News & Rumors about the Maple Leafs: Matthews, Vasilevskiy, & Edmundson

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at home on Wednesday night, snapping their three-game winning streak. In a nutshell, Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning was superior to Joseph Woll of the Maple Leafs in goal. NHL goal-scoring leader Auston Matthews scored just one goal for Toronto, while Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, and Nick Paul all scored goals for the Lightning.

These two elements propelled Tampa Bay to victory, delaying Toronto’s attempt to secure a postseason berth until a later date. Even though Matthews scored his 63rd goal of the year, the Maple Leafs were unable to handle Nikita Kucherov’s three assists. Woll allowed four goals on twenty-five shots.

With a game remaining, Toronto trails the Florida Panthers by four points for second place in the Atlantic Division as a result of the loss. It was a possibility that did not materialize.

Item 1: Three Reasons the Lightning Overcame the Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs were defeated by the Lightning for three reasons. First, as mentioned, Vasilevskiy provided the Florida team with strong goaltending. The Maple Leafs appeared to have the majority of their valuable time in the offensive zone but were unable to score despite his amazing 28 saves. On the other hand, Tampa Bay took advantage of a few breakouts.

Secondly, the Lightning committed fewer defensive gaffs than the Maple Leafs. Sheldon Keefe, the head coach, acknowledged that his squad committed more errors, especially in the defensive end. Ultimately, Tampa Bay took advantage of odd-man rushes and the openings created by Toronto’s covering errors. The Maple Leafs did not convert, but they did.

Third, aside from Matthews’ goal, Vasilevskiy and the Lightning defense prevented the Maple Leafs’ offense from producing enough high-caliber scoring opportunities. When they did, it was possible to stop them. In the end, Toronto’s inability to score goals led to its loss.

Item 2: Joseph Woll Isn’t Presenting a Strong Enough Case to Start for Toronto in the Playoffs
The fact that Ilya Samsonov had his amazing reset after December is fantastic news. Woll’s performance of late hasn’t strengthened his argument to start the opening playoff game. Even though it wouldn’t be fair to blame him for all four goals, it’s concerning that he keeps allowing the opponent to score on their opening attempt of the match—this was his third goal in four starts.