Maple Leafs vs. Ducks observations: Auston Matthews gets another hat trick in blowout win

TORONTO, CANADA - FEBRUARY 17: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 17, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Ducks 9-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
By Omar White
Feb 18, 2024

The Anaheim Ducks walked into Scotiabank Arena hoping to build off their 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. The chances of that were decent, considering the Toronto Maple Leafs’ tendency to play down to their opponent, along with Lukas Dostal getting the start.

For those who may have forgotten, Dostal was the goaltender in Anaheim who nearly gave the Leafs their most frustrating loss of the season after making 55 saves. But there’s a big difference between hoping for a reality and having it come true. As much as the Ducks may have hoped for a positive result, the Leafs wanted it more, and they got it.

The final score matched the overall feel of the game: The Leafs took over, and there wasn’t a moment when that changed. The team had goals from up and down the lineup at five-on-five and on the power play, and Martin Jones had an easy night, stopping 19 of 21.

Three stars

1. Auston Matthews 

We are watching feats from Matthews that haven’t been accomplished this century. He put together back-to-back hat tricks for the second time this season, bringing his total to six. Mario Lemieux was the last player to record that many in a single season and that was back in 1996. Additionally, Matthews’ two assists to go along with these three goals gave him his first career five-point game. When it comes to goal scoring, there’s no one better this season. Matthews is two away from 50, and we have our eyes focused on the number 70, which he is well on his way to reaching.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

'He’s an icon': How Auston Matthews came from the unlikeliest place and rose to hockey stardom

2. Bobby McMann

Injuries and positive team results have given McMann the minutes to show that his AHL production has an NHL flare to it. He got the power play going, scoring his sixth of the season in the first, and outmuscled Radko Gudas on his way to his seventh.

McMann is putting all that’s made him successful to good use. The speed, the skill and the effort are spectacular, and for all the raw production, I thought his most impressive play was his effort ahead of Nick Robertson’s goal to force the offensive zone turnover.

3. Tyler Bertuzzi 

He finally did it. Bertuzzi ended his 19-game goal drought. At first, it looked as if his bad luck would keep on going, but he finally scored his seventh of the season.

Quick shoutouts

Max Domi

Two helpers on the night and he had two scuffles with Gudas, the second of which was in defence of McMann after his second goal.

Timothy Liljegren

His 3-point night on the blue line was a big part in keeping Leo Carlsson off the scoresheet late in the game.

Ryan Reaves

He was also connected with Gudas once or twice, but no one wanted to answer that door.

Killer instinct

The shots were 18-3 after the first period in favour of the Leafs. The man advantage helped as seven of them were on the power play but the Ducks had nothing going for them at five-on-five. Their best scoring chances were deflected shots from Carlsson and Alex Killorn, both of which went wide. Frank Vatrano gave them a bit of life on the power play, but it was 4-1 by the end of the first period. This is where the game got particularly interesting.

Advertisement

The Leafs were up by three goals and had the game in control. Could they keep it that way? Could they hold the Ducks to that single goal against?

Not only did the Leafs keep Anaheim to that single goal, but they also had five of their own. The Ducks had more of a pulse in the middle frame, throwing 10 shots on goal, and it still couldn’t match the four goals the Leafs scored. They were still sharp defensively and didn’t get Anaheim many high-danger chances to work with.

The challenge

I thought it was good for coach Sheldon Keefe to challenge Carlsson’s goal despite the score being 8-1. Jones made the initial save, and the rebound went right out to Carlsson, who buried it. Where the Leafs had a case to challenge was against Ryan Strome, who was in Jones’ way as he tried to get back to the crease to stop Carlsson. Jones had a .933 at that point after stopping 14 of 15 shots. His save percentage would’ve dropped to .875 had the goal counted. It may not matter in the overall look of the game, but it matters to Jones.

Power in the play

The Leafs took advantage of a pretty passive Anaheim power play. The top unit had all the time and space to pass, shoot and recover the puck. Bertuzzi replaced John Tavares on the top unit and got a few looks himself, while Liljegren manned the point and got a primary assist on William Nylander’s 4-1 goal (his 500th NHL point).

Along with Nylander, McMann, Matthews and Bertuzzi all scored on the power play, converting on four of their five opportunities and only allowing one power-play goal by Anaheim.

Marner the defenceman

Keefe has always been one to try out something new, and halfway through the second period, down a defenceman in a blowout game, Mitch Marner joined the defence group. This wasn’t the first time we’ve ever seen Marner on defence (Keefe tried it a bit last season) though it’s always something that gets more interesting the more we see it. He had a few runs with TJ Brodie, and it continued with him playing on the right of Jake McCabe at five-on-five.

Marner isn’t new to commanding the point in offensive situations, but even so, he didn’t look out of place on the blue line and made some good breakout passes out of the zone.

Down another defenceman

The only negative of the night was the Leafs losing William Lagesson to injury. It looked like it happened on his first shift and according to Keefe, it may take some time before they figure out what it is and how long he’ll be out.

Game Score

Final grade: A+

This three-game stretch was the perfect way to respond to that 5-3 loss to the Senators. Since then, the Leafs have been a lot better defensively and are not taking their ability to score for granted. It was 4-1 after the first and 8-1 after the second, and the Leafs didn’t give Anaheim a chance to climb back into the game. Aside from the usual suspects, the team got solid performances out of the entire defence corps (including Marner), with Max Lajoie having a steady night in his 20 minutes of ice time as well as Matthew Knies, Domi and Nicholas Roberston. Saturday’s game was the Maple Leafs at their best: skill and effort, not skill or effort.

What’s next for the Leafs?

The Leafs will be in St. Louis on Monday for a game at 1 p.m. ET.

(Top photo: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Omar White is a hockey contributor for The Athletic whose main focus is game coverage of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has regularly contributed Leafs coverage to SB Nation and Yahoo Sports.