The Maple Leafs left Vancouver with a 4-2 win over the Canucks, but the final score wasn’t the only thing that caught Jim Hiller’s eye. The head coach came away encouraged by a line that featured Dakota Joshua, Colton Sissons and Gavin McKenna, a combination that seemed to free McKenna up to work with the puck more in the offensive zone.
That was the kind of detail Hiller wanted to highlight after the game. He said the trio was especially effective and pointed out that it was probably the most McKenna had handled the puck in the offensive zone in a game this season.
For a player still settling into the NHL, that matters. The Leafs aren’t asking him to do everything; they’re looking for the right setup that lets his skill show up in the right spots.
Joshua’s return from injury also added to the positive feel around the game, and Chris Tanev was back as well. Hiller said both were solid despite some expected rust.
It gave Toronto a look at a few moving parts coming together, even if the coach wasn’t ready to call any of it a finished product. The Joshua-Sissons-McKenna line may not be the long-term answer, but it gave the staff something worth keeping in the mix.
Stolarz’s night was another bright spot. He moved to 5-1-0, a strong start that gives Toronto a chance to keep stacking points.
Hiller was clearly pleased with that, but he also made it plain that the job doesn’t fall on one player’s shoulders. As he put it, teams need help from their goaltenders, eight defencemen and 14 or 15 forwards.
That point tied into a bigger concern Hiller didn’t shy away from: the Leafs have been too inconsistent through their first 16 games. Even in a win, he said the issue showed up again against Vancouver. Toronto has had good stretches, but it hasn’t always responded well when the game turns difficult.
November should give the club more practice time after a heavy opening schedule, and Hiller believes that matters. There’s work to be done on the forecheck, on defensive support and on the kind of response the team hasn’t shown often enough.
So the Leafs leave Vancouver with some useful signs. McKenna found a line that seemed to suit him, Joshua and Tanev returned, and Stolarz kept winning.
But Hiller’s message was clear: the team still has to turn those moments into something more consistent. One win is a step, not a solution.
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