Maple Leafs Quick Hits: Holl, Sandin & Matthews

In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs’ Quick Hits, I’ll take a quick look at some of the players and highlights that the Maple Leafs are engaged in. It’s a chance to help Maple Leafs’ fans stay more up-to-date with some of the news emerging from the team.

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Quick Hit One: The Old Justin Holl Entered COVID-19 Protocol, a New Justin Holl Came Out

Justin Holl has been having a tough season. Once seen as a partner with Jake Muzzin in last season’s Maple Leafs’ second-pairing defenseman that was known as the shutdown pairing, Holl fell from grace and was – for a few games – a healthy scratch. Not much was working well for him. 

Recently Holl entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol; and, since his return to the ice coming off the protocol, he hasn’t been the same defenseman. In fact, he’s been much better. With Muzzin out with a concussion, Holl has played two strong games since returning from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Happy birthday, Hollsy! 🎂#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/pnItAQq76y

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 30, 2022

He and his new partner Rasmus Sandin have been the Maple Leafs’ best defensive pairing over the past two games. In Saturday night’s 7-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, Holl registered two assists and a plus-4 rating. It was Holl’s best game of the season. 

The 29-year-old Holl assisted on both of the first two of Michael Bunting’s hat-trick goals of the game. Still, Holl’s forte is not producing offense and he only has recorded five points on the season. However, he does have 63 hits (for third on the team), 53 blocked shots (for first on the team), and a plus-8 rating (for fourth on the team) in his 31 games. As a note, he was an even plus/minus at the start of January and hasn’t had a minus game on the month. 

Quick Hit Rasmus Sandin: Scores His First Goal of 2021-22 Season

In Saturday’s game against the Red Wings, Rasmus Sandin scored a goal, blocked three shots, and went plus-3. If ever there was a time his team needed him to score, Sandin chose it perfectly. His goal was both his first of the season and the game-winning goal in the game. 

By scoring the goal, personally, Sandin broke a seven-game drought where he didn’t score a single point. Although Sandin is reputed to be an offensive defenseman, he’s young and that part of his game hasn’t yet blossomed. Still, he’s become a solid partnership with Holl. Until Muzzin returns from his concussion, which might be tonight against the New Jersey Devils – there were rumors to that effect – Sandin will likely remain solidly entrenched in the team’s second pairing. 

Quick Hit Three: Auston Matthews Fast Moving Up the Maple Leafs’ Record Book

Although Auston Matthews is having a great season, by his standards he’s been in a bit of a slump. Specifically, although Matthews added two assists to his point total (an assist each on Michael Bunting’s last two goals of his hat trick), Matthews has also not scored a goal in quite a while – for him.

Matthews is in the middle of his season’s worst four-game goal-scoring drought. However, it was his second two-assist game in a row and his fourth multi-point game over the month of January. On the season, the Maple Leafs’ best player now has 25 goals and 20 assists (for 45 points) in 37 games. 

More interestingly, Matthews’ two assists on Saturday night moved him past Phil Kessel into the 20th spot in Maple Leafs’ franchise history with 224 goals and 171 assists (for 396 points) in 371 career games. Matthews has 42 games left on the season; and, should he stay healthy and play them all, he could easily score 36 more points to catch Syl Apps, who’s ninth in franchise history with 432 points. 

Catching the next three legends on the Maple Leafs’ scoring list – Wendel Clark (with 441 points), Doug Gilmour (with 452 points), and Tim Horton (with 458 points) might be a challenge for next season unless Matthews stays super hot. However, he’s moving up the Maple Leafs’ all-time list rather quickly.

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