The Toronto Maple Leafs played a great game at even strength, and even had some moments on the penalty kill. However, mistakes were their downfall last night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had an opportunity to leave Toronto with a 2-0 lead in the series, and every game they could get with home ice advantage will prove to be crucial.
However, the Leafs were undisciplined and made too many costly mistakes. Jack Campbell played well despite allowing five goals, and did as much as a goaltender can in that situation. There were no goals in this game that I felt could have been denied, and that’s thanks to Campbell’s poise in net as the game went downhill.
The Leafs lost, but it’s not like they played a terrible game. Here are my five thoughts.
1. Undisciplined Play and Controversial Penalties
This is a given as the Toronto Maple Leafs allowed 3 goals on 7 powerplay attempts by the Lightning. On top of this, they didn’t make the Lightning pay when they had their chances on the special teams. This game did seem a bit… Tame compared to game 1 but the Lightning seemed to have found ways to draw calls to themselves in a 50-50 situation.
For example, Wayne Simmonds did deserve a minor for cross checking when he sent Corey Perry into Campbell. That is a cross check in every definition. However, his “roughing” call on Pierre-Edward Bellemare was not a good call. It is an emotional game and the refs were trying way too hard to be the stars of the show. Simmonds flipped Bellemare onto his back with his stick as he cleared the crease, as any good teammate would try to do. His reward? A two minute minor and a PP goal against by Nikita Kucherov.
Alex Kerfoot’s holding penalty on Brandon Hagel was warranted, (which also resulted in a PP goal against) but they didn’t call a trip on Mitch Marner, nor did they call any other obvious penalty on the Lightning in a lopsided game.
2. Made Goaltending Harder than it Had to Be
Jack Campbell played a great game, but his team really couldn’t keep up. I’m sorry, but when your team continues to take penalties after they find how short the leash is for the night, there isn’t much you can do. Campbell was held out to dry multiple times, from the breakaway stop due to a lack of coverage and awareness on a line change to his defender not boxing out his man.
Let’s go over the goals that Campbell allowed real quick:
- Victor Hedman PP goal: Unlucky poke check dropped right in front of Hedman, giving him plenty of time and space to score. Campbell was already down scrambled to get into position. And it’s Hedman, of course he’ll score if you give him that opportunity.
- Corey Perry break away goal: The Maple Leafs took a dumb line change and no one took the assignment on their way off. Ilya Lyubushkin attempted to defend that, but Collin Blackwell was too busy watching where the puck is rather than where it could be going. Perry had a straight line from the bench to the net, and made the Maple Leafs pay.
- Nikita Kucherov PP goal: David Kampf tried to pass the puck to a stick-less TJ Brodie on the PK rather than dumping it himself. Brodie obviously can’t clear it, so the Lightning get it back. As Brodie reaches for his stick, the Lighting reset and Kucherov finds himself with a shooting lane. He took it, and the snipe found its way into the net.
- Hagel goal: Lazy pass by Auston Matthews leads to an odd-man rush with Kucherov, Mikhail Sergachev, and Brandon Hagel. Timothy Liljegren had to pick up a rushing Hagel and tie up his stick, but he didn’t and Hagel had a second chance opportunity with a down goaltender and a half-open net.
- Brayden Point PP goal: Brayden Point found himself in the middle of three guys. Somehow, he still got the puck and wasn’t picked up. Is there something the Maple Leafs could have done differently? Yes, cover the man. No one paid attention to the guys on the ice and rather the puck carrier. While the puck carrier is the main assignment, it is for the defender on him. Everyone else needs to keep their head on a swivel to look for potential passing lanes.
The common issue here was the lack of awareness the Toronto Maple Leafs had on defense. Lilijgren had to tie up Hagel’s stick, and he didn’t. Perry had a walk-in from the bench due to an irresponsible change. Kucherov scored when Kampf tried to pass the puck to a stick-less teammate, and Point scored when he was in the middle of coverage.
3. Lack of Defensive Effort and Awareness
After reading the last takeaway, you can see why this is on the list (and why the list is longer than normal).
The Toronto Maple Leafs have to be much cleaner on defense and transition on the defensive. What do I mean? Don’t take line changes when the opponents have an open stretch pass. Be more aware of stick placement when getting in front of passing lanes (Point should not have gotten the puck).
