{"id":2436,"date":"2016-10-13T15:30:26","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T19:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2016-10-17T17:32:00","modified_gmt":"2016-10-17T21:32:00","slug":"leafs-first-game-showed-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/10\/13\/leafs-first-game-showed-promise\/","title":{"rendered":"Aside From Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs First Game Showcased Other Talent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/strong> kicked off the 2016-17\u00a0NHL\u00a0<\/strong>season with a 5-4 overtime defeat to\u00a0the\u00a0Ottawa Senators.<\/strong> The Leafs’ first overall pick and wishful saviour Auston Matthews<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> put on a show by\u00a0scoring all four of Toronto’s goals<\/a>. Aside from the Auston-mania that has surrounded last night’s game, how did a few of the other young Leafs fair in the Leafs first game of the season?<\/p>\n

Aside From Auston Matthews, Leafs First Game Showcased Other Talent<\/strong><\/h2>\n

William Nylander<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

William Nylander<\/strong> was extraordinary last night, playing on a line with\u00a0Zach Hyman<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> and none others than Auston Matthews himself. To say that Matthews carried the Leafs this game is not giving credit where it is due. Nylander picked up two assists on two of Matthews’ goals. His +\/- for the game was also a solid +3, which tied him with Matthews for second on the team. Nylander was integral part of the Leafs\u00a0last night. His speed and vision helped his line out at key moments, and not to mention his slick passing to set up plays like this:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/JackHousenga\/status\/786381284457254912<\/p>\n

Zach Hyman<\/h2>\n

Much like Nylander, Hyman was a key piece in last night’s game, and an\u00a0essential ingredient in yet another genius line assembled by\u00a0Mike Babcock<\/strong>. Hyman picked up one assist but had a team-leading +4 on the ice. That assist was none other than a perfect soft pass from behind the net to Matthews for his first NHL goal.\u00a0Hyman undoubtedly played hard and\u00a0did his part by driving possessions and forcing turnovers. Expect more things from him as this line blooms more.<\/p>\n

Mitch Marner<\/h2>\n

Mitch Marner<\/strong> made an interesting case for himself last night. He recorded no points and had a team-worst -2 for the night, but the stats don’t show everything. Marner was still dominant in his play, and looked amazing out on the ice. Coach Babcock praised Marner’s play in his post-game interview stating to Terry Korshan of the Toronto Sun<\/a>, \u00a0“I know Matthews scored all the goals, [but] I thought Marner\u00a0in the first half of the game might have been the best player.”<\/p>\n

\n

Mike Babcock addresses the media post-game: https:\/\/t.co\/C8l1T5x8kT<\/a>#TMLtalk<\/a><\/p>\n

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 13, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n