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It wasn’t the fun trip to Florida that three former Panthers on the Maple Leafs had envisioned, nor for the rest of the Toronto bench.
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In the most goals the Leafs have given up in their past 10 starts, their four-game win streak ended with a thud, 5-1 to the defending Stanley Cup champions to tighten the race for first place in the Atlantic.
Our takeaways:
CALLING AUSTON MATTHEWS
It made total sense for the team to listen to Matthews, coach Craig Berube and the sports science team about holding the league’s top scorer back Wednesday from returning too fast from his upper body injury.
But there are two days off before playing Tampa Bay for him to get his cardio back and with perhaps one more forward added to the list with Bobby McMann’s lower body injury, the team could use him just to make a quorum of forwards. If McMann’s injury is serious, he would be the eighth man currently out, joining Matthews, Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok and the suspended Ryan Reaves.
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Coach Craig Berube listed McMann as day-to-day and while telling media in Florida the injury list is getting “frustrating” he added “hopefully we have some guys coming back next game,” meaning Matthews and Knies, who also has an upper body issue. The rest are rehabbing in Toronto. Perhaps the coach is thinking of dressing seven defencemen Saturday.
Mitch Marner, who had Toronto’s only goal on the power play and had produced 15 points in the nine games Matthews has missed, didn’t want to give up on the young players, who have filled in so admirably. They include Fraser Minten, Nikita Grebenkin, Alex Steeves and the recent addition of Alex Nylander.
“They’ve been working their ass off, bringing a lot of energy doing a lot of great things. It’s a tough league, we’ll get our bearings, enjoy the reset (a full day off) and be ready for another challenge.”
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LOW FIVE
Even-strength goals continue to elude the Leafs, a direct result of so many top six forwards being out, but on a night where special teams struggled, it was more pronounced.
“A lot of times it’s hard to score, but we can do a better job of getting to the net front, creating more opportunities for greasy goals,” Berube observed. “We’re not working hard enough around the net.”
Many noted after the first period on Wednesday how many shots were long range to make Sergei Bobrovsky’s night much easier. The defence had 10 of Toronto’s 25 shots.
“Maybe we don’t have the finishers and I get that,” Berube said, “but I’m focused on what we have in the lineup and how we need to play.”
THE FORCE FROM MAGNITOGORSK
For a fifth-round pick who just came on the radar, winger Grebenkin has made the most of his Marlie call-up. In his third game, he continued to show no fear of bigger, meaner opponents, nearly set up Minten for a goal the latter rang off of the iron and had his first NHL assist posted — and then taken away by the official scorer.
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“It was a tough call on him (a first-period penalty for boarding that Florida converted),” Berube said. “But that’s going to happen, he’s a physical player, he’ll get those at times.
“He tried to do what he does as a player. I put him on the power play (for a total of 1:06) to maybe get some (presence) there. He was fine.”
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OH BEHAVE
Grebenkin wasn’t the only Leaf to cross the line. Conor Timmins took two stick penalties and William Nylander skated into a double minor not expecting his waist-high stick to make contact with a Panther’s face in the crease. That led to Carter Verhaeghe’s insurance goal.
It was also mostly veterans who mucked up the entry on a power play in the middle period that this year’s league goal leader Sam Reinhart turned into another of his short-handed strikes.
“That put us behind the eight-ball,” lamented Berube.
As well as the Leafs looked on their unexpected opening-minute power play, they missed a chance for the early lead and put the pressure on the home team in its four-game losing streak.
“We were moving the puck well and then kind of got away from things in the next few chances,” Marner said. “I don’t think we need to change much.”
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