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It is hard to be critical about the Toronto Maple Leafs, who entering their contest against the Carolina Hurricanes were leading the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, but the 5-2 loss in Raleigh on Wednesday night contained some aspects that the club cannot ignore if their aspirations are to be a Stanley Cup contender this season.
John Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen scored for Toronto and Frederik Andersen made 40 saves that ended his personal eight-game winning streak on the road and the club’s four-game winning streak.
After shaking off their tendency of starting slow recently, the Leafs dug themselves an early hole for the second time this week. On Monday, they fell behind 2-0 against Columbus, but rebounded later in the game for a 4-2 victory.
On Wednesday, Toronto was outworked and lost most of the puck battles in a completely one-sided first period, as Carolina tied an NHL record with 29 shots on Andersen and took the lead on goals by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Justin Williams.
“We talked about the process (before the game) and being ready and we weren't. When you look at it, we didn't win any battles, any races. It doesn't matter how much skill you have.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game.
Toronto was outplayed and was able to remain in the game thanks to Andersen and an opportunistic Tavares taking advantage of one of Carolina’s few miscues to get the Leafs on the board. Michael Ferlund and Kapanen exchanged goals in the third, but Toronto could not beat former teammate Curtis McElhinney with an extra attacker before Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov added empty netters.
“We had the game close, we had opportunity at 6-on-5 and all that,… Babcock said. “In saying that, the right team won. The team that started on time and worked the hardest. In the end, even though we turned the game and did all those things, not enough guys and not prepared.
Throughout the first quarter of the season, the Leafs powerhouse offense and their goaltender have covered up the club’s defensive inadequacies.
There has been some improvement on the blueline, including Morgan Rielly growing into a legitimate #1 defenseman, the maturation of Travis Dermott, the addition of Igor Ozhiganov and Jake Gardiner cutting down on defensive giveaways, but on Wednesday the bottom pairing could not gain control of the puck maintain any modicum of control in their own zone prior to van Riemsdyk’s goal and Gardiner allowed Williams a clear path to the front of the net to deflect a Calvin deHaan pass.
As a possible resolution to the William Nylander impasse draws closer, the possibility of the Leafs getting a top four defenseman in exchange for the restricted free agent has to be utmost on the minds of Leafs management.
Based on the club’s ability to generate offense without Auston Matthews and Nylander, it is clear that the club can thrive without the 22-year-old and would be much improved if they are able to convert him into a defenseman of comparable value. It is also becoming clear that the Leafs could make an extended run on the back of their scoring and Andersen, but would improve their chances if they are successful in adding that long sought after upgrade on defense.
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Here’s the latest collab between NJ & MIB. Listen now. #TMLtalk #NHL@MikeInBuffalo @NormanJamesTLC https://t.co/QceRenDoTA pic.twitter.com/USiXVaKqH1
— The Leafs Convo (@TheLeafsConvo) November 20, 2018