Sheldon Keefe has been able to fix plenty since becoming the coach of the Maple Leafs.
For the most part, Keefe has given his players free rein to play to their strengths, and for the most part, wins have been the result.
Defensive shortcomings, however, remain part of the equation for the Leafs.
And so it was that the Leafs’ six-game winning streak ended on Saturday night with a 5-4 overtime loss against the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena.
The Leafs, who were down by two goals in the third period before rallying, lost at 52 seconds of the extra period when Tony DeAngelo beat Frederik Andersen, not long after Alexandar Georgiev had stoned Morgan Rielly.
“That’s a big point for us coming from behind like that,” Keefe said. “But playing from behind is tough. We haven’t done that very much as a team here of late, but we’ve had to now three games in a row.
“That’s not a good recipe for us, not a good recipe for anybody. You get a chance to talk about resilience and we’re able to do that, but we would like to flip this trend here and get back to playing with the lead.”
Auston Matthews tied the game with 52.1 seconds remaining, scoring his second of the night when he ripped a one-timer past Georgiev.
When Toronto wasn’t making mistakes in its own zone, it got an ordinary performance from Andersen, who has allowed at least three goals in each of his past four starts.
“I could have been better,” said Andersen, who made 33 saves. “The guys gave us a chance to win it. Could have come up with maybe another save or two, but it happens.”
Already dealing with a handful of injuries, the Leafs lost Mitch Marner for a brief span midway through the third period after Marner took a puck off his left ear. Marner returned after getting stitches and Leafs Nation exhaled.
The Leafs, who don’t play until Tuesday in Minnesota against the Wild when they reach the mid-point of 2019-20, dropped to 2-6-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets. Toronto lost for just the second time in 10 games, and fell to 12-4-1 under Keefe.
Pierre Engvall brought the Leafs to within one when he tipped a Tyson Barrie shot past Georgiev at 6:22 of the third.
Without forwards Ilya Mikheyev (wrist), Trevor Moore (concussion) and Andreas Johnsson (leg) and defenceman Jake Muzzin (foot), the Leafs know we’ll get a true sense of their depth. The Leafs likely will finish the regular season without a full lineup, as Mikheyev is at least three months from returning.
“I don’t think we look at it as a toll,” captain John Tavares said of the various injuries the Leafs have endured. “Having a versatile group, versatile players, guys that can play up and down the linuep, play with everybody, allows us to continue to be the team we want to be.”
GAME ON
Adam Brooks made his NHL debut, centring a line between Frederik Gauthier and Jason Spezza at the outset before Spezza was moved up to play with Engvall and Kasperi Kapanen. None of Brooks, Gauthier and Dmytro Timashov saw much ice as Keefe went with a short bench. Still, it was a day Brooks, whose parents flew in from Winnipeg, won’t forget. “An awesome experience,” Brooks said. “It was a crazy 24 hours for me, definitely cool to get this opportunity to play here Saturday night.” … New York carried a 4-2 lead into the third after Mika Zibanejad beat Andersen with a low shot, after faking initially, at 17:05 of the second … Matthews scored on a one-timer in the second after a pass from Marner. Matthews’ blast over the left shoulder of Georgiev was his 25th goal, making him the first Leafs player to score 25 in each of his first four NHL seasons … Ryan Strome, with his second of the game, beat Andersen from a tough angle at 4:37 of the middle period … The Leafs trailed 1-0 when Brett Howden scored at 1:41 of the first … William Nylander scored for the third game in a row when he put a Tavares pass behind Georgiev at 4:21 of the first on a Leafs power play … Strome made it 2-1 Rangers at 7:59 after a lazy cross-ice pass in the defensive zone by Engvall. Artemi Panarin anticipated Engvall’s pass to Cody Ceci, took control and fed Strome … Andersen stopped Pavel Buchnevich on a penalty shot, called at 11:28 of the first after Barrie hauled the Ranger down on a breakaway … Rielly’s slump without a goal has reached 28 games.
LOOSE LEAFS
Keefe on Martin Marincin, who gets a chance with Muzzin out: “I’ve seen him play very well. He and (Justin) Holl, in my time in the American League, that was a dominant pairing and a big reason why we were able to win a Calder Cup (in 2018). This is a good opportunity for (Marincin).” … Elliotte Friedman reported on Hockey Night in Canada that the Leafs may be shopping, to various degrees, Timashov and the Marlies’ Jeremy Bracco and Ben Harpur. If general manager Kyle Dubas can get anything tangible for any of the three, all the power to him … I would have been more intrigued if Justin Bieber instead had invited Matthews, Marner and Barrie to sing on his next album.
tkoshan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/koshtorontosun
