The Toronto Maple Leafs opened their exhibition schedule with a sluggish performance in a 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.
Auston Matthews and William Nylander scored power play goals for the Leafs, but the Senators took advantage of a lax Toronto defense, that allowed the Senators to take a commanding 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.
"The big message is you come out of three days of camp, you thought everything went real good, but it just goes to show you as a head coach in the NHL, that you should live scared every day, (because) a disaster is coming next." Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said following the game.
Tyler Randell opened the scoring and Mike Hoffman tallied twice just over seven minutes into the first period. Matthews scored late in the first to get the Leafs on the scoreboard, but Ottawa’s Mark Stone responded 35 seconds later to re-establish the Sens three goal lead.
It was not a strong night for Toronto goaltending. Curtis McElhinney got the start and allowed four goals on 12 shots. Garret Sparks replaced McElhinney at the midway point of the game and surrendered a pair of goals to Gabriel Gagne and Cody Ceci.
It was a baptism of fire for a number of Leafs making their debut and a number of forwards vying for a fourth line job did not get off to a good start. Former KHLer Miro Aaltonen appeared slow at times and fell behind the play on Hoffman’s second goal and Stone’s tally late in the first. Rookie Kasperi Kapanen was -3 on the night and Nikita Soshnikov was -2.
Defenseman Calle Rosen led Toronto in time-on-ice with over 21 minutes and showed excellent mobility, a powerful shot and saw time on both the left and right side. Rosen played the right side for the last two season in the SHL and his versatility could put him in a position to be a good option as a depth defenseman.
The 23-year-old Swede was caught standing still on Hoffman's goal and out of position on Ceci’s tally late in the second.
The rookie pairing of Travis Dermott and Timothy Liljegren also played well, possibly a product of them playing together during the rookie tournament and during the opening of training camp in Niagara Falls.
Painfully apparent on the night was an emphasis on calling penalties for face-off violations and curtailing slashing. Three minors were called on the clubs for indiscretions on draws and five slashing penalties were handed out on the night.
An interesting wrinkle thrown in by Babcock during the game was having Nylander take draws on the power play and during some 5-on-5 situations. The winger won eight of 11 faceoffs on the night. Babcock indicated that the Leafs plan to use the 21-year-old winger to take draws on the right side of the ice, which may be an indicator that the Leafs are preparing for Nylander's eventual move to the middle in the not-so-distant future.
The two squads will meet at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday, with Frederik Andersen expected to get the start in goal for Toronto.
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Joffrey Lupul’s comments on Instagram have brought a reaction in NHL circles on Monday.
The 33-year-old winger (who has a year remaining on his five-year, $26.25 Million contract and has not played since February 2016) failed his physical for the second straight year last Thursday, but commented on his health status via social media and quickly deleted them Sunday night.
“Haha failed physical? They cheat, everyone lets them.” Lupul said.
Lupul has an avenue to dispute the results of a failed physical through the collective bargaining agreement, but did not avail himself of that opportunity last September and has not done so to this point.
The winger’s former coach and teammates were asked for a reaction at the Leafs practice facility in Etobicoke on Monday and tried to stay far away from the budding controversy as possible.
“I don’t know nothing about (Lupul), really,” Babcock said. “You know, I just wish him well in whatever he’s doing.”
Nazem Kadri, who played with Lupul for parts of his six-year stint in Toronto, liked the photo on Instagram before the winger added his comments.
“I didn’t realize what was going to transpire after (his comments). Kadri said. “He’s just a friend of mine, I hope for the best for him. It’s not my job to speculate or to wonder what’s going on outside the dressing room, I’m worried about the guys inside.”
According to TSN’s
Pierre LeBrun and
Darren Dreger, Lupul can file a grievance with the NHLPA on his failed physical until 5pm Thursday.
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