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Some games earning a single point is a disappointment, but the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers was a valuable point in the standings only made possible by a spectacular 37-save effort by goalie Frederik Andersen.
“(Andersen was) outstanding, I thought he was a star. I don’t like to see him have to be as good as was for us tonight.” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “We put a lot of pressure on our goaltender right from the get-go.”
Henrik Lundqvist was equally impressive for the Rangers, holding Toronto at bay after Connor Brown’s goal in the first. J.T. Miller tied the game midway through the third.
Toronto once again fell victim to their ineffectiveness in the shootout. Auston Matthews was successful, but Lundqvist stopped William Nylander and Nazem Kadri, while Mats Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad both beat Andersen to give New York the victory.
The Leafs are 1-7 in the shootout this season, which in a tight race in the Eastern Conference could be the difference between the playoffs and an early offseason.
The New York Islanders and Boston Bruins both won in regulation on Thursday, moving them into a tie with Toronto with 68 points. Florida plays the Calgary Flames on Friday and if they win, the Panthers will also be at 68 points.
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Injured winger Mitch Marner worked out individually on Friday but did not participate in team practice on Friday, which is an indicator that the rookie will miss his fifth straight game when the Leafs play the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Connor Carrick also did not skate on Friday, and is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury. Alexei Marchenko played 13:52, blocked four shots and was +1 in his Leafs debut.
“I thought [Marchenko] made a real good play on our goal. I thought he had another one get to the net and he turned the puck over one time on a D-zone faceoff coming around.” Babcock said. “Obviously he's got skill and he's smart and he's a big man out there so that was a positive as well.”
Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk and Connor Brown were also absent from practice, but are expected to be in the lineup on Saturday.
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