While the Leafs have not been great defensively through their first two games, they entered Monday night’s tilt with the Chicago Blackhawks with a chance to go 3-0-0 to kick off the year. Unfortunately, Arvid Soderblom shut the door, and the Hawks skated away with a 4-1 victory. Let’s get into the three stars.
First Star – Arvid Soderblom
Coming into tonight, Soderblom had a career stat line of 19 games played, where he posted a record of 2-13-2 with a 0.891 save percentage. Any die-hard Leafs fan knew this was the recipe for disaster for the blue and white. They have a tendency to struggle against goaltenders who have subpar career numbers. Now, I am not taking anything away from Soderblom whatsoever, and he was fantastic tonight. He stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced in this one, giving him a 0.971 save percentage on the night. He was particularly good in the third period when the Leafs were pressing to try and tie the game. He made several key saves, especially in the final minutes of the game. A fantastic night for the 24-year-old Swede.
Second Star – William Nylander
Nylander was absolutely flying once again in this one. He was all over the ice, creating offensive opportunities every time he touched the puck. He played a total of 21:52, and he was dancing all night long. While he didn’t score in this one, he did have a fantastic assist on the only Leafs goal. He made a gorgeous zone entry to get into the Hawks zone, then dropped it off to Leafs Captain John Tavares, who absolutely sniped one on Soderblom.
Third Star – Alex Vlasic
While he isn’t a household name, he was terrific tonight. He skated against the Auston Matthews line the entire night, and he kept them in check all game long. He was also all over the score sheet. He played a total of 22:18, had three shots on goal, four blocked shots, three hits, and was also a plus three. He also chipped in with an assist on a Corey Perry breakaway goal. Vlasic made a 92 foot pass through the neutral zone to find a streaking Perry, who made no mistake, giving the Hawks a 2-1 lead. The 6’6 22-year-old defender seems to have a very promising future on an incredibly young Blackhawks blueline.
The Leafs will kick off a five game road trip in Florida on Thursday night as they are set to do battle with the Panthers. It should be a fantastic battle, as the Panthers are the team that eliminated the blue and white from the second round of the playoffs last spring.
