Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ winning streak came to an end, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights, 6-2. Despite a strong start in the game that promised Maple Leafs fans more, the team struggled to capitalize on its scoring opportunities. At the other end of the ice, the Golden Knights weathered Toronto’s early push and then pushed back themselves.
Defensive lapses by the Maple Leafs and a few goals that Ilya Samsonov should have stopped allowed the Golden Knights to skate home with the win. Despite goals from Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Reaves, the Maple Leafs couldn’t overcome the Golden Knights’ offensive power on Tuesday night. The result was a bit of a beatdown at the hands of the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
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With the win, the Golden Knights ended their three-game losing streak. Key players Mark Stone and Jack Eichel watched from the sidelines. However, they were not needed.
Item One: Three Reasons the Maple Leafs Lost to the Golden Knights
There were three reasons for the team’s loss to the Golden Knights. First, there were a myriad of defensive breakdowns. The Maple Leafs’ recent strong play was replaced by their struggles defensively, and the Golden Knights capitalized. Even with the absence of injured players, on this night, Vegas was good enough to exploit the Maple Leafs’ lapses, and Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson took advantage of turnovers to score crucial goals.
Second, despite making 26 saves, Samsonov couldn’t stop the Golden Knights’ offence. He also allowed goals at pivotal moments that let the air out of the team’s tires. Samsonov wasn’t horrible on the night and made some key stops, but he couldn’t consistently shut down Vegas’ scoring threats. Toronto needed a stronger game from him to stay in the game. However, he couldn’t deliver.
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Third, the Maple Leafs scored only two goals, which is seldom enough to carry away the win. On this night, the team’s offensive output fell short compared to their recent performances. Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill made 28 saves to stifle any scoring attempts, and the Maple Leafs failed to capitalize on their chances, including those with the man advantage. Despite another goal from the suddenly productive Tyler Bertuzzi, the team’s offence struggled to generate enough momentum to overcome the Golden Knights’ strong defensive play – hence their 6-2 loss.
Item Two: Samsonov Has a Tough Night Against the Golden Knights
Specifically, Samsonov faced a challenging night and conceded five goals. Despite stopping all nine shots during the first period, he struggled to maintain consistency throughout the game. The Golden Knights scored three goals in the second period and added another three in the third. One was into an empty net.
On the final goal of the game, it was as if the team simply had given up and left Samsonov hanging out to dry. He deserved better, given that he had helped keep them in games during his recent six-game winning streak. Now that management has brought Joseph Woll back from injured reserve, I’m guessing that he will get the start on Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes. Then, depending on how he does, the jury is out for Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers.
Item Three: Both TJ Brodie and Morgan Rielly Struggled
On defence, Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie struggled during the game. Both players ended the night with a minus-4 rating (as did William Nylander). The tandem had more than its share of defensive issues and missed assignments. It was not a strong game for the team’s top defensive pairing and both players looked vulnerable on the night.
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As far as plus/minus went, although they were outscored by four goals, there were players with plus-1 ratings, including defenseman Simon Benoit, whose playing time rose to almost 22 minutes, and defenseman William Lagesson, who played almost 17 minutes.
The team’s fourth line had the highest ratings among the forwards. David Kampf and Ryan Reaves were both plus-1. Reaves’ game has picked up recently, and he finished off one of the team’s two successful scoring chances on the night.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The sky is not falling on the Maple Leafs. It seemed like a classic home-from-a-road-trip game; the bottom line is that a loss is a loss. I’m more concerned that the team seemed to quit on its goalie.
The Maple Leafs face a busy schedule ahead with five games lined up between this Thursday and Thursday, March 8. They are going to need a couple of solid goalies for those games. The team hosts the Coyotes tomorrow before they face the Rangers at home for Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.
(Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
In the Maple Leafs’ fourth game of their home stand, they face the Boston Bruins on Monday, March 4, and then host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Their fifth game is a quick turnaround where they fly off to Boston to face the Bruins on Thursday, March 7.
It’s not an easy schedule, yet it will be a solid test for the team’s steadiness on the ice. It would seem time to improve the team’s home record if it can do so.