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The Toronto Maple Leafs should be thankful to have earned a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, as they had trouble generating offensive chances against the speedy Jersey squad and relied on goaltender Matt Murray to keep the game close until tying the game late in regulation, but Toronto once again went down to defeat after regulation, as Yegor Sharangovich scored 57 seconds into extra time to give the Devils their 11th straight victory.
“I thought the difference was that we beat ourselves at times and gave them free goals. They didn’t beat themselves at all. That is how you win 11 in a row. You don’t beat yourself.… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “I think we have shown here lately that we can win games and beat really good teams. This is the best team in the NHL right now. Despite the fact that we didn’t play a great hockey game, we still got a point. We were right there. That shows what we are capable of. But we have to start beating ourselves.…
Auston Matthews scored on the power play to give Toronto a first-period lead, but that lasted just 24 seconds before Jesper Bratt tied the game. Nico Hischier gave New Jersey the lead early in the second period, but the Devils could not widen the gap as Murray made 29 saves and kept the Leafs close with a number of quality stops.
Turnovers and missed defensive assignments continue to plague the Leafs this season. Bratt’s tying goal was caused by the inability of Justin Holl to get the puck out of the zone and being out of position when the Devils forward closed in for his scoring chance. Hischier’s go-ahead goal was caused by a Jordie Benn turnover as the veteran blueliner attempted to carry the puck into the New Jersey zone.
This is a daily occurrence for Justin Holl. #Leafs https://t.co/USt3mIqQmC
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) November 18, 2022
Toronto was ineffective on four chances on the man advantage after the Matthews goal, and were fortunate to tie the game as William Nylander’s shot deflected off the shin pad of Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler past Vitek Vanecek with 2:09 left in regulation.
The Leafs did not have much of a chance in overtime, as they lost the opening faceoff, did not gain possession of the puck and the trio of John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Morgan Rielly were trapped in their own zone for almost all of the 57 seconds before Sharangovich’s game winner.
Toronto are now 1-4-0 in overtime this season, and shown a propensity for giving up odd man chances and breakaways playing three-on-three.
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