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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to take advantage of their high level of skill and offensive talent to post the fourth best points percentage in the NHL this season, but the true test of the club is how they will fare when the checking gets tighter and the games get more physical in the playoffs.
The 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday ended Toronto’s six-game winning streak, but also raised questions about the club’s readiness for the postseason. The Leafs generated 48 shots on Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom (playing on back-to-back nights) and took a 1-0 lead early in the middle frame on a Rasmus Sandin goal, but appeared to be playing with trepidation as Calgary used their size and strength to turn the tide of the game, scoring four straight in the second to take a commanding lead.
“We got the goal and we let up for a bit there and made mistakes, big mistakes. The mistake on the back-check on the first goal, the mistake on the face-off play that we talked about before the game on the second goal, the lazy penalty on the third goal that ends up in our net and then the break down in the neutral zone in coverage on the fourth so we make mistakes at a time when we were playing a good game,… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. (If) you make those mistakes against a good team, you give them a few looks and then the game gets away on you.…
Forward Ondrej Kase left the game late in the first period after getting slammed by Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov and did not return, but that was not the only instance of Calgary laying the body on Leafs players and making them pay a physical price. Michael Bunting and TJ Brodie both felt the wrath of the big Russian blueliner near the Flames net, while Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander all were harassed without much pushback.
Huge hit by Nikita Zadorov on Ondrej Kase pic.twitter.com/sbLIX3hO8S
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) February 11, 2022
Toronto’s usual excellence on draws abandoned them at key moments in the contest, as face-off losses in the defensive zone results in goals for Flames defensemen Noah Hanifin and Oliver Kylington. The Leafs defensive struggles continued, as the pairing of Justin Holl and Jake Muzzin were on the ice for three Calgary goals, and goalie Jack Campbell allowed five goals for the fourth time in the last month.
“(Campbell) wasn’t giving us much today, so to give those goals to them took away from what I thought was a good game.… Keefe said. “I thought our guys played hard, I thought we made plays, I thought we controlled the game but when you make those kind of mistakes, you can’t win.…
In spite of a very good overall record, Campbell has not been the same goalie since the beginning of December, with a below-average .893 save percentage and 3.28 GAA in 15 starts.
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Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
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