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The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the first game of their four-game Western road swing losers of three straight games, all of which they led in the second period, but in home losses to Colorado and Detroit, they gave up the game-winning goal in the final five minutes of regulation with an opportunity to earn a point or perhaps two in overtime or a shootout.
The Leafs led the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 in the second period in an energetic, fast-paced, and entertaining contest at Rogers Arena on Tuesday, but true to recent form the lead frittered away, and with the score even late in the third, Ryan McLeod scored the game-winner to give the Oilers a 4-2 victory.
Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 34th goal of the season 27 seconds into the game, Morgan Rielly added to the lead midway through the middle frame, and Toronto dodged a bullet as former Leaf Zach Hyman’s response seconds later was overruled due to being offsides, but Leon Draisaitl got Edmonton on the board late in the second, Derek Ryan tied the game early in the third, and McLeod beat a screened Martin Jones with 3:05 left.
Ryan McLeod puts the Oilers in the lead
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 17, 2024
McDavid screened the hell out of Jones pic.twitter.com/51unxEy3Gb
Keefe tried to minimize the concerns of the Leafs losing skid, saying that their downturn has occurred in less than a week, but the club in truth is now two games under .500 (5-7-2) over the last month and is in danger of falling out of a top three spot in the Atlantic Division. Jones was excellent on the night, and perhaps can only be faulted for not hugging the post on Draisaitl’s opening goal, but Toronto’s offensive struggles are exposing their shortcomings at their end of the ice.
AUSTON MATTHEWS 🚨
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 17, 2024
CRISS CROSS GOAL! pic.twitter.com/vN3ljS4ldt
On the positive side, Pontus Holmberg continued to be a nice fit with Matthews and Mitch Marner, assisting on both Toronto goals, but John Tavares is pointless and -7 in the last five games, William Nylander is pointless in the last four, Tyler Bertuzzi has one assist in the last four, and Simon Benoit (who basically was expected to be a seventh defenseman or playing with the Marlies) is playing on the second pairing and was on the ice for two Edmonton goals on Tuesday.
Once again, the Leafs are just reinforcing the fact that spending a boatload on four scoring forwards, the team’s flaws that have been pretty much the same during their seven-year run of making the playoffs have not changed in spite of going through three GM’s and two head coaches.
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