The Bad
The worst part about this game is that the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Ottawa Senators for the third time in four meetings this season. As someone who lives an hour away from Ottawa and has attended numerous Maple Leafs games at what is now known as the Canadian Tire Centre, I enjoy seeing Toronto humble the Senators when they win. I’d also hate to see them lose against Ottawa.
Maple Leafs Mistakes
After Toronto controlled play for the majority of the first period, Mitch Marner’s awful giveaway with everyone but Simon Benoit up the ice resulted in a 3-on-1 for Ottawa. Martin Jones made an excellent pad stop on Mathieu Joseph, but subsequently lost sight of the puck. Claude Giroux located it, pulled it back, and blasted a backhand over a flailing Jones to tie the game with just over two minutes remaining in the period.
That turnover and goal boosted Ottawa’s momentum. The final two minutes of the period were spent in the Toronto end. The Senators extended their momentum into the second period, taking a 2-1 lead little over two minutes in.
Lagesson offers a giveaway.
This time, William Lagesson turned the ball over by attempting a bank pass off the boards to Noah Gregor, which ended up on Jacob Chychrun’s stick. Chychrun sent the puck up to Shane Pinto at the Toronto blue line. Benoit stepped up to prevent Pinto from moving the puck at the blue line, but Pinto was able to find Vladimir Taresenko, who was entering the zone quickly. Lagesson was caught up ice during the play, allowing Tarasenko an open run to the Toronto net. Tarasenko outperformed Jones on his blocker side.
After Knies knotted the game at two, the Senators scored two goals in four minutes to lead 4-2. After Jake McCabe and John Tavares lost a duel for the ball behind the Toronto net, the puck wound up at the point, where Pinto deflected Parker Kelly’s shot past Jones. Note: McCabe claimed he was high-sticked behind the Toronto net. When I slowed down the replay, it appeared that the stick that hit McCabe came from Tavares. McCabe appealed to the referee about the high stick immediately following the play. The referee gestured at Tavares, as if to suggest it was his stick.
Benoit makes a giveaway.
On the 4-1 goal, Josh Norris intercepted Benoit’s attempted pass in the neutral zone. He then carried the puck into the Toronto end of the ice, firing a wrist shot from the faceoff dot to Jones’ right. The shot went over Jones’ left shoulder and into the top corner of the net. While Norris made a terrific shot, I believe Jones should have taken it.
One of the bright spots for the Maple Leafs this season has been the play of Simon Benoit. He has played solid defensive hockey and been a physical force for Toronto. This was a forgettable game for Benoit, who was on the ice for all but the Senators’ empty-net goal. The four goals he was working toward were not entirely his responsibility. However, he did not have a nice night. He ended the night at -3. John Tavares and William Nylander joined him at -3. Tavares had three excellent scoring opportunities in the first period but failed to capitalize on any of them. If he had been successful, the game could have turned out differently.
Also in the first period, the Maple Leafs appeared to have grabbed a 2-0 lead when Morgan Rielly struck Max Domi with a backhand pass that surprised everyone. Domi was among those involved. Domi turned his skate and redirected the puck past Korpisalo into the net. Ottawa Head Coach Jacques Martin disputed the goal and it was judged Gregor entered the Senators’ zone inches ahead of the puck invalidating the goal.
The Good
The Maple Leafs came out strong in this game. They took a 1-0 lead at 3:45 in the first period. Then, Marner found Auston Matthews through a crowd in front of Ottawa’s goal. Matthews one-timed the puck past Korpisalo on the short side for his 42nd goal of the season.
Marner’s second assist came midway through the second period, when Matthews Knies redirected his chest-high shot from the point past Korpisalo to tie the game 2-2.
Domi scored a meaningful goal when he converted a feed from Rielly from the back of the Ottawa net out front. He gave Korpisalo little opportunity to respond to the play.
Knies’ goal was his first in seventeen games. Domi’s was his first in ten games, and his second in twenty.
The Ugly
Ridly Greig, a 21-year-old rookie, made a rookie blunder in the game’s final seconds. With the Toronto net empty, he took Pinto’s pass, which put him alone in on the empty goal. Rather than simply putting the puck in the open net, Greig let his enthusiasm get the best of him. He launched a powerful slapshot into the net from around six feet away.
This type of showboating may be allowed in junior hockey, but it is not permitted in the NHL. Rielly let him know with a crosscheck to the head just after the goal. Unfortunately for Rielly, he discovered that crosschecks to the head are also not permitted in the NHL. He received a five-minute major penalty and will most likely face a disciplinary hearing for his behavior. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get a few games in. I remember Matthews receiving two games for a similar check to the head on Rasmus Dahlin.
On the subject of discipline, I was startled to learn that Mason Marchment was fined $5,000 for his hit on Jake McCabe during the Dallas game. I stated at the time that I believed the hit was borderline. I assume the NHL decided it crossed the line.
What’s next?
The Maple Leafs have two days to prepare for a demanding period ahead. They then play six games over ten days, beginning with three home games in five days. The first is Tuesday, when the St. Louis Blues visit. On Thursday, they will host the Philadelphia Flyers, followed by the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
Following Saturday’s loss to the Senators, paired with wins by Tampa Bay and Detroit, the Maple Leafs are now tied with Detroit. These two teams occupy the East’s two wildcard slots. Both have 60 points, one behind the Lightning, who are in third in the Atlantic Division.
Joseph Woll Continues to Rehab.
Joseph Woll continues to skate and recover from a significant ankle injury. However, the Maple Leafs placed him on LTIR this week in order to free up roster space for Max Lajoie. Head Coach Sheldon Keefe has repeatedly stated that, despite Woll being on the ice, he is still a long way from returning to play. The transition to LTIR has no bearing on when Woll will be eligible to return. He got hurt on December 7th. The Maple Leafs would have put him on LTIR retroactively to that date. Woll is well past the 29 days and 10 games that a player must spend on LTIR once placed there. If the Maple Leafs wanted to, they could reactivate him today.
With that in mind, it was interesting to see Keefe give Jones the start against the Senators. With two days between the Dallas and Ottawa games and two days before Toronto’s game against St. Louis on Tuesday, Ilya Samsonov could have easily handled the start in Ottawa. The fact that Jones started may signal that Woll will not be ready to play any of the six games in the next 10 days.
