Hildeby continues to improve case against returning to AHL

The first period started in familiar fashion to what we’ve seen this season – the Leafs allowed a handful of high-danger scoring chances right off the hop. Once Morgan Rielly opened the scoring with the eventual game-winning goal, they went into shutdown mode and it remained that way for the rest of the game.

For a game that finished with only two goals, and could have only finished with one had Auston Matthews fired the puck at the empty net a mere second earlier than he did, this game had a lot. There were lots of scrums post-whistle, there was an injury, a fight, a major penalty, and a match penalty. In that order.

In the end, this game felt like it had a playoff feel to it, between the low score and limited high danger chances from either team as the game progressed, and the Leafs have to feel good about taking those two points. Fun fact: on Monday morning, the Leafs were seventh in the Atlantic Division and the Lightning were first in the division. By the end of the night, the Leafs were fifth and the Lightning were second, with a mere two points separating them. It can be tough to care about wins or losses in the middle of December when the division is already taking shape, but at the time of filing, there is a five-point spread between second-last and first place in the division, which goes to show how important these games truly are in the grand scheme of things.

With that said, here are three takeaways from the Leafs’ 2-0 victory over the Lightning.

Dennis Hildeby does not want to go back to the AHL

Having both of your starting goaltenders go down with injuries is a nightmare scenario for any team with playoff aspirations, but Hildeby has done quite literally everything possible to turn this into a non-issue for the Leafs. He picked up his first career NHL shutout in Monday night’s game, stopping all 29 shots he faced against a Lightning team that is loaded with top-end talent. His performance gives him a .936 save percentage (SV%) and drops his goals-against average (GAA) to 2.15 on the season.

For a fourth-round pick from the 2022 draft, Hildeby’s rapid progression to the NHL has been quite the scene. Even though he was clearly in over his head a little bit in 2024-25, the fact that he was already in position to be getting starts is rare for how fresh out of being drafted he was. This season, we’re seeing him absorb that experience and turn it into confidence. Hildeby knows that he needs to keep his foot on the gas, but he told reporters following the game that he has to remind himself that he’s living out a childhood dream.

“I’m just trying to enjoy it,” Hildeby said. “It’s easier said than done, but at the end of the day, it’s what I’ve been dreaming of since I started playing hockey. You just gotta remind yourself of that, have a lot of fun meanwhile, and compete.”

It’s unknown how long Joseph Woll will be out for, but regardless of that, Hildeby is doing everything he can to sway the Leafs into trusting what they have in house instead of seeking help on the trade market or waiver wire. If he keeps playing this way, there will be some uncomfortable conversations to have once Woll and Anthony Stolarz are both healthy.

Leafs team defence passes the eye test 

As I stated at the start of the piece, the Leafs let the Lightning pressure them into some good chances early in the game, and the analytics reflected that. Tampa Bay had seven high-danger chances in the first period to Toronto’s three. After the first, the Leafs completely shut it down. They only had one high-danger chance in the second period and three in the third, the latter of which were helped by a power play and two minutes with six skaters on the ice at the end of the game.

All in all, it was one of the Leafs’ best defensive efforts of the season and the rest of the team deserves some credit for that regardless of Hildeby’s heroics. Picture that annoyed feeling you have when you watch the Leafs play a team like the Carolina Hurricanes or the New York Islanders – where every possible passing or shooting lane is kiboshed by an active stick. That’s how it felt watching the Lightning try to generate anything against the Leafs. Sure, there were some close calls, but there always will be. Overall, the Leafs made this a pretty sweat-free game for their fans.

Dakota Joshua finds a way to contribute away from the scoresheet 

I can’t wrap up this article without giving Dakota Joshua some props for dropping the gloves with Max Crozier. Joshua has had his ups and downs this season, but lately, it seems like he’s realized that he can impact the game even if he has stretches where the puck isn’t going in the net. He had three points in two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers before going scoreless in the next three games, and while he didn’t find the scoresheet against Tampa Bay, he injected some life into the building with a tilt.

The fight came after Lightning forward Gage Goncalves caught Dakota Mermis with a questionable knee-on-knee hit, which caused some extracurriculars afterwards. The Leafs have been backed up by their bottom six quite a bit in recent games, and in a game like this one where offence was limited to a goal from Rielly and an empty-netter from Matthews at the very end, their bottom-six found a way to contribute one way or another. Anything for momentum!