Worth noting in the aftermath of the Maple Leafs’ gut-wrenching loss against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night: Michael Hutchinson didn’t call out his teammates.
The backup goaltender would have had every right, to be sure, after the Leafs collapsed in the third period, blowing a three-goal lead but managing to salvage a point in a 6-5 loss in a shootout.
Coach Mike Babcock summed it up well afterward in discussing Hutchinson’s first start of the regular season, saying the Leafs “hung him out to dry.”
But nary a negative word from Hutchinson, who went out of his way to laud John Tavares after the captain took a slashing penalty in the first minute of overtime, a play that might have prevented the Canadiens from scoring.
“That’s a really good penalty to take,” Hutchinson said. “When he sacrificed for that, you want to bail him out and give us a chance to win it, killing off that penalty.”
Hutchinson further accentuated the positive.
“It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the two points, but I thought the guys battled so hard,” Hutchinson said. “The second game of back-to-backs — even giving up that fifth goal and coming back and tying it up with the extra attacker was huge for us.”
Earlier in the day, Babcock noted that Hutchinson is a “real good person” and is liked by Frederik Andersen and goaltending coach Steve Briere.
We’re not going to put words in the coach’s mouth, but the fact is the Leafs already are in a better spot at the backup position than they were with Garret Sparks last season. Sparks rubbed some teammates the wrong way with his outspoken manner, which was happening at the same time that Sparks struggled to find his place in net after his superb 2017-18 season with the Toronto Marlies.
Sparks is long gone.
Hutchinson won’t ruffle feathers in the dressing room.
It wasn’t on Hutchinson’s shoulders that the Leafs lost to Montreal. One goal went in off the skate of Morgan Rielly, while the Leafs generally became defensively unglued in the final 20 minutes, offering little in the way of resistance in front of Hutchinson.
As it stands, Hutchinson is on pace to continue to get the second of back-to-back sets, meaning three more starts await in the month of October.
KAPPY KATASTROPHE
Singling out one play in the Leafs’ loss to the Canadiens and using it as a major reason Toronto eventually fell wouldn’t be wise, considering all that went wrong for the Leafs in the third period.
However, let’s revisit the bizarre decision by Kasperi Kapanen to throw his broken stick at Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry, who had the puck at the time and was awarded a penalty shot.
Kapanen said after the game that had he known that a penalty shot could be given to the opposition for throwing his stick, he wouldn’t have done it. Still, Kapanen had to have known that, at the least, a penalty might be assessed for the action.
We might not suggest that each player study the NHL rule book to the extent he knows it front to back, but use some common sense.
Never mind that Kapanen’s stick toss came with teammate Alex Kerfoot in the penalty box, serving an interference minor.
Petry scored, tying the game 4-4 in the third period.
“He made a reactionary move and I don’t think realized what the consequences were,” Tavares said. “It’s a mistake and I know he’ll bounce back from it. We’re there for him, it happens, and we had our opportunities after that.”
Just a hunch: We don’t see a similar play again, certainly not from someone wearing a Leafs sweater.
LOOSE LEAFS
Auston Matthews had some pointed words after the loss, putting any excuse the Leafs might have been tired to rest. “It’s no secret we were probably going to be fatigued but we can’t let that get in the way, making boneheaded mistakes and costing us opportunities on the other end,” Matthews said. “It’s definitely something we can learn from but it’s something we’ve run into in the past. I think it’s just on us to make sure no matter how tired we are we’re making good decisions and taking care of the puck and playing in their zone, not ours.” … This just in: The defence pair of Rielly and Cody Ceci needs plenty more time to develop. We’re curious to see how the defence pairs shake out once Travis Dermott returns from a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery. Rasmus Sandin continues to grow, while Ceci is one of a group of Leafs defencemen, including Tyson Barrie, Jake Muzzin, Martin Marincin and Justin Holl, who are heading for unrestricted free agency next summer. Does Ceci, even though he shoots right, spend the entirety of the season playing with Rielly? It’s debatable … Perhaps the biggest Leafs revelation through three games: The play of winger Ilya Mikheyev, whether at even-strength or while the Leafs are shorthanded. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Mikheyev finished sixth in the KHL last season with 23 goals for Omsk, and we’re already seeing the offensive potential in the 24-year-old. If Mikheyev continues to be impactful on a line with Kerfoot and Trevor Moore, we won’t be surprised if he eventually gets moved into the top six.
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October 07, 2019 at 04:52AM
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