Toronto Maple Leafs: Outdoor Failure

A power failure in the third period failed to shift the momentum to the Toronto Maple Leafs as they fell 5-2 to the Washington Capitals in the Stadium Series game in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were out-shot by the Capitals in the first and second periods. They finally were able to out shoot Washington in the third period, but none of the Toronto Maple Leafs shots were finding their way past Braden Holtby. The Toronto Maple Leafs offense was quiet and appeared as if they were waiting for Auston Matthews to somehow recover and jump back on the ice.

In the third period, as mentioned above, there was a power failure at the rink. Several overhead lights were impacted. This caused a 10 minute delay. Many Leafs fans including myself were hoping that the power failure would cause a momentum shift. It wasn’t the case. It was reminiscent of when the power went out in Super Bowl XLVII between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. In the game, the Ravens were leading over the 49ers. Then came the power failure, but the Ravens still managed to prevail even when the power came back on. It seems that Maryland/DC/Virginia teams prevail with power failures.

It’s fair to say that Mike Babcock’s lines weren’t effective and Babcock will likely shake them up prior to Monday night. On Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be in upstate New York to battle their enemy, the Buffalo Sabres and will look to break a three game losing streak.

Before we jump to the matchup against the Sabres, let’s take a look at what went down in Annapolis.

John Carlson Was On Fire

The Washington Capitals played extremely well in Annapolis and a lot of their success can be credited to John Carlson, a native of Natick, Massachusetts. Last night, Carlson had 1 goal and 2 assists. He helped set up two power-play goals in the first period for Washington.

In the second period, he scored his own goal in front of the home crowd. In the twelve minute mark of the period, Washington’s Chandler Stephenson took a shot on net. The puck ricocheted off of Frederik Andersen‘s pad. Carlson then collected to puck and took on shot on Andersen’s blind side to grab a 4-2 lead for the Capitals.

Leafs fans can’t blame Andersen for Carlson’s goal. There was a ton of traffic in front of the net. The traffic made it difficult for Andersen to block the shot. Not only did Andersen have Jay Beagle in front of him, but he also had Morgan Rielly pushing him as well.

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Toronto Maple Leafs Deflated Offense

While the Toronto Maple Leafs scored two goals in the game. The goals were incredibly lucky. In the first period, Zach Hyman was able to re-direct a Roman Polak shot from the point. In the second period, Nazem Kadri spun with the puck outside of the face-off circle in the offensive zone. He then delivered a wrist shot and it somehow went past Holtby.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were clearly missing the spark of Auston Matthews last night in Annapolis. Yesterday, James Tanner wrote a post talking about how Matthews has began to skate again. Hopefully, Matthews can get back on the ice soon as the Toronto Maple Leafs offense looks deflated.

On To Buffalo

The Toronto Maple Leafs will now head back north to upstate New York and battle the Sabres. The Sabres have had a rough season and sit in eighth place in the Atlantic Division.

Next: Leafs Trade Deadline Review

The Maple Leafs will have a great chance to snap their losing streak in Buffalo against a Sabres squad missing three key players. Jack Eichel, Jake McCabe and Zach Bogosian are all banged up.

Leafs Nation, you can catch the tilt with the Sabres on Monday night on TSN4 at 7:30 PM EST.

stats from NHL.com.