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5 takeaways from Leafs-Capitals: Woll deserves better support, Matthews desperately needs to win his minutes

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You’ve certainly heard this story before: Joseph Woll submitted another excellent start for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it went to waste, this time in a 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals.

Woll made 30 saves on 33 shots, and did everything he could to keep his team in the contest. Toronto survived with a 2-1 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, but it’s an untenable formula for success. And victory was certainly within the Leafs’ grasp, despite getting outshot and outplayed.

Morgan Rielly opened the scoring on the Leafs’ first shot of the game. Matthew Knies added an insurance goal, after Auston Matthews dangled Alexander Ovechkin out of his skates early in the second period. Knies’ goal may as well served as the turning point, as from there onwards, the Capitals took complete command of the contest. Connor McMichael cut the lead to 2-1, which foreshadowed yet another Maple Leafs’ third-period collapse.

Ovechkin got his revenge, setting up Anthony Beauvillier for the game-tying goal. Oliver Ekman-Larsson lost a puck battle, John Tavares helped on the wrong side, and Woll was left to fend for himself. Jakob Chychrun provided the Capitals with the lead, with the Maple Leafs standing around passively in the defensive zone. Tom Wilson added a decorative empty-netter, and the Maple Leafs are now 10-11-3.

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Here are five takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 loss to the Capitals: 

Joseph Woll deserves better from his teammates after another stellar start

Woll was making his sixth consecutive start, and will almost certainly get some rest Saturday, with Dennis Hildeby expected to take over in goal. He was the Leafs’ best player for the second consecutive game by a wide margin. Woll made six high-danger saves and after the Maple Leafs’ took a 2-0 lead, he was effectively left to fight by himself. And even the opponents are taking notice!

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“I thought Joseph Woll kept them in it,” Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson said in his post-game interview to TSN’s Mark Masters.

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Troy Stecher told reporters this week that Woll has been the team’s best player since he joined the Leafs. That’s more than a fair assessment. Woll stole Wednesday’s victory, and he almost came up with another two points virtually singlehandedly, as the Maple Leafs couldn’t hold onto a multi-goal lead. It’s unlikely Woll will call his teammates out, but the forum is open!

Maple Leafs desperately need more from Auston Matthews

If Auston Matthews is in the lineup, the Maple Leafs simply need more from their captain. Matthews started the year as one of the NHL’s best shot creators, but his strong work through the opening three weeks may as well have been three years ago. It wasn’t all bad, as Matthews set up Knies for the game’s second goal, but the Maple Leafs are losing his minutes consistently in the two games since he’s returned.

Matthews’ line did not register a single shot during the first period, and the Maple Leafs have been outshot 28-11 during the past two games with their captain on the ice. There’s nowhere to hide in the stats sheet either, as the Maple Leafs held a 31 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5 when Matthews was on the ice. That’s untenable from a player of Matthews’ calibre, and it would be excused in this space, if it were a one-off.

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No one wants to see Matthews playing hurt, but if he’s in the lineup, he’s considered fully healthy and his performance is fair game. Matthews needs to return to a reasonable facsimile of what he produced in 2023-24, and it’s not too early to start demanding a lot more from the Leafs’ captain with a renewed sense of urgency, as Christmas will be here in no time!

Dakota Joshua provides middling response after healthy scratch

Dakota Joshua was a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s game, and was projected to miss his second consecutive game, until William Nylander was ruled out with an illness. Joshua knew he needed to play better, and provided a mixed response during Friday’s game.

Joshua did some good work early on, working in conjunction with Nick Robertson to establish the offensive zone on Rielly’s goal. He was taking effective routes to the puck, but his efficacy waned after the first period, mirroring his team overall.

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As the Capitals retained possession through the latter two periods, Joshua did not make an imprint on the contest. It wasn’t a poor enough game to keep off the roster tomorrow, as there are other culprits in the losing effort, but Joshua will need to play a more consistent game in order to stay in the lineup.

Maple Leafs continue to get picked apart by east-west attacks

For all the directional attention paid to the Maple Leafs, they haven’t been able to defend east-west attacks all season. When the cross-seam pass is sent across the ice in the defensive zone, there’s a tendency to panic, and the Capitals surged on this throughout the game.

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Alex Ovechkin delivered a great cross-seam pass to Anthony Beauvillier for the game-tying goal, but the Leafs’ defensive effort was terrible. Morgan Rielly doesn’t close the back door, a mistake that Berube alluded to post-game, Tavares overcommits to the puck handler, Easton Cowan is playing too high, and it’s a calamity of errors overall.

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Connor McMichael and Ryan Leonard are afforded all the room in the world to thread horizontal passes to each other, while the Leafs offer zero resistance. Leonard whips in a direct pass to Chychrun, who fired a one-timer past Woll for the 3-2 lead. No one bothers to close out on Chychrun, or Leonard, who made the most of the extra time and space. We’re past the quarter mark of the season, and the Maple Leafs haven’t been able to defend this aspect of the game.

Max Domi’s healthy scratch was the correct call

Max Domi was a healthy scratch for the first time. We don’t want to belabour the point, but it was absolutely the right call for the Maple Leafs.

“I don’t know if it is the defensive side of things,” Berube said of Domi on Thursday. “Positionally, he has been solid. I know his plus/minus doesn’t say that, but I wouldn’t say positioning causes a lot of that. It is just getting engaged more in the game. He has to get dirty down low in the offensive zone, get engaged that way, and get to the inside of the ice more. When he is skating and moving, he is an effective player, but it is too inconsistent.”

Domi has graded out as one of the worst players in the NHL this season. Toronto sports a -12 goal differential when he’s on the ice at 5-on-5, with a 46.5 percent share of the expected goals. Domi’s 4.69 goals against per 60 at 5-on-5 is the 6th-worst total in the NHL out of 639 skaters who have played greater than 100 minutes this year via Natural Stat Trick. This is absolutely woeful territory. Domi was never known for his defensive acumen, so let’s examine the offensive side.

Domi ranks 474th in goals for per 60, and while he’s better suited to the wing at this stage of his career, the Leafs cannot afford to play him at centre. It’ll be compelling to see how Berube adjusts the lineup on short notice, but he made the right call for Friday’s game.

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