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Leafs lose to Ottawa in Rookie Tournament finale

September 10, 2017, 10:23 PM ET [265 Comments]
Mike Augello
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There was more of a reason for optimism for the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators in the finale of the Rookie Tournament at Ricoh Coliseum on Sunday.

Toronto dominated the first and second periods, as Martins Dzierkals, Ryan McGregor and Trevor Moore built a 3-0 lead and held the Senators scoreless through 40 minutes. As with their 5-2 loss to Montreal on Friday, the third period was not kind to Toronto, as Ottawa charged back to tie the game and win in the shootout.

2017 draft pick Ian Scott stopped 18 shots before being relieved by Kasimir Kaskisuo midway through the second. Kaskisuo allowed three goals on 15 shots and Maxime Lajoie's winner in the shootout.

Defenseman Travis Dermott returned after missing Friday's game against Montreal due to an illness. The 20-year-old blueliner had some positive moments in his debut (paired with 2017 top pick Timothy Liljegren), making quick decisions, displaying an ability to rush the puck and laying out an Ottawa forward with an open ice check at the end of the first period.

The Newmarket native admitted to being rusty after the game, including a mistake during a four-on-four late in the third that led to the Sens narrowing the lead to 3-2.

“I came out here with the mindset to just get my legs back underneath me and get the feel of the game back leading into camp, just want to get the first game out of the way.” Dermott said after the game. “(I) went out there with the mindset to make my good plays and make my mistakes, I knew I was going to make some and I did, but I thought I made some good plays too.”




Andreas Englund and Matteo Gennaro narrowed the Leafs lead to 3-2 and Filip Chlapik tied the game with 1:13 left in regulation. Both clubs failed to score in overtime and through five rounds of a shootout, before Lajoie beat Kaskisuo for the win.

An encouraging aspect of the game was the play of Liljegren, who was more composed in his second game than in his rocky debut. The 18-year-old assisted on Moore’s power play marker, used his speed on a couple occasions to press the attack in the offensive zone and fit well with Dermott on the Leafs top pairing.

“I thought (Liljegren) was really good with the puck, he looked really confident, but then I thought he defended really well today too.” Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe said following the game. “It was nice game for him and he was excellent on the power play.”




The Leafs will open training camp on Thursday at the MasterCard Centre with a media availability before heading to Niagara Falls for three days of on-ice workouts.

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