Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) and teammates celebrate his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
With the season of the Toronto Maple Leafs still young, I have decided to unveil a weekly takeaways segment here on The Editor In Leaf.
As the Maple Leafs season continues the goal for this segment is to pull two to three thoughts from the week that was for them.
Monday’s – aside from this week – will be the slot in which select three to five events that occurred on and off the ice then talk about them in detail.
For this week the Maple Leafs had three games in which they played against Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, and Chicago Blackhawks. There are plenty of takeaways from this past week, from the Matthews vs. Laine to dropping three leads in all three games.
So now here’s the inaugural weekly segment of last week’s takeaways on a Monday.
Oct 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Arturri Lehkonen (46) is hooked by Toronto Maple Leafs ddefenseman Martin Marincin (52) during a preseason hockey game at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiesn 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Please, no more Martin Marincin on the top pairing
Don’t you see something and wonder how it got there?
Well that’s the case when Martin Maricin hops over the boards and plays top pairing minutes alongside Morgan Rielly. Look, Marincin is a fine defenseman who is better slotted in a bottom-pairing role. However, when Mike Babcock has him on the top pairing then that’s when there’s a problem.
Take a look at Wednesday’s game versus the Winnipeg Jets, Marincin does not even check nor try and pry the puck away from Patrik Laine. Instead he allows Laine to spin around and go top-shelf to score the first goal of his eventual hat-trick.
This type of situation is all too familiar for Maple Leaf fans, the miscast of a defenseman. From Mike Kostka to Korbinan Holzer, these are just a few names that were miscast and played on the top pairing with then Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf.
Martin Marincin (who played 24 mins & was -2 in WIN) goes from the top pairing to the press box, replaced by Roman Polak. #Leafs
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) October 21, 2016
It’s déjà vu all over again, except this time it’s with Rielly. I never really understood this love affair Babcock has had with Marincin, but if Saturday’s healthy scratch tells us anything, Marincin’s days as a top pairing defenseman might be over.
Hopefully this ushers in Nikita Zaitsev’s chance to play on the top pair with Rielly. I love Connor Carrick, but he should not be playing on the top pair. Zaitsev is second on the team in time on ice, so why not make it official and pair him with Rielly and go from there.
Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center William Nylander (29) scores a goal against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling (33) in the third period at the United Center. The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
The growing chemistry of Matthews and Nylander
Going into the season, fans were salivating at the thought of Auston Matthews developing chemistry with Mitch Marner. Well Matthews did develop chemistry with a rookie winger; it just wasn’t Marner. Instead it has been William Nylander that has begun a connection with Matthews.
The connection of this duo was on display Wednesday night against the Jets as Matthews and Nylander connected on the power play. This would be a sign of things to come, Matthews did score against the Minnesota Wild, but the duo made the most noise on Saturday night against the Blackhawks as the two connected for two goals.
The first was an absolute beauty as Matthews found an open Nylander, who would then snipe it for a power play goal. For the second, Matthews fired a shot that resulted in a rebound and Nylander finished it off to get his second goal of the game.
Auston Matthews feeds William Nylander #Leafs pic.twitter.com/X0fd53e7jP
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) October 20, 2016
Matthews T-2 in points (8), Nylander T-3 (7), which if I told you would be the case five games ago…you’d have been pumped #kidrevolution https://t.co/KyXVtCyxq8
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) October 24, 2016
It’s been awhile since the Maple Leafs had this type of duo. Two potentially elite talents that compliment each other, then add in their young age and it just makes the fan base even more excited.
Furthermore, seeing a power play in which Matthews feeds Nylander the puck for him to snipe is a scene that many fans can get used to for this season and hopefully for many years to come.
Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen (31) blocks a shot as Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Matt Hunwick (2) look on in the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Blown leads are becoming a thing
Three games this week, three leads in all of them, and they were all blown. This has become an early theme for the young Maple Leafs, getting off to a good start and eventually blowing it.
The reason?
A combination of things, for one they take their foot off the gas. The team gets off to these great starts and their offense is firing on all cylinders then something happens.
Then they go cold; take Wednesday night as an example. It appeared as though the Maple Leafs would run the Jets out of their own building especially after scoring two goals in less than a minute. Then that same offense just disappeared and it was the Patrik Laine show from there on out.
This leads to the shaky defense the team has. It seems that once one goal goes in the floodgates open which was the case in Winnipeg and in Chicago.
All of a sudden the Polak, Gardiner, Hunwick and Marncin become more noticeable. Even someone like Morgan Rielly is prone to doing too much to compensate for their shaky defense, but this can result in a penalty, which was the case against the Jets.
Finally, the goaltending has become an ongoing issue with the team. Aside from his start against the Boston Bruins, Frederik Andersen has been shaky, but it’s not been his fault. However, he has to come up with the big save when it appears the team is about to unravel.
This team is young, not to mention it can easily be fixed. It’s a lot more easier to fix a team that gets to head starts and showing them how to defend that lead than to fix a team that has trouble getting out of the gate.
Hopefully this week the young Maple Leafs can hold onto a lead and get the two points rather than settle for one.
More from Editor In Leaf
This article originally appeared on 
