I don't know if introducing the newest members of the Hall of Fame or the new Hometown Remix jerseys get the players pumped for gameday, but it certainly didn't look like it.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have now dropped the first three games of their six-game stint at Scotiabank Arena, and five of their last six total, after a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night.
There isn't really anything new to write after a night like this. A poor penalty kill and inconsistency throughout the game, all while battling injuries, resulted in more of the same for the Leafs, as they now get set to host three of the best teams in the NHL in the week to come.
Maple Leafs play from behind yet again
As I sat in my chair after the first period, I was pretty impressed with Toronto's start. Shots were tied 7-7, and overall, I thought they hung with the Devils pretty well. Then, the back-to-back legs showed up. Wait, didn't the Devils play Saturday as well? Yes, yes, they did.
As I mentioned, the Maple Leafs have now lost five of their last six games, and the only game in that stretch where they scored first was their 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. In all five losses, they were either down by multiple goals before they scored a goal of their own, or they did at some point in the night, which was the case in Seattle. That continued on Sunday, and ultimately, the Leafs were shutout for the first time this season.
"Kind of the same story," Auston Matthews said after the loss. "I thought we had a good first period. It's just been tough for us to string together momentum and consistency through 60 minutes of play. That's really been our Achilles heel all season long."
As cliche as the "full 60 minutes" saying is, it's really hard to actually pull that off. But, how about not having to play catch up every single night?
"Stolz (Stolarz) was really good. He gave us a chance. In the end, I think it's just we're banged up. Guys got to look in the mirror and just ask a little bit more of themselves."
Some people might see that comment as a cop out. I don't see it that way. They are banged up. Sure, every team is, but we're not talking about every team. We're talking about the Leafs, and the reality is that this roster is not built to produce outside of the top six. With Kirill Marchenko out, that does put pressure on the rest of the lineup to "look in the mirror" and find a way to grind out these games.
Maple Leafs' penalty kill falls short once again
With Nico Hischier's power-play goal in the third period, the Maple Leafs have now allowed a goal with a man down in seven straight games.
On Oct. 23, the Leafs were 97.4% on the penalty kill, which was first in the NHL. Seven games later, they are now fourth at 85.9%. Fourth is fine, and close to 100% was never sustainable, but it's almost a forgone conclusion that they are going to let one in, and that's not sustainable either.
The Devils were 1-for-3 with the man advantage; it's not like they scored two or three. However, it's the timing of Sunday night's goal that hurt the most.
The Leafs were down 2-0 heading into the final 20 minutes. John Tavares missed a wide-open net early in the period. Converting on that chance obviously would have changed the course of the game. At 9:49, Hischier converted on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson tripping penalty to essentially put the game out of reach.
The Maple Leafs have taken 83 penalties, which is the sixth most in the NHL. In addition, they have 189 penalty minutes, which is the 12th most in the league. Does their kill need to be better? Of course. The bottom line, though, is that they're simply taking too many penalties to begin with.
In the first 10 minutes of the third period, down 2-0, they had two minor penalties. In a night where you don't deserve to win, but do have the ability to come back, you don't even give yourself a chance when you're down a man for four minutes in the first half of a period.
Injuries continue to pile up
On top of Marchenko and Nick Blankenburg, Morgan Rielly and Jack Roslovic were out due to injury on Sunday. Chris Tanev also sat out with what was described as a "planned maintenance" day.
"That's where we're trying to manage him a little bit," head coach Jim Hiller said before the game. "The guy wants to play every single game. But I think that will probably be part of the plan."
I know people think injuries are an unacceptable excuse, but if there's one bit of grace I can give this team for Sunday's performance, it's the lack of depth on their blue line. With Rielly and Tanev out, Dakota Mermis and Cole McWard made up their third unit, and they both played over 15 minutes.
Offensively, there were some questionable decisions when it came to Hiller changing the lines throughout the night. Understanding that Roslovic and Marchenko are huge parts of their top-six, that doesn't mean that Zack MacEwen should be on the first line. I understand trying to make something pop, but give me a break with that one. I mean no disrespect to MacEwen. He's been awesome in the bottom six. But that's pure silliness from Hiller.
Up next for Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, and will finish up their homestand with the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
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