The Maple Leafs showed some signs of grasping the kind of effort that head coach Mike Babcock has been looking for, but that was interspersed with defensive miscues that the Detroit Red Wings took advantage of in a 4-2 victory over Toronto at Joe Louis Arena.
“I liked our second(period) tonight. I thought we were heavy in the offensive zone, I thought we created good traffic, I thought we got pucks back….did a lot of good things.” Babcock said following the game. “We still made mistakes and gifted them goals, but we’ll fix that.”
James van Riemsdyk and newcomer Mark Arcobello scored for the Leafs, while James Reimer made 26 saves in the loss.
Toronto has lost four straight games after starting the preseason with three victories and finishes up the exhibition schedule with a rematch against Detroit at Air Canada Center on Saturday.
The Leafs played a lineup primarily made up of players with guaranteed spots, but rookies Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen and those veterans on the bubble made their final case to make the club before they cut down before Tuesday afternoon.
Babcock was impressed with the play of Hyman, whose rights were obtained by the Leafs last June from the Florida Panthers.
“I thought (Hyman) was great tonight.” Babcock said of the University of Michigan product. “He took the puck off the back wall and walked out front, made a great play down low, won battles and set up Komarov in the slot for a one-timer. I thought he was one of our better players tonight and so when you look at (William)Nylander, you look at (Connor)Brown and you look at him, they’re effective.”
Kapanen drew a secondary assist on Arcobello’s power play marker late in the second, but was on the ice for all three Detroit even strength goals. Defenseman Morgan Rielly led Toronto in ice time with 25:40 but was -3 on the night, while Arcobello and Richard Panik were -2 in limited minutes.
The lineup for Saturday is conspicuous in that neither Nylander nor Brown (the Leafs top performers in Buffalo on Tuesday) will be playing in the exhibition finale, which is likely a signal that the 2014 top pick or AHL scoring leader will be on the roster for the regular season opener against the Canadiens on Wednesday.
Jonathan Bernier will play the entire game for Toronto.
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The website
Bovada has released their over/under lines for the upcoming season, not for just the teams but for the point totals of individual players as well.
The Maple Leafs over/under win total is 32.5, which is 2.5 games higher than their 30 wins compiled last season.
James van Riemsdyk is at 54.5 points after scoring 56 points in 2014-15, Nazem Kadri is at 51.5 after dropping to 39 points last season, Tyler Bozak is at 43.5 after scoring 49 points with Phil Kessel on his line, while newcomers PA Parenteau and Brad Boyes over/unders are 36.5 and 31.5.
See Previous Columns
The Cap And Contract Crunch, Lamoriello Dislikes “Rebuild”; Leafs-Vs-Wings
Zajac Staying Put, Roster Decisions & Flying Under The Radar
Leafs Showing Similarities, Struggles With Transition
More Competitive Under Babcock, Campbell Signed; Leafs Vs Sabres
Leafs Release Fraser, Signs With Sens, Radio Ruination (Update)
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