7 Maple Leafs Takeaways: ‘Self-inflicted loss’ or getting Demko’d?

You can win the special-teams battle, dominate play at even-strength, and still lose the night if you don’t dress the best goalie.

Hockey, that’s how she goes.

How’s this for a stat line?

At even-strength Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs generated 70 attempts, 40 shots, 31 scoring chances, 14 high-danger chances… and scored zero goals.

That’s how dialled-in Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko was on a night he became the first Vancouver goalie since Roberto Luongo in 2010 to stop more than 50 pucks.

“Obviously we deserved a whole lot more goals,” said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, following a thrilling 3-2 loss. “It’s a world-class goalie at the other end.”

Demko stoned William Nylander on a breakaway and continually denied the red-hot Michael Bunting–Auston Matthews–Mitch Marner line during its high-pressure shifts.

“He’s just big and athletic,” Matthews said. “I think he’s a big reason why they’ve been able to turn it around this season.”

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Keefe rips Leafs slow start

“Goaltending is the difference. But really, for me, because I don’t coach the goaltender on the other side, it’s about the two goals we give them off the hop,” Keefe said post-game.

“You can’t dig that hole. There’s no reason we couldn’t have won that game 2-1 tonight.”

Pouncing on an odd play that saw Petr Mrazek lose his stick in Bo Horvat’s skate and spin out of his net when he lunged for a poke-check, J.T. Miller scored 89 seconds in.

Brock Boeser doubled the lead on a power play four and a half minutes later, waking Toronto up and forcing it to play catchup.

“I don’t like the start,” Keefe said. “To me, it’s a self-inflicted loss.”

League’s best power play > league’s worst penalty kill

While Thatcher Demko was stellar at even-strength, battling strong on tilted ice, he was left floundering by the most effective power play in the league.

Vancouver came into the night with the worst PK in the NHL, and it only got worse.

Auston Matthews extended his point streak — seven goals, seven assists in seven games — off a brilliant pass from John Tavares to get the Leafs on the board and continue their excellent 5-on-4 play.

Kase bounces right back

A deep sigh of relief for Ondrej Kase, whose medical record is busy with concussions, that he was able to play Saturday. Let alone score a second-period goal by tipping a Jason Spezza slap pass.

“I would trade the goal for two points, but I can’t,” Kase said.

The hard-charging winger was eliminated from Thursday’s game by a clean, helmet-popping check from 6-foot-6 Nikita Zadorov.

“It was huge hit,” Kase said. “I was shaky for a little bit…. Everybody knows my history, so we just called it like game over.”

Kase said he and Alexander Kerfoot, another small, feisty forward, had an interesting discussion afterward about colliding with extra-large opponents.

“If I’m big like Pierre [Engvall], he hits my chest,” Kase said. “I need to know he’s on the ice.”

Just as Wayne Simmonds came to Kase’s defence Monday, when Carolina’s Brendan Smith clipped his knee, Morgan Rielly cross-checked and roughed up Zadorov in response.

“Whether it was dirty or not, I’m not sure,” Rielly said. “It’s just what you’re supposed to do as a teammate, that’s all.”

Simmonds was proud of Rielly, hardly the instigating type.

“Just let people know that that’s not acceptable,” Simmonds said. “We’re a close-knit team here, and we stick up for one another.”

Keefe views these skirmishes as sidebars to the real story but appreciates the engagement.

“It just speaks to the spirit of the group, guys sticking together. Morgan is a leader on the team,” Keefe said. “That’s not his job necessarily, but in that moment, that’s what it calls for. Showing up is the biggest part for your teammates.”

What does Woll’s extension mean?

The Maple Leafs announced a three-year contract extension for their pending free agent goalie.

He goes by the name Joseph Woll, and with a cap-friendly ($766,667 AAV) deal that runs through 2024-25, he now has longer job security than any netminder in the Leafs system.

“Congrats, Joe!” Mitch Marner said upon having the news broken to him in a scrum. “He came in with great pride and stood tall for us [going 3-1 in the NHL when Mrazek was injured]. It’s well deserved. He’s a hardworking kid, and we’re pretty lucky to have him for another three years.”

Woll, 23, is enjoying his best season as a pro. For the first time, he has a winning record with the Marlies (5-2) and his save percentage has climbed to .911.

No, Woll is not NHL-ready yet, but it is interesting that he’ll only be on a two-way deal next season. Then he’ll be on a one-way contract.

This is an investment in development. Toronto hasn’t had a homegrown goalie stick in the NHL since James Reimer.

“A player with a great attitude and he works hard, so we want guys like that around,” Morgan Rielly said. “Good for him. Lots of work left to do, but he knows that.”

Daddy Simmonds arrives on a high

“I’m kind of riding a high right now,” Simmonds said before the game.

Simmonds missed Thursday’s loss to the Flames because he and wife Crystal welcomed their second daughter, Kapri, into the world on Wednesday.

Simmonds arrived in Vancouver late Friday and was the only Leaf to hit the ice for an early morning skate ahead of the matinee, giddy with excitement.

“It sucks watching. I hate watching. Two of my brothers live in Calgary, so I always get a homecooked meal, and I generally play good games there. Sitting in your bed watching the game, it’s a little bit unsettling, but obviously it was for a good reason,” Simmonds said.

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Dermott’s fall to seventh defenceman

It was not a surprise, but it was telling that when, for the first time all season, the Maple Leafs dressed a fully healthy lineup, Travis Dermott was not part of it.

Once the promising young defenceman with the slick wheels and quick twitch, Dermott — still only 25 — has been surpassed by rookies Rasmus Sandin, 21, and Timothy Liljegren, 22.

“You’re a young guy, and you’re a competitor, and you’re a guy that’s played ahead of those other players. And then, all of a sudden, you’re not. The challenge for Travis is to remain focused on his game and what he can do,” Keefe said. “These are good young players that have come a long way. He’s just got to be able to tune that kind of stuff out and just focus on his game.

“He’s got more to bring us in terms of consistency, and we’ve got to help him along here. But whatever else is happening around him, he can’t allow that to get in the way of him finding his game.”

Bruce, there he was… interviewing in Toronto

Keefe acknowledged that he and the Leafs brass met with Bruce Boudreau when seeking a pair of new assistant coaches over the summer.

“We went through that process, but it’s very clear to me that Bruce has proven to be a very successful head coach in the league — and that’s where he belongs,” Keefe said. “So, it’s good to see him get back behind the bench and calling the shots.”

A onetime Leaf and lifelong fan of the club, Boudreau says he still watches every game Toronto plays.

Boudreau on this edition of the team that drafted him in 1975: “Arguably one of the top four teams in the NHL and easily one of the top two teams offensively, I think, in the NHL.”

One-Timers: The Maple Leafs have “traction” on a possible deal that would send Nick Ritchie and his $2.5-million cap hit out of town, Elliotte Friedman reports. Ritchie cleared waivers a month ago and is buried in the minors…. Keefe promoted Ilya Mikheyev up to Tavares’s left wing mid-game, dropping Kerfoot down because he thought Mikheyev had better legs….Kerfoot was the only Leafs forward to not register a shot…. Canucks had 17 giveaways.

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