The Toronto Maple Leafs losing ways continued in Newark, as veteran Patrik Elias once again scored the game winner to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-1 victory over Toronto at the Prudential Center on Friday.
Elias scored the winning tally in the shootout against Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier in a 2-1 win on January 28 and registered his 400th career NHL goal against Toronto’s James Reimer in the second period to lead the Devils past the Leafs for the second time in 10 days.
The loss was an historic one for the 2014-15 Maple Leafs, who have lost a franchise record 11th straight games and are 1-11-1 since the firing of coach Randy Carlyle on January 5.
Toronto outshot the Devils 34-17 and enjoyed the territorial advantage early in the game, but their energy and effort wilted after Tuomo Ruutu’s opening goal at 9:32 of the first period. Elias and Steve Bernier added to the New Jersey lead in the middle frame and goalie Cory Schneider kept the Leafs off the scoreboard until Tyler Bozak’s power play goal midway through the third. Jaromir Jagr added an empty net goal late in regulation with Reimer heading to the Toronto bench for an extra attacker.
Toronto’s best performers continue to be the players who will likely be traded in the next three weeks, as Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik played over 17 minutes and Cody Franson over 20 minutes ice time, while core players Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel combined for just two shots on goal.
The Leafs have a 3-18-1 record in their last 22 games(1/4 of the regular season) since the end of a six-game winning streak in mid-December and signs of frustration and dismay have become more frequent as the losses pile up.
“That’s just the way it goes sometimes when things are going to wrong way.… said Reimer, who raised his head to the heavens after allowing the opening goal. “When it comes down to it, we just need to smarten up and really play the way we can, with passion, and like men. We’ve got to find a way to be able to play with resolve no matter what kind of breaks go against you.…
With 29 games remaining in the regular season, some in the media have begun to call for interim coach Peter Horachek to be fired in hopes of pulling the club out of their death spiral, but the focus of the fan base has quickly shifted from playoff aspirations to the hunger for massive roster changes, a thorough organizational rebuild and continuing to lose in order to improve Toronto’s draft position.
Firing Horachek would not only make the Leafs look like the most dysfunctional organization in professional sports, it would potentially harm the only positive that can be accomplished from this season; getting the highest possible odds of winning the NHL Draft Lottery and being high enough to select an impact player even if the Leafs do not hit the jackpot and get Connor McDavid.
The top five of the 2015 Draft contains four potential #1 centers in McDavid, BU’s Jack Eichel, Erie’s Dylan Strome and London’s Mitch Marner and the reality of the NHL is that picks at the top of the draft are the best way to acquire centerpiece players.
Horachek is not at fault for the travails of the Maple Leafs. Like Carlyle, he is a victim of a roster that has all but checked out on their third coach in four seasons.
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The first of what is expected to be many trades made by the Maple Leafs occurred on Friday, as the club traded minor league forwards Carter Ashton and David Broll to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a conditional 2016 7th round draft pick.
The 23-year-old Ashton is going back to the organization that drafted him in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft. Ashton continues to have success at the AHL level, as he has scored 20 goals in 36 games with the Toronto Marlies, but has not shown anything in the NHL, with only three assists in 54 career games.
The 22-year-old Broll played five games for the Leafs early in the 2013-14 season, but scored only three goals in 94 career games with the Marlies. The Mississauga, Ontario native was playing for the ECHL Orlando Solar Bears.
The deal appears to be solely for the purpose of clearing two contracts off the Leafs roster to give them room under the NHL’s 50 professional contract limit. The conditional pick will only come into effect if Ashton re-signs with Tampa for next season and plays 15 games in the NHL in 2015-16.
It is ironic that Toronto kept the young winger on their 23-man NHL roster for the first month of the season for fear he would be claimed off of waivers, but after Ashton was suspended 20 games for violating the performance enhancing substance policy, he is sent down to the AHL and moved for no return.
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Wild Card Race – Points(Games Played)
1. NY RANGERS 64(49), 2. BOSTON 61(51), 3. FLORIDA 56(50), 4. PHILADELPHIA 52(52), 5. NEW JERSEY 51(52). 6. OTTAWA 49(50), 7. TORONTO 48(53).
Leafs odds of making the playoffs (0.3%, down 0.3% with loss to New Jersey, as per Sportsclubstats.com .
McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. NEW JERSEY 51(52), 7. OTTAWA 49(50), 6. TORONTO 48(53) 5. COLUMBUS 47(50), 4. ARIZONA 45(52), 3. CAROLINA 43(51), 2. EDMONTON 37(52), 1. BUFFALO 33(52)
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(7.5%)
Friday's results: Columbus pastes the St. Louis Blues 7-1 and moves to within one point of the Leafs in the NHL standings with three games in hand. The Leafs are working themselves into a position where falling lower than ninth would be next to impossible. Four Three teams are six points ahead and have between 2-3 games in hand, Philadelphia is four points up and has played one less game than the Leafs and Ottawa has 49 points but has three games in hand on Toronto.
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Rumor Updates
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that the next stop on the scouting trip for Leafs GM Dave Nonis is Tampa, where the Lightning are playing the LA Kings on Saturday. Nonis was in Nashville on Thursday to watch the Predators-Ducks game, two teams that may be in the mix in deals for pending free agents Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli and the Kings are also rumored to have interest in Franson as a stop gap replacement for suspended blueliner Slava Voynov.
The Kings chances of making the playoffs are slipping away, as they trail Winnipeg by eight, Calgary by seven and Vancouver by five points in the race for a Western Conference playoff spot and may need to make a move to bolster their blueline in advance of the March 2nd trade deadline if they have any hope of making the post-season and repeating as Stanley Cup Champions.
Devils beat reporter Tom Gulitti reported that scouts for the New York Rangers, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars were in attendance in Newark on Friday for the Devils – Leafs game. All four teams have been linked to Toronto in potential deals. The Rangers and Predators are reportedly interested in forward Mike Santorelli, the Jets have been eyeing veteran Daniel Winnik, while Nashville and Dallas are said to be looking at Franson.
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Toronto will try to end their losing streak at Air Canada Center against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, but will have to do it without team captain Dion Phaneuf, who is still not ready to return to the lineup after suffering a hand injury prior to the All-Star break.
The Oilers are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games under coach Todd Nelson, but will not have the services of top winger Taylor Hall and veteran Benoit Pouliot.
Viktor Fasth will get the start for Edmonton, who are currently 29th in NHL standings with 37 points. Toronto was slated to go with Jonathan Bernier in the second of back-to-back games, but rookie Antoine Bibeau has been recalled on an emergency basis and according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, one of the Leafs goaltenders(believed to be Bernier) is under the weather.
This would more likely result in Reimer starting on consecutive nights than the NHL debut of the 20-year-old Bibeau. *******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
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