There is not much point to make an argument for the Maple Leafs bad performance against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night.
It was not only wanting and disappointing, but it has started to become a trend.
“We were flat, flat, flat, flat. We looked like at times we were playing in boots and they were playing in skates.” Coach Randy Carlyle admitted after the game.
Unlike the 6-0 massacre over two weeks ago, the Leafs were unable to put any pressure on the Canadiens in the defensive zone, which allowed their mobile defensemen to carry the puck and mount an attack with speed.
Conversely, Montreal neutralized Toronto’s offense by establishing their forecheck, winning most of the battles along the boards and aggravating the Leafs in their own zone all night.
Toronto was extremely fortunate to be tied 2-2 after being dominated and outshot 28-12 through forty minutes, but Montreal took control in the third on goals by Brendan Gallagher and Max Pacioretty to give them the deserved victory.
The Leafs did not get much help from the officiating, as winger Mike Brown was handed a five minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct for hitting defenseman Josh Gorges behind the net late in the first period and the winning goal by Gallagher that was aided by a questionable faceoff drop from linesman Jean Morin, but the fault for the loss was Toronto’s lack of effort and irresponsible defensive play.
The lack of jump and energy has recurred over the last few weeks, as the Leafs have gone 5-4-0 since February 11, the night they lost both goaltender James Reimer and winger Matt Frattin to injury.
Losses to Carolina, Tampa Bay, Ottawa and Montreal, as well as underwhelming performances in two 3-0 shutout victories at Florida and against the Senators at the ACC have all had the same traits; lack of skating, forechecking and offensive output. This can be written off as growing pains of one of the youngest teams in the NHL or a product of a compacted schedule, but all other NHL teams have the same concerns.
After tonight’s game against the New York Islanders, the Leafs have 26 games remaining in 54 days, which averages out to a game every two days, so there will be little or no rest for the weary. If Toronto hopes to remain in position to earn one of the Eastern Conference playoff spots, they cannot afford many more subpar performances like last night.
*******
The Toronto Star’s
Damien Cox had some very interesting speculation in his latest column regarding the possibility of the Leafs having interest in pending UFA and current Anaheim Duck winger Corey Perry before the April 3rd trade deadline.
Cox states that the Ducks will likely keep only one their dynamic duo and that it will probably be Getzlaf, who will be less expensive to sign and plays center; a more difficult position to find a replacement.
While Perry is not the front line center the Leafs are looking for, he is a consistent source of offense and a fierce competitor, who will get lots of interest in the free agent market over the summer.
The unknown factor here is whether Anaheim GM Bob Murray would be open to dealing with the Leafs, after being taken to the cleaners not only in the J.S Giguere for Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala deal or the Jake Gardiner and Joffrey Lupul for Francois Beauchemin trade, but how about Mark Fraser for Dale Mitchell.
Cox believes that former Leafs GM Brian Burke could have some sway if there was mutual interest in a deal and might steer Murray towards a deal with Toronto if it involved Phil Kessel.
Any deal involving Kessel and Perry would be contingent on the Leafs getting Perry to agree to a long term extension, which might be difficult unless GM Dave Nonis overpays the former Hart Trophy winner, but the uncertainty of Kessel’s future in Toronto after next season and the fact that he is firmly established himself as a highly talented, but streaky one dimensional player(reference his 12 goal scoreless streak or his -4 effort against the Habs) makes this something that is worth looking into.
*******
Toronto will face the New York Islanders in the second of back to back games tonight at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. The club chartered out of Toronto after the game last night and did not arrive in New York until 3:30 this morning.
In the wake of last night’s loss, Carlyle may shake up his defensive pairings, opting for veteran John-Michael Liles instead of Korbinian Holzer. Holzer was -2 in 18:28 and Liles has not played in the last five games.
James Reimer is expected to be in goal for the Leafs, with Evgeni Nabakov between the pipes for New York.
Find Great Deals On Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets At FanXchange.com
If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.
For Those on Twitter:
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.