Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs 4-3 OT Loss to Lightning

Talk about back-and-forth games. The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime, which is probably perfect for the kind of game it was. It was simply back-and-forth all game long, with tons of power-play chances and tons of odd goals.

Both goalies were (pretty) good, so the kinds of shots that beat them were odd, screened, or just from mistakes. It was one of those games where the coaching staff will probably watch tons of film and then learn not much of anything.

Still, the Maple Leafs got a point out of the game, which is better than a bad-bounce or flukey-play regulation loss.

Takeaway One: Mitch Marner

Probably the most memorable takeaway from the game was the quality of Mitch Marner’s play. He simply seems to be in another world. Hardly anyone seems to be able to keep up with his thinking, and his play is making a difference both on defense and offense.

After a comedy-of-errors, franchise-tying point last game against the San Jose Sharks, tonight Marner made no mistake on his quest to break the Toronto franchise point-scoring game streak. He scored both on the penalty kill and with the man advantage.

He needed a point to break the record. He scored two goals. No mistakes last night.

Marner’s first goal was just total hard work. He intercepted a pass on the penalty kill, and almost scored himself. Then he teamed up with also hard-working David Kampf and simply waited and waited until Kampf did his thing and found Marner alone in front of the Lightning’s goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

It seems as if I’ve noted a dozen times that the past Maple Leafs’ record was set by Darryl Sittler in 1977-78 and then matched 12 seasons later by Ed Olczyk in 1989-90. Now I would guess Marner will set his sights on Wayne Gretzky’s record of 51 straight games with a point, set 39 seasons ago in 1983-84.

As Marner rambled (and who can blame him) after the game: ”It’s cool. I grew up in the city. I love being part of this team … It’s special to me. It’s special growing up to watch this team play hockey. Now to have my name on something amazing, it’s hard to describe.”

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Takeaway Two: There’s Something About Michael Bunting

Something is endearing about the Maple Leafs’ Michael Bunting. That is if you’re a Maple Leafs’ fan. However, if you’re not, it would sort of be like cheering for Brad Marchand after he licked the neck of former Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov during a playoff game. Ok, maybe not that bad.

That said, Bunting really gets under the skin of opposition players – night in and night out. That was evident last night against the Lightning. He keeps jawing and drawing (penalties).

It was also evident that Bunting is contributing offensively. He registered another assist last night and now has run his point-scoring streak to five games (with six assists in those games). For those who are counting, Bunting has picked up 10 points in his last 10 games.

Looking ahead, if the Maple Leafs are going to take any kind of a Stanley Cup journey, the team’s secondary scoring will have to step up. Bunting is a big part – and could be more of – that secondary scoring.

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Takeaway Three: The Maple Leafs Can’t Win in Overtime

It’s getting so that every time the Maple Leafs head into overtime, I’m just expecting them to lose. Given the team’s offensive firepower and the fact that it didn’t seem as if John Tavares lost a single draw during last night’s game, you’d think that the Maple Leafs could control the play and win a few overtime games.

They just can’t. As a result, the team’s overtime record is now 1-6 for the season. It would seem that this could be a thing the coaching staff would spend some time on to get right. Again, it makes no sense when you look at the talent they’re throwing out there.

The team can do better. Overtime losses just don’t seem to fit the team’s strengths.

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