Another road game, another win. The blue and white rolled into Dallas last night to take on the Stars. Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe elected to go with the hot hand between the pipes once again as he gave Joseph Woll the start. Let’s talk about the three stars.
First Star – Joseph Woll
Calm, composed, confident. Those are just three words that I would use to describe Joseph Woll right now. He continued his stellar play last night as he faced a total of 32 shots, and he stopped 31 of them. Since taking over for Ilya Samsonov three games ago, Woll has faced a total of 96 shots, and he has stopped 94 of them, which gives him a 0.979 save percentage, are you kidding me? The kid is on a whole other level right now. There’s no denying that the Leafs hit a wall in this one, and they were incredibly sluggish during parts of the game, especially in the second period. Luckily for them, Woll was there to help them weather the storm. What I love the most about Woll is how effortlessly he makes everything look. He never gets rattled and always comes up with clutch saves when his team needs him the most. You can feel the excitement building throughout Leafs Nation with each passing game.
Second Star – Morgan Rielly
While Morgan Rielly may have been removed from the top powerplay unit coming into this season with the addition of John Klingberg, he has not let that slow him down whatsoever. Coming into last night’s game, Rielly had one goal and four assists, giving him five points in six games. I’d argue Rielly had his best game of the year last night against the Stars. He played a total of 26:13, largely because Jake McCabe went down very early on in this one, and he did not return. Nonetheless, Mo welcomed the extra ice time as he scored a goal, had an assist, fired two shots on goal, and had four blocked shots as well. To be blunt about it, Rielly was making things happen all over the ice all night long, at both ends of the rink. It’s a statement game from the longest-serving Leaf, to say the least.
Third Star – William Nylander
Nylander continued his rockstar level of play last night. He was once again making things happen every single time he was on the ice. He played a total of 19:16, had an outstanding assist on Morgan Rielly’s goal, was a plus 2; he fired three shots on goal, a blocked shot, as well as a takeaway. With the assist on the Rielly goal, Nylander extended his point streak to seven games. Nylander has a presence to his game this year. He’s simply on a different level than he’s been on in years past. He’s dominant, even without the puck, which is a very welcoming addition to his play for Leafs Nation. But when he has the puck on his stick? It’s like he has it on a string. No one can take it from him, and he no longer shies away from the dirtier areas on the ice. He’s now dropping his shoulder and driving to the net without hesitation. In years past, Nylander would explode into the opposing team’s zone only to curl back and just hand the puck off or cycle it down the boards, which drove everyone in Leafs Nation absolutely insane. If the Leafs ever do come to an agreement on a new contract with Nylander, he is, without a doubt, due for a major pay raise, and quite frankly, he’s earned it.
The Leafs finally wrap up this five game road trip Saturday night as they are headed to Nashville to take on the Predators, not a bad city to conclude a road trip in, if I do say so myself. The Predators have struggled out of the gate so far this year with a 3-4-0 record through seven games. Head Coach Sheldon Keefe already let it be known that Ilya Samsonov will get the start. Let’s see if Samsonov can rebound and find his game because there’s no doubt Joseph Woll is pushing him, and he has earned more playing time. It will be up to Samsonov to prove that he too deserves to be between the pipes. It is also worth noting that Captain John Tavares also extended his point streak to seven games last night against the Stars as he scored an empty netter in the dying seconds of regulation. Can he and Nylander keep their streaks alive Saturday night? Leafs Nation can only hope so!
