were behind 4-1) to beat the Florida Panthers in overtime by a score of 5-4. The game saw two Maple Leafs’ stars at work.
One star was Ilya Samsonov, who replaced Matt Murray early in the second period and stopped all 11 shots he faced. That gave the Maple Leafs a chance to inch back goal-by-goal. Murray had given up four goals on eight shots in 21:41 of ice time before he left.
The second star was William Nylander, who scored the game-winner at 1:53 of overtime. It was his 24th goal of the season. Once again, it was patented Nylander play where he seemed to create this goal out of nothing but his great effort. He started to carry the puck deep in Florida’s zone and didn’t quit until it was behind the goalie.
Before his overtime heroics, Nylander had tied the game with the only goal in the third period. He also added an assist on Auston Matthews’ power-play goal just before the second period ended.
Mitch Marner registered two assists to extend his home point streak to a club-record 19 games. Dryden Hunt and Alex Kerfoot also scored for the Maple Leafs. The team had lost their previous two games and might have lost this one, too. Except for the heroics described here.
Takeaway One: Matt Murray Needs Relief
As noted, Matt Murray was the starting goaltender against the Panthers. He had a rough start in his last game and allowed four goals on 34 shots. He lost 4-3 to the Boston Bruins in Saturday’s game. He was looking to bounce back last night; however, he did worse than he had against the Bruins.
Murray was replaced by Samsonov in the second period after he his four goals on eight shots. In truth, he wasn’t helped by his team in front of him. They were simply not playing well, and Murray took the brunt of the problems.
Regardless, Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe decided enough was enough and made a change in the net as a way to spur his team’s performance. The move worked. The team was able to crawl and claw back into the game.
For Murray, it was the second start in a row where he had allowed four goals. In fact, it’s the fourth time in his last seven games it’s happened. Currently, his record is 11-5-2, with a goals-against-average of 2.73 and a .911 save percentage for the season.
Related: Ex-Maple Leafs’ Defenseman Jake Gardiner: Where Is He Now?
Takeaway Two: Ilya Samsonov Inspires the Victory
Samsonov’s relief appearance helped his team secure the win. It was his 13th win of the season against four regulation losses and an overtime loss. He also has posted a goals-against-average of 2.24 with a save percentage of .916.
Samsonov has not been playing consistently well over the last six games, but he sure was Ilya-on-the-spot last night. With Murray struggling, what might this mean for Samsonov? Will the team utilize strict time-sharing between the two goalies? Will one goalie emerge as the goalie who performs consistently well?
More to come.
Related: Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs’ 4-3 Loss to Bruins
Takeaway Three: William Nylander Makes the Difference
As described earlier, William Nylander had an outstanding game. He scored both the game-tying goal and the overtime winner, and he added an assist. The Maple Leafs were down 4-1 but they came back with Nylander contributing the bulk of the heavy lifting.
Credit Nylander for staying the course. Surprisingly (to me), he missed a penalty shot in the game, but he just kept pushing. Good karma, because he ended up having a puck go in off him about five minutes later to tie the game at 4-4.
Nylander has been consistently good this season. He might be kept off the scoresheet for a game or two; however, even when he doesn’t score, he’s still found ways to get into the fray and help his team win. Don’t tell Maple Leafs’ fans who wanted him gone last season, but he’s setting himself apart from other good players. He’s becoming an elite player.
Now the only question is what kind of a contract will this kind of play inspire? But that’s a question for Nylander and the Maple Leafs to figure out in the summer of 2024. It’s likely going to be a big one.
Related: THE MAPLE LEAFS #1 NEED AT THE TRADE DEADLINE
Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs’ OT Win vs. Panthers NHL Trade Talk.
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