McKenna: My favorite sequence of 2021

My favorite clip of 2021 wasn’t a goal. Or a heroic save. It was a sequence of events taken from the December 4 game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Minnesota Wild.

Why I like this clip from an offensive perspective

I love that Jason Spezza – at age 38 – is still an integral part of the Maple Leafs’ power play. He still thinks the game incredibly well and can back it up with the occasional offensive flourish. Spezza has three goals and six points on the power play this season,  just shy of Mitch Marner’s seven points.

When Spezza receives the puck along the boards, he skates towards the Wild goal line with a purpose. Spezza knows that Wild forward Ryan Hartman will be forced to hand off coverage to Minnesota teammate Matt Dumba as the play moves lower in the defensive zone.

And that’s when Spezza gets crafty. He knows Dumba is right-handed. His stick will likely be in the passing lane. So Spezza reaches a few inches further, curls his wrists and moves the puck around Dumba’s outstretched stick.

Toronto forward John Tavares is ready for Spezza’s pass. He’s in a shooting posture and ready to fire a one-timer,  where he’s had success previously.

The Wild have to honor Tavares as a shooting threat. Jordan Greenway flexes out to take the lane. Cam Talbot readies in his goalie stance.

But the pass from Spezza is just off the mark. It’s in front of Tavares and traveling towards his right skate. So the Maple Leafs forward makes a split-second decision to deflect the puck through the slot to teammate Auston Matthews.

To me, it’s incredible that Tavares is not only able to make that decision in real time; it’s that he’s able to deflect the puck perfectly into Matthews’ wheelhouse for a one-timer.

I don’t know if the Maple Leafs practice this play or if it was strictly an in-the-moment decision by Tavares. But either way, it’s ridiculous. It takes so much confidence and skill for Tavares to casually deflect that puck over to his Toronto teammate.

Also, take a look at Matthews. He’s in one of his favorite scoring locations – and his stick is on the ice until the puck is headed in his direction. He’s ready to receive a pass; not shoot.

But Tavares’ quick decision forces Matthews to adjust.

Watch how short and quick his backswing is. Matthews’ stick barely gets above parallel to the ice. But by going one-knee down, he’s able to generate extra torque and let the flex of the stick do the work. It’s a hard shot from an extremely dangerous area of the ice.

Final note: Jason Spezza catches the rebound off Talbot’s blocker. His quick thinking and hand-eye coordination allow the Maple Leafs to retain possession in-zone on the power play. Details matter.

Why I like this clip from a goaltending perspective

The most important thing in this clip is that Cam Talbot is smart about his depth.

When the pass goes from Spezza out to Tavares, Talbot stays deep in his crease. It lets him prioritize staying square to the puck with steady eyes.

A lot of goalies would try to gain depth in this scenario by pushing to the top of the crease. Not Talbot. He simply disengages his right foot from the post and moves slightly off the goal line.

This might give some open net to Tavares if he elects to shoot, but it’s calculated risk by Talbot. He knows that if his eyes are steady, he has a better chance at tracking the puck cleanly.

Talbot also knows his teammates are in the far-side shooting lane. If Tavares shoots to that portion of the net, the puck isn’t likely to get through. His teammates will block it. So essentially, Talbot only has to make a save if Tavares shoots to his blocker side.

That’s manageable. His eyes are set. And Talbot – at 6-foot-4 – is a big enough goaltender to fill most of the net without having his heels at the top of the blue paint.

Staying deep turns out to be a wise decision. If Talbot had been at the top of the crease, Matthews would have been staring at an open net. When Tavares deflects the puck over to his Maple Leafs teammate, Talbot doesn’t have to travel far in order to get square to the shot.

Another critical component is that Talbot stays on his skates as long as possible before dropping into the butterfly. He didn’t just blindly drop and slide like so many modern goaltenders. By staying up, his eyes remain on a level plane, which in turn makes it easier to track the puck.

What impresses me most about this save is that Talbot is able to get his eyes on the shot. As the puck travels from Tavares to Matthews, two Wild players obscure his sight line. There are brief instances where Talbot simply cannot see the puck.

Yet he’s able to connect the dots.

Through years of experience, Talbot’s intuition tells him exactly where Matthews will be releasing the shot from. His body might still be in motion when he makes the save, but his eyes arrived early.

When I teach goaltenders, I say this phrase often: “eyes first – the body will follow.” Talbot’s save is a perfect example. Because he found his destination early, Talbot was able to make a reactionary blocker save and put the rebound safely into the corner.

Final note: Talbot doesn’t just make the save and casually recover. He immediately gets up with the outside leg, drives towards the far post, and gets into proper alignment. It’s an impressive sequence.

Why it’s my favorite clip of 2021

I think it’s a great representation of the modern game. Fast, quick-thinking, highly-skilled – this play had it all. On both sides of the puck.