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It seems impossible for observers of the Toronto Maple Leafs to have any sense of confidence in the club, in spite of having one of the NHL’s best records, since they remain bafflingly inconsistent and bleed points against some of the league’s lesser lights. The 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday served as another reminder that the club lacks killer instinct, not only against the top squads in the East but also against the NHL’s bottom dwellers.
The Leafs took an early 2-0 lead, but squandered their advantage and allowed the bottom-dwelling Blue Jackets to take control of the game in the middle frame, pelting rookie goalie Joseph Woll with 21 shots and scoring three times. After Morgan Rielly’s power-play goal tied the game early in the third, Kent Johnson put Columbus back in the lead and Toronto was unable to reply.
“I can’t do the work for them.… A frustrated Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “They have to make a decision as to how important (the game) is to them. That is really it.…
The loss coupled with Tampa Bay’s 2-1 win in Dallas on Saturday finds the Leafs only two points up on the Lightning with Tampa having two games in hand.
With just 19 days left before the NHL Trade Deadline, considerations about not making significant changes for fear of messing with team chemistry should be put to the side. The Leafs will get Auston Matthews back in the next few weeks, but the club’s issues have more to do with ineffective and inconsistent depth up front and on the blueline that may not be able to be rectified by one or two moves before March 3.
Third-liner Pierre Engvall was benched after a giveaway in the middle frame, David Kampf went -2 in just under 14 minutes, continuing the drop in his play over the last 20 games, while four players (Alex Steeves, Pontus Holmberg, Zach Aston-Reese, and Joey Anderson) played less than eight minutes in the second of back-to-back games.
Once again, the Achilles heel on defense was Justin Holl, who went -3 and was caught well out of position on Kirill Marchenko’s tying goal. Holl puzzlingly seems immune to being benched by Keefe, likely because the Leafs blueline lacks size after the injury to Jake Muzzin, but it is hard to imagine the defense would not be improved with Conor Timmins playing regularly instead, or a defenseman acquired in a trade.
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