The Maple Leafs defensive problems continued to plague them in Chicago, as Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp scored three points each in a 4-0 Blackhawks victory at the United Center on Sunday night.
The contest was the first of a seven-game road swing due to the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship and extends Toronto’s losing streak to three games after the club had won six games in a row.
David Rundblad, former Leaf Kris Versteeg, Kane and Jonathan Toews scored for Chicago, who move to within one point of Anaheim for the top spot in the NHL standings and goalie Antti Raanta made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season.
James Reimer made 30 saves for the Leafs, who lost both ends of back-to-back games on the weekend against Philadelphia and Chicago, as well as a 4-1 loss to the last place Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
Toronto appeared weary in their third game in four nights and were unable to convert on the few scoring chances they did have. The Hawks took a 1-0 lead late in the first as Rundblad’s point shot beat a screened James Reimer and lost whatever impetus they had at the end of the period when Kane converted a turnover and errant pinch by Dion Phaneuf and set up Versteeg for his ninth of the season with 0.4 seconds remaining.
Reimer held Chicago at bay in the middle frame, stopping 15 shots and giving the Leafs a chance to get back into the game. Toronto rallied in the third, outshooting the Hawks 11-1 but could not break through on Raanta to narrow the lead before Kane and Toews delivered the death blows just over two minutes apart.
“They’re a pretty good hockey club obviously. They executed at a very high level and moved the puck around us quite a bit in the hockey game and we just didn’t have an answer for it,… Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said following the game. “When we did have some chances the goaltender made some big stops. We missed some golden opportunities both on the power play and five-on-five.…
The Maple Leafs have allowed 15 goals against in their three consecutive losses and have to return to the two-way game that they showed they were capable of playing in the aftermath of the two losses to Buffalo and Nashville last month.
"We've allowed the opposition to score too many goals," Carlyle said on Sunday. "We've got to get our defensive side back in order and play a tighter game, specifically on the road. You can't come into a building like this and play the Stanley Cup champs in these situations and think that you're going to play loose hockey. That's not the way it's going to work."
Consistency and attention to detail are the areas that the Leafs coaching staff will continue to remind the players about throughout this season. The Leafs have shown that they have the ability to put forth a performance that can win six straight games and go 10-1-1 against tough opposition, but do they have the mental fortitude to step up their efforts against teams like Buffalo, Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey, Carolina and Philadelphia.
In the end, those games will be the determining factor to whether the Leafs will be playing postseason hockey in April or clearing out their lockers.
*******
In spite of signs of progress regarding injured winger Leo Komarov, TSN’s Jonas Siegel reports that the feisty Finn is unlikely to be returning to the Leafs lineup for the balance of their seven-game road trip.
Komarov skated in Toronto for the first time in two weeks ice over the weekend, but is still not symptom free and not participated in a full practice since being hit from behind by Alex Ovechkin on November 29.
*******
Watch the December 22nd Edition of Leaf Buzz with myself and Paul Bruno:
For Those on Twitter: Follow @mikeinbuffalo
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.