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The Toronto Maple Leafs through 40 minutes put forth one of their best efforts of the season at both ends of the ice, holding a 2-1 lead and limiting the division rival Florida Panthers to 11 shots on goal, but as has been the case many times this season, everything unraveled in a short time span, as the Panthers scored four third period goals in a 5-3 victory over the Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
John Tavares, William Nylander and Auston Matthews scored for Toronto, but even without star center Aleksander Barkov and former Leaf Brian Boyle in the lineup, Toronto was unable to maintain their defensive structure for a full 60 minutes and allowed converted defenseman Mark Pysyk to score a hat trick in arguably the biggest game of the season.
#FlaPanthers Mark Pysyk bumps into & makes contact with #LeafsForever Frederik Andersen's head here in the 1st.
— Here's Your Replay â¬‡ï¸ (@HeresYourReplay) February 4, 2020
It didn't look like much, but you never know with head contact. pic.twitter.com/xQdDpVVjuF
“We get the 3-1 goal and it should be over from there. We (lost) our focus a little bit and then we let them get the second one, and we just never really recovered. That was a challenge for us.… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “I don't think the result is in any way indicative of the way the game went. When you talk about the maturity of our team, a lot of the narrative is how we can't defend. That's the best defensive game we've played the entire season.
I don't know if we gave up over four scoring chances at even-strength the whole hockey game. That's the way it goes. We would have liked to have more offence and score more and grow a bigger lead. We had plenty of opportunities to do that and we didn't. We let them hang around in the game.…
There were aspects of the performance that normally would be front and center in any autopsy of the game, such as the terrible performance of defenseman Cody Ceci (who was on the ice for three Florida goals in their comeback) or Frederik Gauthier’s lackluster play on the fourth line, but that all takes a backseat to the injury to Frederik Andersen.
Andersen was bumped by Pysyk and collided with Florida’s Frank Vatrano and teammate Jake Muzzin late in the first period. The Leafs starter did not return for the middle frame and backup Michael Hutchinson allowed three goals on 13 shots in the loss.
After the game, Keefe indicated that Andersen had cleared concussion protocol and that he did not return to the game for precautionary reasons and that they would see how he felt.
On Tuesday morning, the Leafs recalled Kasimir Kaskisuo from the Toronto Marlies and Andersen did not appear on the ice at the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke. Keefe indicated after practice that Andersen is day-to-day with a neck injury, Kaskisuo will travel to New York City with the club and Hutchinson will get the start on Wednesday against the Rangers.
This is a potentially a worst-case scenario for the Leafs, because of Andersen’s concussion history and how sometimes they can be misdiagnosed as neck injuries. Even though Hutchinson’s performance level has improved recently, he is clearly not a dependable option if Andersen is hurt for a long stretch and has to step in as the #1.
Toronto may have considered an upgrade at backup prior to the February 24th trade deadline a secondary priority to improving on the blueline, but with the uncertainty of Andersen’s health, it likely makes finding help between the pipes more important.
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On last night’s setback.
— The Leafs Convo (@TheLeafsConvo) February 4, 2020
There is pod.
Enjoy. @MikeInBuffalo @IamNormanJames #LeafsForever #TheLeafsConvo https://t.co/xU3EzBMx1f
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