Maple Leafs Takeaways: Pacioretty seizes opportunity in streak-spoiling win over Jets

The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice Monday night still very much searching for their identity under new head coach Craig Berube.

They may have found it in Winnipeg.

It was going to take something close to perfection to disrupt the Jets’ perfect 8-0 season-opening winning spree, and while there will be plenty still to clean up after the Maple Leafs’ 6-4 victory, Monday’s effort shows a team that’s on the right track. Toronto outshot Winnipeg by a wide margin (36-23) and applied pressure early and often right out of the gates with a two-goal first period followed by two more early in the second to take a 4-0 lead. While Winnipeg is used to giving up the first goal, the four-marker margin was ultimately too steep a hill to climb — despite the Jets’ best efforts, including a remarkable three-goal, four-point night from Kyle Connor, Winnipeg couldn’t quite fight all the way back.

The Maple Leafs won in just about every aspect of this matchup, throwing more hits (25 vs. 21), winning the face-off battle (38-19), and blocking 18 shots. (Anthony Stolarz had a decent showing, too, stopping 19 of the 23 that did reach him.) Special teams were still a struggle, however, revealing plenty more work to come, but Berube’s adjustments to his top-six yielded some serious second-line success.

Here are our top takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ side of this fast-paced all-Canadian matchup, including a handful of victories within the victory for the visitors:

PACIORETTY MAKES GOOD ON PROMOTION AS BERUBE SHAKES UP LINES

When your team loses three straight games, you know change is coming. Berube’s been tweaking his lineup nearly every game in this young season, but on Monday night found a winning formula we’ll most likely see plenty more of.

Following the familiar first line of Auston Matthews centring Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner, Berube plugged Max Pacioretty into the left side of the second trio with John Tavares and William Nylander. Pacioretty’s place in this lineup has been a bit of a puzzle to start the season — up until Monday, the 35-year-old had suited up in the bottom six, and has been scratched on more than one occasion as well.

The spark was instant. Pacioretty assisted on both of Toronto’s first two goals — one dish each to Tavares and Nylander, thanks to his prowess behind the next — and collaborated with Nylander on the Maple Leafs’ fourth goal of the game early in the second period. (Nylander’s behind-the-back pass may have been even prettier than Rielly’s snipe of a shot to beat Connor Hellebuyck, but it wouldn’t have been possible without Pacioretty first digging out the puck.)

KNIES STAYS HOT, TAVARES’ HAT TRICK SEALS VICTORY

Through the ups and downs of Toronto’s campaign so far, the play of Matthew Knies has been a steady bright spot — and Monday night was no different. Knies is thriving early this season, scoring in four of the team’s last five games, honing his smart net-front game and seizing opportunities to feed his top-line teammates while also cashing in on his own chances. He put the Maple Leafs up 3-0 Monday night with his buried rebound early in the second period.

But this was Tavares’ night, his leadership shining through in the win as the veteran forward scored in all three periods for his fourth hat trick as a Maple Leaf. His empty-netter with 25 ticks on the clock sealed the victory for Toronto, halting the Jets’ rousing comeback attempt and securing the win, was a heads-up play that saw hats fly from the many Maple Leafs fans in the Winnipeg crowd. Fans from both sides of this matchup lost their caps, as Connor also had a hat trick of his own.

POWER-PLAY STRUGGLES CONTINUE, DESPITE CHANGES

Included in Pacioretty’s second-line promotion was his insertion into the Maple Leafs’ top power-play unit, taking the place of William Nylander with an eye to motivate No. 88 and try to jumpstart something — anything! — on a stagnant special-teams unit that’s produced very little so far this season.

Unlike his top-six shakeup, though, Berube’s power-play adjustments didn’t yield any production on this night.

All six of Toronto’s goals Monday night came at even strength — a positive, to be sure, if their special teams' struggles weren’t so heavily in the spotlight these days. While Toronto’s five-on-five play mirrored the kind of strong structure we’ve seen from the Jets early in this season, they might want to take a few notes from Winnipeg’s special teams. Salt met wound when Winnipeg went on the power play, scoring on two of four opportunities and making it look easy. (Mark Scheifele’s third-period goal to make it 5-3 came at 6-on-5 on a delayed penalty.) The Jets boast the league’s top-rated power play, operating at 44 per cent (including Monday night’s success). It was Winnipeg’s prowess with the man advantage — and Toronto’s frequent trips to the penalty box — that almost flipped the script in this one.

While the Maple Leafs’ top unit saw ice time early, with Logan Stanley taking a pair of penalties in the first frame, the Maple Leafs went 0-for-2 opportunities Monday. Toronto now has just three power-play goals on 32 opportunities this year.