The Lightning can not compete with the Leafs on even strength when the Leafs are focused. The Leafs dictate the pace, and they have the most scoring chances. However, the Leafs took too many breaks, and the Lightning made them pay for it. Yes, I know that I have said this more times than I really should. However, when you re-watch the game, you will see that the score could have been even more skewed if Campbell didn’t make the saves he did.
Auston Matthews is a great two-way forward, but his lazy passes led to way too many scoring chances against. Some may not have been lazy but rather forced. His attempt to pass the puck back to Mark Giordano was WAY too forced, and the Lightning scored on the odd-man rush. Matthews has to be smarter with the puck, and he needs to do it fast.
Going along with puck management and discipline, the Leafs cannot just watch the puck. While that is great advice on defense, the Leafs did WAY too much of it.
4. Comeback Attempt was Commendable
The Toronto Maple Leafs nearly mounted a comeback in the last ten minutes of the game, and this should be an encouraging sign.
Going down 5-1 would have usually meant a “Okay, go next” reaction, but this team didn’t quit, scoring two goals and pushing for the fourth before time ran out. Had they done this earlier in the game, they would have had a chance to win but it was too little too late for this one. I had hope that they could score on the powerplay and maybe score again 6 on 5 with the empty net. They had chances, but Andrei Vasilevskiy shut the door on them.
Mitch Marner started the comeback with a wrist shot goal that was a bit of a knuckle ball, not very fast but found its way past the defense and traffic in front. It was a bit fluky, but when you’re desperate for goals you take them. Alex Kerfoot then added to the attempt with a SHG during a penalty kill that generated more chances for than the Lighting had.
While the Leafs lost, I saw the last few minutes as encouraging. They didn’t quit until the final buzzer. This type of effort and awareness must be there at the start of Game 3, and with a hostile environment they will have to be on their A-game. Home ice advantage is a real thing, and they have to take one from the Lightning on the road to take it back.
5. John Tavares and Top Nine Need to do More
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a ton of great forward options, whether it be on the ice or watching from the suite.
However, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are still carrying most of the weight offensively. John Tavares has been invisible to this point, and William Nylander seems to be snake bitten. Regardless, Sheldon Keefe has to put these two together for the proper one-two punch. Alex Kerfoot isn’t the answer on the second line and should switch with Nylander before game 3.
I have watched both games and I can say that I saw Nylander create a few great chances in the offensive zone. I cannot say the same for Tavares and when he is making 11 million per season, I don’t think that it is too much to ask for him to pick it up a bit. I’m not only talking about points, but also his effort and ability to create chances. He is a former franchise cornerstone, first overall pick, and an OHL “exceptional player”.
But, he is also the captain of the team. As the captain, the team relies on you not just for leadership, but also on-ice performance. For example, Steve Yzerman produced offense with one leg producing 23 points in 23 gams in the 2002 playoffs, Sidney Crosby had created 28 scoring chances when he was on the ice in game 1, Jonathan Toews clawed the Blackhawks to OT with two clutch goals in the third.
These three examples show how captains of Stanley Cup Championship teams play: heart, talent, effort, and poise. Every Stanley Cup winning captain has their moments, and Jonathan Toews was playing with guys who are worse offensively than those Tavares plays with. Tavares has the teammates, the health, and the offensive talent, and he needs to make his mark on the series quick.
Conclusion
The Toronto Maple Leafs have proved that they can play with the Lightning, meaning they can play against and with any team in the stacked Eastern Conference. They shot themselves in the foot too many times, and this has to change before game 3. The Maple Leafs also have to make the decision to either work hard on their PK or take a step back from the physicality.
I felt bad for Jack Campbell this game due to his multiple key saves, only for his team to make a dumb, lazy mistake. The Leafs left him out to dry two times on bad line changes and messed up defensive coverage. The little mistakes are the story of this game, and such “small” mistakes led to the Leafs losing a game they could have won.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have to either practice, or watch film over to see what they can do differently. There were way too many mistakes for Keefe to ignore, and I hope he will be looking over tape on the flight to Tampa Bay. These two teams ARE evenly matched, with the Leafs having the edge in even strength play. However, the special teams were horrible with two of the three goals coming from mistakes.
How the Toronto Maple Leafs will respond will be key, and adjustments have to be made in order to win in Tampa. Home ice advantage is now in the Lightning’s favor, so a single win in Tampa is a must. All eyes will be on their response, and John Tavares has to do more as the captain to prepare his team.