The elite offense of the Toronto Maple Leafs was finally stifled by Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Despite 38 shots on net, the Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t put any pucks past Matt Murray and the Penguins did just enough to escape Scotiabank Arena with a 3-0 win on Thursday night.
A frustrating night all around, this was the first time the Maple Leafs had been shut out since a 2-0 defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 2nd of this year. The Maple Leafs’ offense did everything in their power to beat Murray, but the 24-year old out-dueled Frederik Andersen in a classic goalie battle.
A big thing to take away from this game from a fan perspective is yes, the Maple Leafs lost, but this may have been the best the team has looked defensively and it was certainly the best Andersen has looked so far. Take the loss and move on, the Leafs are still one of the best teams in the league and they just lost to a team that has won two of the last three Stanley Cups.
A Rough Night to be a Ref
Now this is not a section saying the referees were responsible for the Maple Leafs losing last night, that’s an easy and often frustrating excuse that fans use when they don’t have an answer for their team’s poor play. But it is true the refs missed a few key calls last night, and two of them come to mind.
The first came with around ten seconds left in the first period, when Zach Hyman was clearly high sticked by Jake Guentzel, drawing blood. At this point the Maple Leafs were down 1-0 and that would have been a double minor penalty that could have helped the Leafs build some momentum and begin the second period on the man advantage.
The second missed call by the refs was the no-goal call late in the third period with the Maple Leafs down 2-0.
It was a quick whistle and an immediate no goal call by the referee, but the puck is clearly passing the line as he blows the play dead. Yes this goal would have made it 2-1, but there was still plenty of time for the Leafs to pull their goalie again and have a chance to tie the game.
These types of missed calls are part of the sport, but it is still frustrating regardless, especially if they have an effect on the game.
Strong Performances from Kadri and Andersen
Even in a loss, two Leafs stand out for their performances. The obvious one is Andersen, who stopped 36 of 37 shots in his best performance of the season so far. The 29-year old looked composed all night long, with his only goal allowed being on the power play by Evgeni Malkin right in front of the net. If Andersen can play this well every night he starts, the Leafs should have no problem scoring enough to back up his stellar play.
The other player that stood out was Nazem Kadri. He hasn’t scored a goal yet, but you can’t say he isn’t trying. He had five shots against Murray and was flying on the ice all night long.
Kadri had 17:18 minutes of ice-time and led the Leafs with a 34.7% relative Corsi in all situations. Kadri was the backbone of the team last night and if he can keep up his play he should finally put the puck in the back of the net in the next few games.
All losses sting, especially one that breaks Auston Matthews’ multi-point game streak, but this game still had some positives for the Toronto Maple Leafs to use as October begins to wrap up.
Andersen is shaking off his rust and clearly isn’t bugged by the knee injury that sidelined him on Monday, and the team is still finding exceptional opportunities to put points on the board. Unfortunately they ran into a goaltender looking to prove himself to the Pittsburgh faithful and a team of veterans who know how to keep opponents at bay.
Who’s Next?
The Scotiabank Arena will be packed once again as the Toronto Maple Leafs welcome Tyler Bozak back to Toronto in a match up with the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.