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The Los Angeles Kings are not going down without a fight.
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Toronto Maple Leafs game recap: Leafs remember who they are, defeat Ottawa Senators 3-2 – Pension Plan Puppets
The Toronto Maple Leafs came into game three of the 2021 season sporting an overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens and a two goal loss to the Ottawa Senators. Tonight was the second game of a back to back in the nations capital. It featured the regular season debut of highly touted prospect Nick Robertson, as well as the goaltending duo of Jack Campbell and Aaron Dell, giving Frederik Andersen the night off after two shaky starts.
Speaking of shaky starts, we get an offside call seconds into the game. It’s not that bad jsut silly. The first few minutes are a lot of back and forth, board play, scrums, but no shots or attempts. The Leafs start to get frisky in the offensive zone approaching the three minute mark; Zach Bogosian breaks his stick on a blue line shot attempt, William Nylander tries to put the puck through the side mesh. Jack Campbell gets tested quickly afterwards, and we get some nice safe play up and down the ice until Erik Gudbranson blocks a shot and the puck gets lots in his pants.
Mitch Marner receives a pass close to the net, but dangles one too many times before taking his shot and it’s easily stolen by Thomas Chabot.
Marner tries to retrieve the puck, but trips Chabot and gets called for it. Should he have though? That’s questionable. The Senators run a smooth power play but the Leafs are able to get in the way, block some passes, and when the Senators do get through Jack Campbell makes the save to kill off the penalty.
The game continues. Neither team is particularly putting pressure on the other, nor are they doing anything spectacular. Thankfully it’s not completely frustrating, though that’s probably because the game is tied. Auston Matthews and Nick Robertson get some good shots on net, but Matt Murray knocks them away.
Joe Thornton just completely falls over and slides down the ice. Forget goals, or fights, that is my favourite part of hockey.
Justin Holl easily strips Evgeni Dadanov of the puck, preventing him from getting his first as a Senator. HOWEVER the Senators regroup and Nikita Zaitsev shoots from the blue line, it hits Nick Paul in the midsection, which redirects the puck past Jack Campbell and into the Maple Leafs net. 1-0 Ottawa.
Pressure comes from the Maple Leafs in response to this goal. The puck is cleared up ice from the Leafs zone by TJ Brodie, Mitch Marner skates it in, drop passes to Joe Thornton and Jumbo scores his first to tie the game!
Goal scored by #97 Joe Thornton. Assist, to a player who was less than 2 months old when Thornton was drafted, Mitch Marner.
— Rob Pizzo (@robpizzo) January 17, 2021
#FancyStats
The period ends tied at one each. The Senators are playing like a team who have been together for three years, not coming out of the bottom of a rebuild, where as the Leafs have forgotten how to defend and pick their spots for shooting the puck (the spots should be closer to the net).
After four periods of hockey against the Senators, I really feel like I underestimated them. Hopefully the Leafs get their things together for a more cohesive and solid second period.
They’ll be doing it without Nick Robertson though, as he’s out with a knee injury after Drake Batherson mashed him into the boards.
The Maple Leafs got revenge though, as Mitch Marner quickly scores on Matt Murry to open the second period.
The Senators get a chance to tie the game as John Tavares gets called for hooking, but the Senators can’t get a good chance, and Jack Campbell makes the necessary saves, and the penalty is killed.
Thomas Chabot gets the Senators their first penalty when he slashes John Tavares on the hand – the hand he needs to shoot pucks too! The Senators do a good job killing this penalty until Paquette makes a hand pass off a face off to give the Leafs 12 seconds of a five on three. They don’t score on the five on three, Chabot comes back to defence, but the Leafs are playing around in the offensive zone until a puck deflects out and down the ice.
The Leafs power play has a great sequence that sees Tavares, Matthews, and Rielly have great chances but nothing gets past Murray. On the plus side they got seven shots off on that power play. Great work, even if it didn’t go as planned.
Going back and forth with the penalties, Ilya Mikheyev is careless with his stick and gets it up high on Chabot. The Leafs keep the power play at bay for 40 seconds until Marner is called for puck over the glass.
The Senators waste their two man advantage without getting a proper shot off – not surprising as they only had 10 shots up until the power play – and the Leafs kill Marner’s penalty as well, keeping the Senators from scoring or getting a shot.
Auston Matthews comes close to the five hole, but Murray closes his legs in time. The Senators get a couple weak shots, the Leafs continue to control the puck though, and the second period will end with the score 2-1 and shots 28-12 for the Leafs.
Also, this is how the period ended. Okay, I guess?
The third period starts with the Leafs getting two quick shots on net and Alex Kerfoot drawing a hooking penalty from Josh Brown, so they get their third power play of the night early on in the third.
