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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – If Monday night was any indication, Auston Matthews and William Nylander are more than ready for the NHL playoffs to begin.

The Maple Leafs’ sophomore stars combined for four goals and six points in Toronto’s 5-2 win over the Sabres, a night where the Leafs also tied the 2003-04 franchise record for points in a single season (103).

Matthews and Nylander each chipped in primary assists on one of the other’s goals, and Monday’s game was the first time in his career Matthews has tallied multiple goals on the power play in a single game. It was a long time coming for his unit, which has lagged well behind the Leafs’ top power play group in production this season.

“[A reporter] was giving it to me this morning about why we’ve been so bad this year, and then were able to score twice tonight,” Matthews said with a laugh after the game. “And rightfully so [we were criticized], but it’s nice. I think the last four or five games we’ve had some good opportunities and scored some goals just from playing simple and getting pucks to the net. It’s always good to give you some confidence.”

With his pair of goals, Matthews has now scored the most goals by a Leaf in his first two NHL seasons combined (73), surpassing the 71-goal mark previously set by Wendel Clark between 1985-87. But the power play has been a point of frustration all season – before exploding on Monday, the Matthews unit comprised of Nylander, Jake Gardiner, Patrick Marleau and one of Leo Komarov, Connor Brown and Andreas Johnsson had accounted for 15 of Toronto’s 51 power play goals.

Granted, Matthews has missed 20 games this season with various injuries and his group is generally deployed second, often not seeing the ice when the first unit – with Tyler Bozak, Mitch Marner, James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly – is successful. But it wasn’t just a lack of opportunity that’s been hurting Matthews and company.

“Their group didn’t have much puck speed; they were frustrated and getting in their own way,” said Mike Babcock. “Now their puck speed is way up and they seem to have it going and have confidence and that’s good for us. You want to be real dangerous on the power play and that’s important.”

“Dangerous” isn’t how Toronto looked out of the gate against the Sabres. With a playoff spot already neatly wrapped up, the Leafs admittedly didn’t bring their A-game in the fourth and final meeting between the division rivals. Andreas Johnsson still managed to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead after the first period, a lead that was gone less than three minutes into the second frame when Sam Reinhart scored on the power play. From there, it the Matthews and Nylander Show for Toronto.

In short order following Reinhart’s strike, Matthews had the Leafs back on top with one of his trademark snipes from the slot with the extra man. The tally was not only Matthews’ first on the power play since Nov. 30, and just the third of his 32 goals scored this season with that unit, but it extended Matthews’ point streak to seven games (10 points), accounting for one in each game since he returned from a shoulder injury on March 22.

“We were able to get the puck back in their end and keep it simple, not try to make too many cute plays,” said Matthews. “We’re just getting the puck to the net and getting guys there and capitalizing on chances now.”

With one goal in the bank, Matthews got to work springing his linemate Nylander. He corralled the puck at the blue line and re-set in the Leafs’ end, spying Nylander sneaking behind the Sabres’ defence. Matthews wound up and sent a perfect two-line pass to Nylander’s tape and Nylander made no mistake going high-glove on Johnson.

Nylander picked the same high-glove spot on Johnson minutes later for his second goal of the night, seeming to catch the goalie off guard with how fast he released the puck from the slot.

“The more you play with someone the more chemistry you build and the more you get to know them and have a feel for where they’re going to be in certain areas,” said Matthews of his pass on Nylander’s first goal. “I think we definitely showed that tonight.”

“If there is an opening, he’s going to try and get me the pass. That’s why I kind of jumped to get there [in position] for it,” added Nylander. “I mean, some stuff you don’t work on, some stuff you do. When it works, it’s nice.”

Returning the favour to his linemate in the third period, Nylander fed Matthews in the right circle on the power play and the centre buried the puck underneath Johnson’s pad to restore the Leafs’ three-goal lead.

Along with their six combined points, Matthews and Nylander put a total of 10 shots on net while finishing (along with fellow linemate Zach Hyman) at a mediocre 44 per cent possession. But more importantly, one of the Leafs’ most dynamic duos was able to re-establish its swagger in an area that will be vital for the Leafs come postseason time.

“Matthews and Nylander have such good shots, you have honour those guys and they move it well too,” said Jake Gardiner. “It’s one of their best assets – they can cut back on you, they can go to the net, they can shoot it. Players like that give you time and room to make space.”

