For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs put forth a good effort in the second of back-to-back games against the New York Rangers on Sunday, but ran into the hot goaltending in Alexandar Georgiev and some ongoing issues in a 4-1 loss at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers backup made a career-high 55 saves on his 23rd birthday to end the Leafs four-game winning streak (allowing only Kasperi Kapanen’s shot on a first period breakaway to get past him), but Toronto once again fell behind early, failed to convert on the power play and received inconsistent goaltending from Garret Sparks. The Leafs allowed a goal from Andrew Shaw less than a minute into the game in Montreal on Saturday and repeated that at MSG, with Mika Zibanejad putting New York into the lead at the 28 second mark. Toronto registered 23 shots with the man advantage, but went 0 for 4 on the night. “I thought the power play was really good even though they didn't score. It would be pretty hard to look at that power play and say it wasn't good.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “I think it'll be good for our guys to go through to understand they had good looks and good opportunities. In the end, when you do good things good things happen over time.…
The Leafs power play may have looked good and generated opportunities, but their difficulty in converting has been ongoing for over two months. Toronto has dropped from near atop the league on the man advantage to 16th and have scored just four times on the power play since Christmas. Sparks was good after allowing two early goals in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh last week, but allowed three goals on 29 shots in New York, including a soft Adam Mcquaid midway through the third period that all but ended any chance of a Toronto comeback. The backup has lost three of his last four starts, which in a tight Atlantic Division playoff race, is not going to fill Babcock with a lot of confidence to use Sparks in anything other than back-to-back games and lean heavy on Frederik Andersen down the stretch. ******* Leafs GM Kyle Dubas did a bit of extra scouting on the weekend, watching the Minnesota Wild - NY Islanders from Lou Lamoriello’s box at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon. The Wild are holding on to the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference and could be a surprise seller if they fall out of a playoff spot in the next few weeks. Toronto also had scouts in Boston on Saturday for the Kings - Bruins game and there was some speculation that they have had some interest in LA’s Nate Thompson, but the veteran center was acquired by the Canadiens on Monday for a draft pick. *******
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