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As has been their habit in the three games without leading scorer Auston Matthews in the lineup, the Toronto Maple Leafs erased an early deficit to earn points in an Atlantic Division rival, but for the second straight night, the Leafs fell short after regulation, losing 3-2 to the Florida Panthers on Jared McCann’s goal at 3:47 of overtime.
Toronto fell behind early on goals from Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau before bouncing back in the middle frame with Dominic Moore and Zach Hyman tying the game.
The Leafs appeared to be showing the effects of games on consecutive nights late in the third period, as Florida pressed for the tying goal and registered eight consecutive shots.
Backup Curtis McElhinney held off the Panthers in regulation and made a spectacular save in overtime on Jonathan Huberdeau, but fell victim to a poor defensive play by Nikita Zaitsev and Nazem Kadri, who were beaten by the speedy McCann on the game-winner.
“We controlled lots of the play, (but) in the end you have to give (the Panthers) credit, they hung in there and found a way to score in overtime and get the two points.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “We got one, so when I look at the two games we probably deserve two points out of the four we got, and that’s what we got.…
Babcock’s two-game experiment with William Nylander playing center ended on Tuesday, as Moore replaced Josh Leivo in the lineup and played between Leo Komarov and Kasperi Kapanen and veteran Tomas Plekanec was promoted to the top line with Hyman and Nylander.
The Leafs have three days off until the outdoor game against the Washington Capitals in Annapolis, MD on Saturday, but that will not be enough time for Auston Matthews to get back into the lineup.
GM Lou Lamoriello indicated on Wednesday that it will take a bit longer for the injured center to recuperate from a shoulder injury suffered against the New York Islanders on February 22nd.
The time frame indicated for Matthews recovery from a Grade 2 shoulder separation was two-to-four weeks and based on the club’s comfortable playoff positioning, the upcoming schedule and the caution normally exercised of the Leafs medical staff, it is likely that the Calder Trophy winner will be held out until mid-March.
Following the rematch of last year’s first round series at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday, the Leafs have a light schedule, with just four games in the next 13 games (two of which are against the lowly Buffalo Sabres) and could allow Matthews to fully heal in preparation for the playoffs.
The extended time without Matthews would also give the Leafs time to evaluate whether Nylander can play up the middle and is capable of being the replacement for Tyler Bozak if the veteran departs via free agency this summer.
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