After falling behind by two goals in the second period, the Toronto Maple Leafs were unable to complete a comeback, suffering a 2-1 defeat to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday for their seventh loss in eight games.
Patrick Marleau led the way for the visiting Sharks, registering both goals in the win en route to first star of the game honours. Marleau also scored two goals in San Jose's only meeting with the Leafs last season and has 55 multi-goal games over his 14-year career. The Aneroid, Saskatchewan native has registered 16 points (8G, 8A) in 16 career games versus Toronto.
After a scoreless first period, Marleau broke open the scoring, roofing the puck over the shoulder of James Reimer just 32 seconds into the second. Marleau's goal was his 24th of the season, while Joe Thornton was credited with the lead assist for his 41st this year. Tommy Wingels drew the secondary assist on the play, giving him three this season.
Marleau got in on the scoring once again on the power play, deflecting a shot from Logan Couture and into the back of the net at the 10:43 mark. Couture's assist was his 25th this season, beating his assist total of 24 from last season. Defenceman Dan Boyle was credited with the additional helper, his 30th of the year.
Toronto got on the scoreboard early in the third period when rookie defenceman Jake Gardiner blasted a shot from the point past Antti Niemi for his fourth goal of the season. Gardiner's goal came almost one month to the day of his first career goal, as he notched his first marker on Jan. 24. Picking up the assists on Gardiner's goal were Phil Kessel for his 34th of the season, and Luke Schenn for his 17th.
With 1:29 left to play in regulation, the Leafs pulled Reimer from the net for the extra attacker and then called a timeout. They were unable to convert however as the Sharks hung on for just their second win in six games.
With an assist on Gardiner's goal in the third period, Phil Kessel registered his 65th point of the season. That sets a new single-season career high for the Madison, Wisconsin native, as his previous best was 64 points during the 2010-11 campaign.
While goaltending has been a concern for the Maple Leafs as of late, with general manager Brian Burke stating on a Toronto radio station on Thursday that he may have to look at goaltending help as the trade deadline approaches, it was not to blame for the loss.
Reimer stopped 23 shots and made some key saves at times but saw his record drop to 11-9-4 this season. The Morweena, Manitoba native said post-game that he was aware of the comments regarding his less than stellar netminding performance as of late but instead chooses to focus on the game itself.
"Don't pay attention to it," Reimer said with a laugh when asked how he stays focused despite criticism. "Ignorance is bliss. I know, obviously, there's comments floating around, but I have no idea what those comments are and I really don't care what they are. I love to play this game, I love my position, and for some weird reason I love to get hit by pucks."
"I'm going to keep doing that and working hard and trying to do my best at that, because I love doing my best and I hate going home and knowing that I let myself down and I let my teammates down and didn't do what I know I could do. That's all I'm worried about."
The Leafs were fairly lifeless through the first two periods, only mustering 14 shots on goal through the opening 40 minutes of play, compared to 16 shots on goal in the third. Following the end of the second period in which Toronto was down 2-0, the crowd at the ACC let their voices be heard, booing the Leafs as they went off to the locker room.
In his post-game press conference, Leafs head coach Ron Wilson said he was baffled by his team's lack of urgency in the second period, implying that Toronto's effort in the middle frame was what cost them the game.
"I thought the first period was ok, it's the second period where we didn't show that," Wilson said about the Leafs' sense of urgency. "Especially when they scored early in the period, it's like 'Oh here we go again'. We didn't get any breaks as far as any power play to get us going or settle things down. The second period -- you've gotta wonder where everybody was. It wasn't like we were under siege or anything like that, but we didn't get any offense really going. Why we didn't play in the second period the way we did in the third, I don't know."
The Leafs will look to turn things around in their final game before the trade deadline, hosting Alex Ovechkin and the slumping Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Sharks vs. Leafs Stats Recap
Shots
SJ: 25
TOR: 30
Shot Leaders
SJ: Six players tied w/ three each
TOR: Matthew Lombardi (4)
Power Play
SJ: 1/2
TOR: 0/0
Blocked Shots
SJ: 15
TOR: 15
Blocked Shot Leaders
SJ: Colin White (3)
TOR: Carl Gunnarsson and J.M. Liles tied (3)
Hits
SJ: 23
TOR: 27
Hits Leaders
SJ: Tommy Wingels (4)
TOR: Luke Schenn (5)
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