For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs formula for victory most of the season has been overpowering offense and the steady goaltending of Frederik Andersen, and neither were present in a 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. Toronto averaged over five goals per game during their five-game December winning streak, but the Islanders successfully neutralized the Leafs ability to press the attack by plugging up the middle and shutting down their long stretch passes, limiting quality scoring chances on Robin Lehner, who made 36 saves for his 16th win and second shutout of the season. Andersen was unavailable (out day-to-day with a groin injury) and Toronto went with Garret Sparks for the third straight game. As has been the case for most of the season, the Leafs backup followed up a solid performance (a 27-save effort in Columbus on Friday) with an inconsistent effort. The Leafs defensive errors were made more evident without their offense providing it’s usual cover. Valtteri Filppula went through both Travis Dermott and Igor Ozhiganov and beat a surprised Sparks on the Isles opening goal, while the club’s fourth line could not gain possession of the puck and Ron Hainsey failed to keep the front of the net clear on Mathew Barzal’s first goal in the second period. Following a power play goal that deflected off of Nikita Zaitsev to make it 3-0, head coach Mike Babcock moved William Nylander up with Auston Matthews and Kasperi Kapanen in hopes of turning the tide, but it had the opposite effect as both Jake Gardiner and William Nylander were caught up the ice and Barzal beat Sparks five-hole to complete the natural hat trick. “I thought (Sparks) was unbelievable actually in the first. We gave up six grade-A [scoring chances] in the first, we usually don't give up six grade-As in a game.… Babcock said after the game. “We turned the puck over, they countered. They played exactly like we expected. They played hard. They were better than us. We were on the outside, they were on the inside. They gave us a lesson.… Sparks was far from being solely responsible for the loss, but allowing four goals on 17 shots midway through the game is a far cry from the Vezina-level performance the Leafs have been getting from Andersen this year, or the quality backup play they received from veteran Curtis McElhinney last season. With the injury status of their starter possibly a product of being overused and his availability up in the air, the Leafs have already addressed the goaltending depth issue within the organization with the addition of Michael Hutchinson, but they may have to increase the workload of their backup to decrease the physical stress on Andersen and have him fresh and healthy for a potential long playoff run.
Whether that means Hutchinson getting some starts with the Leafs will be up to Sparks and how he performs going forward. ******* Following the game, the Leafs returned goalie Kasimir Kaskisup to the Marlies, who was emergency recalled on Saturday morning when Andersen was deemed unavailable. The club also returned winger Trevor Moore to their AHL affiliate. Moore has two assists in three NHL games and has played well on a line with Frederik Gauthier and Par Lindholm. This move is similar to the demotion of Moore during the Christmas break (his two-way deal is $925,000(NHL)/$70,000(AHL)) and strictly for the purposes of saving room under the salary cap while the Leafs are out of action. *******