Darren Raddysh’s costly mistake denied the Maple Leafs a vital win

The Toronto Maple Leafs started a six-game home stand with a 3-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night.

Jack Roslovic scored both goals for the Maple Leafs and Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves and 36 shots.

Darren Raddysh's lack of discipline cost the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night

Whenever a team loses a game, the coach and players will generally shy away from the idea that a specific moment cost them the game. Whether it's a bad goal by a goaltender, a turnover, or a bad penalty, they will point to other moments throughout the night where they dropped the ball and blame those instead. On Tuesday night, however, in the context of the game, Darren Raddysh cost his team at least a point and spoiled a terrific outing from Bobrovsky.

With the game tied 2-2, Raddysh took a cross-checking penalty after roughing up Barret Hayton in the defensive zone long after the play was over. Nick Schmaltz gave the Mammoth a 3-2 lead on the ensuing power play, and that was the game.

The Leafs did not play a perfect game, no doubt. The 2-1 deficit entering the third period felt flattering in some ways, but Bobrovsky kept the boys in the fight, and they honoured that in the final period with their best hockey of the night.

"Took a long time for us to get going. No question," head coach Jim Hiller said after the game. "Bob kept us. Took a stupid penalty, let's call it what it is, and it cost us. Thought we had all the momentum and it didn't turn out very well for us."

Again, you can point to the slow start or the shaky penalty kill. But they battled hard to get the game to overtime, and their offseason darling couldn't handle his emotions at the most critical time of the game.

These things happen, and he's a pro. He'll learn and move on, and he did take the blame after the game. However, this might be the hardest six-game stretch that any team will have to face this season, and they put themselves in a position to salvage a game that they deserved to lose. On top of that, Utah is a really good hockey team. They're faster and stronger defensively than Toronto is. When the margins are that thin, discipline is key, especially against the best power-play unit in the NHL.

Bobrovsky delivers a much needed performance

Before the puck dropped on Tuesday night, most of the conversation surrounding the Leafs had to do with the less-than-desirable play of Bobrovsky and whether Anthony Stolarz should be getting more starts. While it's true that Bob let in three goals, yet again, he played very well and was far from the reason the Leafs lost the game.

Through 40 minutes, the Mammoth outshot the Leafs 30-17, had 46 shot attempts to Toronto's 20, and led 22-6 in scoring chances. Bob was bailed out by the post a few times, but for the most part, he played maybe his best game of the season against a team that has had no problem putting the puck in the net.

To me, this is another reason why that Raddysh penalty was such a backbreaker. It's been hard for the Leafs to rely on Bobrovsky. Auston Matthews, Hiller, and Bob himself can say how great he's been, how good he's felt, and how much they trust him until they're blue in the face. For the last two weeks, at least, he's been a problem, but on this night, he was finally the solution.

Did they deserve to win? No. Did they deserve even a point? No. But their netminder gave them a chance to do at least one of those things, maybe even both. You win as a team and lose as a team, sure. But on Tuesday, a careless play cost the Leafs a point, and spoiled a terrific outing from Bobrovsky.

Up next for Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night and the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night for the Hall of Fame Game.

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