Leafs vs. Wild: Seven Takeaways From A 3-2 Loss

The Leafs played a decent, but losing, game last night. Here are some thoughts.

1. William Nylander is an offensive God: like the lithe Thor he so much resembles, Willie was all over the place last night, the best possession player on his struggling possession line and a star on the PP. After the early fireworks from Matthews and Marner, Willie has been probably the best of the Leafs' three princes in the past two games. His patented break-in strategy of carrying the puck in, curling away from contact and hitting the trailer is simultaneously predictable and hard to stop, because he's such a superb puck-carrier. His defensive game needs some work, as with all the rookie/rookie-esque players, but the kid now has 17 points in his last 17 NHL games.

2. The breakouts need work, Vol. III. In every game since Ottawa, the Leafs have had a real problem transitioning out of their own zone. The problem was noticeable in the Boston win and excruciating in the Winnipeg loss. It was back down to merely noticeable in this game, but it still meant that there were uneasy sequences of strong Minnesota pressure that were extended when the Leafs failed to make successful clears. I'd say this is necessary fix #1 for this team--and keep in mind, this team has been within reach of a win every game, so if there's improvement to be had there, this team could approach being actually good.

3. Defence is hard: This wasn't exactly a banner night for the Leafs' D. I thought Rielly generally had a good game, except he made an inexplicably aggressive decision to try and attack the puck-carrier as a two-on-one developed in the neutral zone. The puck carrier (Charlie Coyle) promptly threw it to the other forward (Eric Staal) who streaked in and scored on the resulting break, tying the game 1-1. It feels harsh to focus on this, because there was generally a lot to like about Rielly's evening--dude is a machine at generating shot attempts for the team--but the price of playing defence is getting tagged for the big mistake.

Matt Hunwick had another dismal game on the possession charts and didn't show anything to convince you the possession charts were wrong. On the upside, Roman Polak subbed in and had a pretty good game, doing his physical, toiling Roman Polak thing, and even firing off a goal (!) on a nicely placed blue-line snapper to get the Leafs on the board. I still don't love his game, but there's an increasingly credible case that with him as 6D over Hunwick, the Leafs would be better.

4. The best fourth line in hockey?: Matt Martin's line bore this title for the Islanders, but I think his line with Holland and Brown might make a play for the mantle. They're balanced, they play a strong defensive game, and they have enough offence in them to be dangerous. Matt Martin has been as advertised, a solid depth winger; Holland and Brown are both making cases that they're talented enough to rise up the lineup.

5. No goalie controversy: Enroth allowed a "he's-gotta-have-that" goal to Zac Dalpe, when the oft-injured forward scored from a very sharp, steep angle despite being largely pushed to the outside on an attempted break. He didn't look much better on the third goal. Much as I liked some of his early work, it's not a good game if you allow one-and-a-maybe bad goals. Hopefully Freddie gets his bearings in Chicago.

6. Where the Wild things rank: Eric Staal was a Leaf-killer with the Hurricanes and he was a Leaf-killer tonight. His sink into obscurity with Carolina masked that he was and still is an excellent offensive player, as the Leafs found out. Having said that, the Leafs made it easier on him than they should have--here, have a breakaway, Eric--but the fact remains he knew what to do with his chances. Devan Dubnyk also was the better goalie tonight, and did yeoman service in the Wild net. Him outplaying Enroth made the difference, in the end.

7. You win some...problems aside, this was a winnable game for the Leafs. Partly that makes it painful they managed to lose it, and the can't-hold-third-period-leads narrative is churning up as we speak. But the Leafs have played three consecutive mid-level teams about even for long stretches, and there isn't a doubt in my mind they're better than last year. At the risk of becoming the Sunshine Brigade: keep your chin up, boys.