That’s four-in-six in the 416, and Mike Babcock is still trying to get dialled in on Toronto’s direction.
For all the positives the Maple Leafs showed in a busy stretch of games to open the NHL season, the past two matches have underlined the kind of defensive breakdowns that hurt them at key times last season.
A third period letdown against Montreal on Saturday was followed by a good forechecking game gone to waste in a 3-2 loss to the Stanley Cup-champion St. Louis Blues on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
“I liked us every night except the back-to-back (against the Habs, when they had a three-goal lead),” Babcock said. “We have a chance to get a lot better, obviously.”
A two-day respite, including a complete day off Tuesday, leads to a Thursday match against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“(Monday’s) game was right there on the line going into the third and, in the end, that’s what good teams do. You have a swagger about you and find a way to win,” Babcock said. “They had a nice little pick there (Tyson Barrie was blocked from getting to a wide open Brayden Schenn) and in one seam we have five guys in there and didn’t sort it out (on Alex Pietrangelo’s winner).”
The most interesting quote from Babcock had to do with the fourth line of Nic Petan, Jason Spezza and Frederik Gauthier, all factoring in Toronto’s opening goal. Petan and Spezza have rotated every game so far with Dmytro Timashov and Nick Shore.
“We’ll look at it tomorrow,” Babcock said. “We’ve rotated for four games. Are we going to do it two more? Or is it the National Hockey League and the best guys play?”
WHERE THERE’S A WILL …
Babcock kept trying to pump up William Nylander last year, despite the winger’s obvious struggles coming back from a long contract layoff.
This year, it’s genuine praise after a goal on Tuesday and other positives in his play without the puck.
“That was his best (game) by far,” Babcock said. “He had the puck, he got it back, he made things happen, his most competitive game.”
The coach also gave rookie defenceman Rasmus Sandin another 15-plus minutes of work.
GAME ON
Frederik Andersen let in a second-period softy to fourth-liner Oskar Sundqvist, indicating he was distracted by a teammate’s shot-block attempt.
The Leafs were out-muscled on the tying goal and spread too thin on Pietrangelo’s winner. The results gave Toronto a record of 2-1-1, lots of funky offensive highlights for the TV networks, but enough video for their assistant coaches to harp on in meetings and practice.
A slashing call on defenceman Jake Muzzin with five minutes to play helped the Blues beat the Leafs a seventh straight time. Pietrangelo pinched down the right side and scored from a tight angle with no one detecting him.
The game was scoreless into the second period, but not for lack of trying. Alex Kerfoot and Auston Matthews rang the iron behind Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington and Nylander couldn’t get a puck to settle with a half-empty net. Andersen had his glove working on some hot line drives.
Just 24 seconds after Sundqvist’s goal, Leafs defenceman Cody Ceci jumped into the play and helped set up Nylander’s second of the season.
But on an extended heavy shift after Morgan Rielly’s clearing pass was picked off, the Blues bumped the Leafs off the puck to set up Schenn for the 2-2 goal in the last minute of the second.
TIP OF THE KAP
The ill-advised Kasperi Kapanen stick toss on Saturday night, combined with three pointless games and a minus three to start the year put the Finn in the media focus on Monday morning. He is trying to fill Zach Hyman’s role on the opposite wing with John Tavares and Mitch Marner.
“You have to stay positive,” Kapanen said. “I’m not saying our line’s been bad, but we aren’t at full potential … at least I haven’t been. I have to pick it up.
“I just have to get my legs going a bit more, be heavy on the body and hit as much as I can, get the puck to (Tavares and Marner, who have a combined eight points) and get in front and tip pucks.”
Babcock said playing Kapanen 18 minutes a night is a sign of the team’s faith in him.
“It’s just a process for the guy,” he said. “Two years he was in the playoffs for us, so anything he did we liked. Last year, he started on the fourth line and played on the second and anything he did we liked. Now we’re evaluating him and he’s evaluating himself. Once you set the bar, you have to keep raising it.”
BLUES CLUES
Like many coaches, Babcock saw the Blues’ championship season as an extension of putting together a patiently built program.
“They have a maturity about them,” Babcock said Monday morning. “They have veteran leadership, they take care of the puck, they play above you, they compete inside and on the forecheck.
“We weren’t handled by a lot of teams last year, but they handled us (twice).”
Of course those who’ve followed so many Leafs rebuilds since 1967 are getting antsy watching yet another team that started from scratch win a title. The Blues leave the Arizona Coyotes (the original Winnipeg Jets’ entry in ‘79) second to the Leafs for longest spell without a championship final appearance.
“The biggest lesson (from watching the Blues) is play right and you’ve got a chance,” Babcock said. “If you would’ve told me before the season started they’d win the Cup, I wouldn’t have been one bit surprised. But when the wheels came off (Mike Yeo replaced by Craig Berube behind the bench), we were. There have been tons of stories written about that looking back. But let’s not kid ourselves, it wasn’t pixie dust, it wasn’t a miracle. They were that good.”
LOOSE LEAFS
Matthews had been named one of the NHL’s three stars for the first week of the season … Though Hyman continues to participate in full practices and morning skates, Babcock says he and defenceman Travis Dermott “are not getting that get-out-of-jail-free card for a long time”. The end of October is the best guess for both … Maybe Justin Holl saw Minnesota mate Jake Gardiner’s overtime rush against Washington the other night. Holl, who plays every second game, picked off a first-period pass, took off down the left side and got a nice shot away on Binnington … On Tuesday, the Blues will be at the Hall Of Fame donating one of their Cup rings. It will be displayed alongside the first such bauble, given to Billy Barlow of the 1893 champion Montreal Amateur Athletic Association … Berube on avoiding the dreaded Cup hangover, starting with the short summer: “Our guys came into camp in really good shape, ready to go. We have to do a really good job of managing our energy this season. You can play well, but you don’t do the little things right, you’re probably going to lose” … Berube joined the list of former Leafs players to coach a Cup winner, the fifth since 1971; Al MacNeil (Montreal), Al Arbour (Islanders), Randy Carlyle (Anaheim) and Joel Quenneville (Chicago).
FIVE THINGS
Take that
The Leafs posted 11 takeaways from nine different players, two of them by William Nylander demonstrating a different side to his game. Standing up to a bigger Blues’ team is something that must become routine for the Leafs through the coming season.
Off the Matts
This was the first game in which Auston Matthews didn’t score or have a point, though he was all around the net and had eight shot attempts. One struck the post, part of three dings off the iron for Toronto. Mitch Marner was also pointless for the first time this season.
Big game, little John
Andreas Johnsson once more made many little plays that just missed adding up to big goals. The Swede is always around the net and a very under-appreciated part of the Matthews-Nylander combination.
The bottom line
The fourth lines on both clubs had the opening goals. For Toronto, it was quite significant. Nic Petan, Jason Spezza and scorer Freddy Gauthier all touched the puck on the forechcek and had a nice finish. Production from that low in the batting order is always appreciated.
Home cooking goes cold
Despite starting with three out of four games at home, Toronto could not make full use of Scotiabank, netting just three points. Another night when an opposition with Toronto connections — Jordan Binnington, Tyler Bozak, Ryan O’Reilly, Robby Fabbri, Alex Pietrangelo, Vince Dunn — were just as fired up as the home side.
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October 08, 2019 at 01:28PM
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