Hildeby solid in NHL debut, helping lead Leafs to win

Article content

On a night of firsts, Dennis Hildeby got the better of Sheldon Keefe on Thursday in Newark.

Article content

In his National Hockey League debut, Hildeby made 22 saves in the Maple Leafs net, helping lead Toronto to a 4-2 win and ruining Keefe’s initial game at the Prudential Center as coach of the Devils.

The Leafs shrugged off their season-opening shutout loss in Montreal 24 hours earlier, rebounding with determination and some finish in their first meeting with Keefe since he was fired by Toronto in May.

Our takeaways:

HILDEBY HUGE

As the Leafs flew home and looked ahead to their home opener on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they had to feel good about their goaltending in the wake of the latest Joseph Woll injury.

Some 24 hours after Anthony Stolarz was sharp in a 1-0 loss against the Canadiens, the 23-year-old Hildeby was on point as he faced shots in an NHL game for the first time.

Article content

It helped that the Leafs gave Hildeby a 3-0 lead in the first period, but let’s be clear: From start to finish, the 6-foot-7 Hildeby looked like he belonged, getting the job done with a high level of calm and timely saves.

His best stop might have been on Jack Hughes at the top of the crease in the first period, but there were several others that required Hildeby to be alert.

“Great feeling, feels amazing,” Hildeby told TSN’s Mark Masters after the game. “Especially (because) I know how much it matters to my family. It means a lot. Appreciate the game the boys played. It helped a lot.”

It was speculated during the day that Stolarz was going to start for the second night in a row. The Leafs almost never start the same goalie on back-to-back nights, and had they done so, it would have undermined Hildeby’s confidence. Coach Craig Berube snuffed out the rumours when he told the media a couple of hours before the game that Hildeby was getting the call.

Article content

Article content

It’s awfully early, but it’s going to be intriguing to witness how this goaltending situation with the Leafs unfolds.  The assumption is that Matt Murray, at some point, will be the next guy up following Woll and Stolarz. But Hildeby was good in the pre-season and demonstrated on Thursday that NHL competition won’t rattle him.

As Murray gets some action with the Toronto Marlies to get his game into gear, Hildeby just has to continue what he did in his debut, for however long Woll will be out.

man they call the Hildebeast has a bright future in the Leafs net. Let’s see if that comes a little sooner than most observers had been thinking.

Home-grown goalies, where it involves the Leafs, have been a rarity. Woll could turn out to be too injury-prone to be that guy.

Article content

Taken in the fourth round by Toronto in 2022, Hildeby has the potential to put himself in the position.

FOURTH A FORCE

All due respect to Ryan Reaves, but he might not want to shell out any money on tickets for friends on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Reaves had an impact with the Leafs in Montreal, but with Bobby McMann taking his place in the lineup at Newark, there was a better chance for offence from the fourth line.

And the Leafs got that, when McMann scored after Max Pacioretty gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. Next was Steven Lorentz, who beat Jacob Markstrom with a backhand.

Lorentz earned a job after arriving at camp on a professional tryout, and he’s not going anywhere. His enthusiasm and obvious love of playing in the NHL can’t help but rub off a bit in the dressing room. On the ice, his size and ability on the forecheck already is having an influence.

Article content

Centred by David Kampf, the job of the fourth line is supposed to help wear the opposition down, especially defencemen, and doing it with heavy hockey in the offensive zone.

Throw in a couple of goals? Well, Berube couldn’t ask for much more.  A dose of offence isn’t something that Reaves provides. Certainly, Berube can’t simply go back to Reaves on Saturday at the expense of McMann.

Don’t try to fix what works. On Thursday, the fourth line worked quite well.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

STARS DON’T ALIGN

Pacioretty scored his first goal with Toronto. John Tavares, off a pass from Max Domi, gave the Leafs insurance in the second period.

Article content

As for those aforementioned other three? Crickets.

We wouldn’t have predicted that Matthews, who came within one goal of 70 last season, would head into Saturday without one in 2024-25. He attempted to score on an empty Devils net from the Leafs’ half of the ice in the final minutes and, had he been successful, it would have marked his first shot on goal of the game.

Marner had one shot on Markstrom. Nylander — who took a silly holding penalty late in the third and was lucky he did not get another minor for unsportsmanlike conduct when he slapped the puck down the ice — also had one shot on goal.

Execution was an issue for the Leafs’ best players in Montreal. A night later in Newark, they didn’t even get the chances to execute.

Article content

That extended to the power play, which failed to score on two advantages after going 0-for-4 against the Canadiens.

If the Leafs on Friday didn’t have a previously scheduled day off (which they always do, no matter who is coaching, after back-to-back games), we’d bet they would have been doing plenty of special teams work.

Memo to assistant coach Marc Savard: We’re waiting to see what impact you can make here.

That the Leafs again took a few undisciplined penalties, including an unnecessary roughing minor by Simon Benoit in the third, should be bothersome for Berube.

Those can be cleaned up, and as for the zeroes in the points column alongside the names of Matthews, Marner and Nylander, those most definitely will be cleaned up.

[email protected]

X: @koshtorontosun

Article content