The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their second half downward spiral on Thursday, losing a 4-1 decision to the Florida Panthers at Air Canada Center.
The contest marked the debut of winger Casey Bailey, who was +1 and registered no shots on goal in just under 12 minutes of ice time and the first NHL goal for Sam Carrick, who converted on a nice setup from Morgan Rielly to break Roberto Luongo’s shutout bid in the third period.
That is where the positives ended for the Blue and White, who once again surrendered the opening goal and multiple goals in succession to put them in a hole they could not come back from.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Steven Kampfer scored thirty seconds apart early in the second to give Florida a 2-0 lead and chased goaltender Jonathan Bernier late in the middle frame after Brandon Pirri’s five-hole shot made it 3-0.
Carrick narrowed the Panthers lead to 3-1 midway through the third, but Pirri scored his second of the game into an empty net late to put the game out of reach.
Bernier allowed three Florida goals on 16 shots and was pulled in favor of backup James Reimer for the third time this month, but the fault for the goals has to be shared with his teammates, especially the line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, who were on the ice first two Panther goals and the empty netter.
This has been par for the course for the Leafs top unit, whose defensive shortcomings have not been counterbalanced by their scoring. The trio has struggled to generate offense since the departure of Randy Carlyle and are the top three in the league in negative plus/minus.
The leader board for the NHL "green jacket". #leafs pic.twitter.com/0T6r9jIikl
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) March 27, 2015"Our best scorers can't be our worst minuses. That's just where the team is right now." Interim coach Peter Horachek said on Friday.
The loss was the seventh straight in regulation for Toronto, who have gone a baffling 8-33-3 since the end of their six game winning streak in mid-December and further solidified their hold on the fourth slot heading into the NHL Draft Lottery next month, as Carolina defeated Pittsburgh to move four points ahead of the Leafs with two games in hand.
Edmonton trails Toronto by five points and could move closer as they take on the Dallas Stars on Friday at Rexall Place.
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The Maple Leafs continued their roster rotation with the Marlies on Friday, recalling blueliner T.J. Brennan and reassigning defenseman Andrew MacWilliam and forward Greg McKegg.
The moves appear to have been made more to bolster the AHL affiliate, who play the Hamilton Bulldogs at Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday afternoon in a critical game for the Marlies playoff chances.
Brennan has not been the same offensive dynamo that won the Eddie Shore Trophy for best defenseman last season, notching just one assist in nine games since being reacquired by Toronto in early March.
MacWilliam did not look out of place in his eight-game tryout and could be in the mix for a spot on their blueline next season. The 25-year-old Calgary native had five hits and blocked four shots vs Florida.
McKegg is second behind Matt Frattin with 17 goals with the Marlies, but did not make much of an impression on Thursday played between Joffrey Lupul and David Booth.
With Frederik Gauthier and Carter Verhaeghe coming to the Marlies next season, Sam Carrick likely ahead in pursuit of a roster spot with the Leafs next season, Byron Froese coming out of nowhere to make an impact, the potential of William Nylander being moved to the middle and the high probability of Toronto selecting either Connor McDavid, Dylan Strome or Mitch Marner in June, McKegg may be running out of chances in his third professional season.
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An increased level of frustration has been apparent in games recently with many Leafs players, but especially with Phil Kessel, who leads the club with 54 points but has just six goals since January 1 and will likely not reach the 30-goal plateau in a full season for the first time since 2009.
Kessel showed that frustration on Friday, as the winger scuffled with teammate David Booth during practice at the MasterCard Center. The two Americans did not exchange punches and had to be separated by teammates.
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McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. PHILADELPHIA 76(75) 7. NEW JERSEY 74(74) 6. COLUMBUS 72(73) 5. CAROLINA 64(73) 4. TORONTO 60(75) 3. EDMONTON 55(74), 2. ARIZONA 54(75), 1. BUFFALO 48(74)
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(9.5%) Same
Games to watch: Dallas at Edmonton
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