Takeaways

Making his (playoff) case
For a minute there, Andreas Johnsson’s NHL days looked like they were numbered. On Monday, he showed how much more dynamic a lineup with him in it can look for Toronto. After being a healthy scratch on Saturday, Johnsson replaced Kasperi Kapanen on the right side of the Leafs’ fourth line with Tomas Plekanec and Matt Martin. It was the first time Kapanen has been scratched since taking over a regular job on Jan. 23, and showed how highly Babcock looks upon Johnsson and what he can contribute. The rookie got down to business in a hurry, scoring Monday’s first goal with the Leafs’ second shot on net. It was Johnsson’s second NHL goal and point in his nine-game stint with the big club. But he wasn’t done there – Johnsson earned the first assist of his NHL career in the second frame with a helper on Matthews’ power play score, making Monday the first multi-point game of Johnsson’s career. Seeing time on both the penalty kill and the power play is rare, and is a prime example of how valuable Johnsson’s skill set is for Babcock. Johnsson is also a far more effective option on Toronto’s second power play unit than either Leo Komarov or Connor Brown have proven to be in the same spot. As it stands now, Johnsson taking Kapanen’s spot seems like a one-off opportunity, and Kapanen has certainly played well of late too and brings a similar speed and skill game to Johnsson’s. Kapanen doesn’t see power play time though, which may give Johnsson a slight edge in terms of upcoming ice time, or could at least persuade Babcock to make that fourth line spot into a rotation between the two freshmen going forward. Johnsson finished plus-one, with three shots on goal and 45 per cent possession.

Big-time blueliners
Not since Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe were patrolling the Leafs’ blueline has Toronto boasted two defencemen with at least 50 points in a season. On Monday, Gardiner joined Morgan Rielly at the 50-point mark with an assist on Matthews’ second power play goal. Rielly achieved the benchmark back on March 30, with an assist against the New York Islanders. Gardiner specifically can be a polarizing player on the Leafs’ back-end because of his risky tendencies with the puck and his decision making at times in the defensive zone. But Babcock sees more to Gardiner than past Leafs’ coaches, and maintains he doesn’t necessarily get all the credit he’s due. “Tonight’s game was a little looser than I’d like it, but both [Gardiner and Rielly] are really good puck movers for us from the back,” said Babcock. “Jake is one of those guys he can just make plays, real good hockey sense, knows where the puck is going next, is a way better defender than people think too. He’s a good hockey player.”

Rolling the wrong way
One of Roman Polak’s primary purposes in the Leafs’ lineup is to act as a penalty killer. So when he was charged with two high-sticking penalties in a six-minute span of the first period against Buffalo, it wasn't a good sign. Adding insult to injury was Polak’s second careless infraction put him in the sin bin for four minutes after he drew blood from Jack Eichel on the swipe to his face. The Leafs put together a terrific penalty kill effort for the first nearly-three minutes of the four-minute kill, until Reinhart tipped a Rasmus Ristolainen point shot past McElhinney to tie the game 1-1. Then in the third period, Polak was at fault for the Leafs’ second power play goal allowed, when he had his back to Jason Pominville and essentially screened McElhinney before he could make the stop. Toronto’s penalty kill has now allowed at least a goal in each of the team’s last three games, going 6-for-11 (54 per cent). Prior to this stretch, the Leafs had allowed just one power play goal in their previous six games (12-for-13) and with playoffs just around the corner, it will be a priority for D.J. Smith to get his penalty killers tightened up before the games really begin to matter.

Saving it for playoffs?
Matt Martin has been scratched in 28 of the Leafs’ last 31 games, with the only three games he’s skated in coming against the Sabres. The first time, back on March 5, was because Toronto needed an infusion of physicality and Martin delivered. That’s what the Leafs needed again on Monday – Babcock said before the game he wasn’t pleased with the intensity Toronto showed a week ago when Buffalo was here (and Martin didn’t dress), so he sat Komarov out to give Martin another chance. After a poor first shift for the fourth line hemmed into their own end, Martin was relentless on the forecheck and in winning puck battles along the boards. He was able to create some chaos in front of Johnson with a strong net-front presence and maximized his ice time with the bruising edge Toronto needed not only in their last matchup with Buffalo but arguably also when they were manhandled physically by the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. Martin has not been more help than hindrance to the Leafs in all three of his most recent appearances, but whether that makes a true difference in his opportunity come playoffs remains to be seen. Babcock said part of the purpose in playing Martin was to get him primed in case he was called upon in the coming weeks, but without injuries necessitating it, that scenario is more likely to play out if the Leafs draw the Boston Bruins over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. But the Leafs should feel positively knowing Martin hasn’t seemed to look any worse for wear after several extended breaks from game action.

Next game
The Leafs play their final road game of the season on Thursday in New Jersey.