Max Pacioretty hasn’t had much reason to smile in the past few NHL seasons. But in his first game wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform, No. 67 was sporting the goal-scorer’s grin we saw so consistently on his face during the best days of his career.
The Leafs kicked off the pre-season on Sunday night with a 6-5 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena. The two teams will clash again on Tuesday in Ottawa.
Toronto was definitely still in summer mode through 40 minutes despite icing a lineup that included all its stars. The Leafs had but a single shot on goal in the first period and trailed Ottawa 3-1 after 20 minutes.
When the team came alive, though, the guy in the middle of the action was the 35-year-old who’s in camp on a professional tryout attempting to prove he’s put all his injury issues behind him. Pacioretty, the former Montreal Canadiens captain, scored a pair of third-period goals just 2:50 minutes apart while skating on a line with former Leafs captain John Tavares.
The tallies were a window into what kind of role Pacioretty could play for this team if, indeed, his awful luck has finally turned. In the summer of 2022, he tore his right Achilles tendon during off-season training in advance of his first year with the Carolina Hurricanes. After returning to the lineup halfway through the season, Pacioretty scored three goals in five contests before re-injuring his Achilles on a non-contact play. The big winger pushed on, worked to return from yet another surgery and after basically a full year without playing NHL hockey, he debuted with the Washington Capitals halfway through last season and played in every one of the Caps’ remaining 47 games plus four more in the playoffs.
Now he’s in Toronto after, at last, a full summer of normal training and prep, and he’s off to a wonderful start in the pre-season. Pacioretty’s first tally came when he skated toward the net and tipped home a point shot from Morgan Rielly. A couple minutes later, he skated in over the line and ripped off a shot that squeezed through Mads Sogaard. Sure, it was a weak showing by the Sens goalie, but you still saw the quick release that was the hallmark of Pacioretty’s career for so many bountiful years.
Heck, Pacioretty also made a nice little patient play with the puck while drawing an assist on the goal by William Nylander that tied the game 5-5 with 22 seconds left in the third period, then had a glorious chance in the ensuing three-on-three overtime that Sogaard was able to thwart. Not long later, Sens rookie Carter Yakemchuk ended the affair with a wonderful scoring dash that makes you think the seventh-overall pick from four months ago could become a permanent fixture in the Battle of Ontario pretty soon.
As for Pacioretty, he’s obviously not in Toronto to play a lead role. But seeing him on an effective third line with Tavares and — in the back half of the game — youngster Easton Cowan offered a glimpse into how he could benefit the Leafs and help lengthen the lineup with secondary scoring.
And let’s take a moment to note the other two members of that trio had good nights, too. Tavares posted three assists in his first action since giving up the ‘C’ to Auston Matthews in the summer, while Cowan — the 2023 first-rounder who rocketed up prospect rankings last season — got a bump up from the fourth line to the third thanks to his hustle and heads-up play all over the ice.
But this night was all about Pacioretty. And even if it was just one game, you couldn’t watch it without thinking what a dream fit there might be between new team and hard-luck player.
Speaking of comebacks…
Matt Murray didn’t play a minute of NHL action last year as he recovered from bi-lateral hip surgery. The game against Ottawa — his former club — represented Murray’s first appearance in a Leafs sweater since a collision with Detroit’s Lucas Raymond knocked him out of a contest on April 2, 2023. Even if Murray allowed three goals on 11 shots — and, to be fair, it was hard to pin any of those tallies on him — it represented a huge step forward to see him healthy and playing again.
Murray took over for Joseph Woll just past the halfway point of the game, which was the pre-game plan. That said, it’s too bad Woll left the ice immediately after allowing Ottawa’s third goal of the night, a shot by Adam Gaudette that snuck between Woll’s left arm and the post. Aside from that play, Woll did all he could to keep the Leafs afloat, making 20 saves on the 23 shots he saw in just 31:45 of action.
Knuckles Nikita
Nikita Grebenkin has had a little helium early in camp, largely because new coach Craig Berube has voiced appreciation for the kid’s hard-nosed approach. That said, the edgy Russian was pretty invisible for much of his first pre-season game with the Leafs. When Cowan was promoted to the third line, it was Grebenkin who got knocked down to the fourth.
However, the 135th pick from 2022 refused to go quietly, getting into a fight with Gaudette in the third period after his demotion. Not only did he drop the mitts, Grebenkin raised his arms on the way to the box in an attempt to fire up the crowd and even exchanged a fist-bump — albeit through the glass — with a first-row fan while he was still juiced up in the box.
You can’t blame a rookie for trying to make an impression.
