The Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Florida Panthers 3-0 for only their second win in their last nine games in 'Miami'. The team rode 37 saves from Ben Scrivens and goals by Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri, and Clarke MacArthur to pick up their tenth win of the season. Prior to the game, I asked five questions so let's see at what answers we got:

  1. Will the Leafs allow fewer than five goals tonight? Well, this time they allowed zero. They should always try to do that.
  2. Will the Leafs' powerplay shooting percentage start ticking upwards? The Leafs went 1 for 2 on the powerplay with six shots so it did improve.
  3. Will Colton Orr remain on Nazem Kadri's wing? He was on their line again and the line still scored and it kind of sort of happened because he drew a defender away to create some open space. Mostly it was because of MacArthur skating into space and Kadri making a sick pass but credit where credit's due.
  4. Can the Leafs' penalty kill remain above 80%? It killed all three penalties and only allowed one shot on goal so I'd say that is pretty impressive.
  5. Will one of the Leafs' better offensive players start getting some breaks? Grabovski didn't score but Kessel did bury a 38-foot shot off the bar.
GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG Swag SOG PCT
2012 - Nazem Kadri 16 5 9 14 5 6 4 0 0 Off the charts 32 15.6

Nifty Mittens is living up to both his nickname and the belief placed in him by a lot of fans that didn't write him off despite playing a few extended periods with the Toronto Marlies. He's been put in a position to succeed and he's taken the opportunity with both hands. Presumably before toe-dragging it around a prone defenceman and slipping it past the goalie

GP MIN W L Cornell Degrees GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
2012 - Ben Scrivens 8 436 4 3 1 14 1.93 230 216 .939 2

Prior to this year, James Reimer had put together a decent chunk of NHL time so there was some idea of what he could provide the Leafs when healthy. Scrivens on the other hand had a few NHL games where he looked like a disaster and a strong track record in the AHL. He didn't kick off the year in a confidence-inducing manner but he's been much, much better of late. If he could also pan out then a homegrown pair of goalies could help the Leafs save a lot of cap space going forward. Early days still but a guy can dream.

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG UFA? SOG PCT
2012 - Clarke MacArthur 13 3 2 5 -1 4 0 0 0 This summer 26 11.5

MacArthur hasn't had a settled season which kind of mirrored last year but he's a guy that I hope has a future with the Leafs going forward. If the team is going to run three skill lines then MacArthur is important because he can fit in on a checking line or he can produce offence. His goal was a thing of beauty as he read the play, skated into space, and then ripped a wrister home.

Of note last night was that the Leafs' captain Dion Phaneuf picked up an assist to give him six points in his last five games. Four of those points have come on the powerplay which is no surprise as the shooting percentage was due for an increase. All in all, it was a pretty good win for the Leafs.

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