The first unit clicks on this one and Auston Matthews gets a shot from the top of the circle past Murray for his first goal of the season:
The Senators finally get their first shot on goal – five minutes into the period – and it’s stopped by Campbell (shots are 35-13 now for Toronto). The Maple Leafs are up by two, and are spending the third period clogging the neutral zone, and protecting the lead. The Senators are barely getting any possession time, and even less offensive zone time. The Maple Leafs are showing up for real now.
Brady Tkachuk tries to get under Matthews skin, but now that he’s scored Auston is afraid of no one.
The Senators manage to get a second goal past Jack Campbell, and it’s a big one for them as Tim Stützle gets the first NHL goal of his career. 3-2 Maple Leafs.
The Senators have a chance to build off the momentum of that goal as Zach Hyman is called for high sticking as Thomas Chabot shows off his acting skills.
This powerplay is a bit better for the Senators, but Jack Campbell still won’t let them have a goal on the man advantage.
The Senators are pushing hard to tie the game, playing the Leafs more until Stützle gets called for tripping Jake Muzzin, giving the Leafs a late powerplay and the chance to put the game away. They don’t, as the Senators kill off the penalty without any scares from the Leafs. Drake Batherson shoots on Campbell, how kick saves the puck, but the Leafs can’t clear after that and there’s a minute long scramble in front of the Leafs net as the Senators try to score before the game ends.
They don’t!
Leafs win!
The first regulation win of the season for the Maple Leafs, outshooting the Senators 40-19. It started badly, but ended well. The Leafs ran the game in an unexciting way, got the win and now flee Ottawa for the comforts of home.
Game four is Monday night against the Winnipeg Jets*, 7:00PM on TVA Sports and Sportsnet Ontario.
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After trouncing the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 in a one-sided Game 1 romp and then wiping out every sniff of momentum the visitors had in Game 2, the Edmonton Oilers looked like they were fully in charge of a potentially short series.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the sweep.
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The Kings delivered a rousing, spirited response Monday night at Rogers Place, never trailing in a 5-4 overtime victory that evens the series and steals away home ice advantage.
How’s that for a plot twist?
“In the first period we dug ourselves a big hole being down 2-0 and 3-1, but after that I thought we played a lot better, especially in the second period,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “I felt like if we ever able to get the lead we could have finished the game but we were never quite able to do that.”
Edmonton spent the entire night in chase mode — trailing 2-0 in the first, 3-1 in the second and 4-3 in the third before Anze Kopitar stuck the knife in at 2:07 of the extra period to spoil the party and flip the series on its head going back to Los Angeles.
The winning goal started with a freaky bounce off of L.A.’s Quinton Byfield along the boards, right to Kopitar for the breakaway. This, after two Kings goals went in off of skates and another as the result of a broken stick in Game 1.
If you’re scoring breaks, L.A. leads the series 2-0.
“You saw some of the goals that they scored last game, you saw some goals that they scored tonight, not to take anything away, but they seem to be fluky goals somehow,” sighed Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm, wondering when the Kings run of luck is going to dry up.
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“Whether it’s a bat out of the air or a shot from the outside of the hashmarks on the ice. They just seem to find its ways through. That’s the playoffs.”
Goaltender Stuart Skinner has been on the receiving end of it for two games now. He’s been a victim as time, but the bottom line is nine goals against in two games. He needs to get back to his regular season level.
“Games like this where you feel like the universe is against you, the pucks just not working well for you, it’s part of life,” he said in the post-game dressing room. “It’s part of playoffs too.
“The takeaway for tonight is just kind of, wash it out. I know who I am. I know my game and I’m going to get back to work.”
The Oilers knew exactly what to expect from a desperate Los Angeles team that knew falling behind 2-0 is as close to a death sentence as you can get without actually being dead, and that’s what they got.
The prospect of having to win four of the next five games against a team that’s beaten them 11 of the last 14 provided all of the adrenaline the Kings needed and they rode it to the win.
The outcome wasted a great night from Oilers forward Dylan Holloway, who scored the first two playoff goals of his career in the loss.
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So suddenly it’s the Oilers who are in peril, having to play Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles against a team that has come to life in a big way. The Kings have finally broken through against a team that’s owned them for a long time and who knows where it goes from here.
“I thought we played a good game and had the puck most of the night,” said Ekholm, adding the Oilers still feel very good about who they are. “They (Kings) are going to have their looks and their bounces, but I still liked the way we played and hopefully we can build off of that.”
THE CALIFORNIA STORM
If Game 1 was played on the Oilers terms, Game 2 was played on L.A.’s.
At the start, anyway.
The Kings scored first (courtesy of an Oilers breakdown that went about four players deep), choked things up (the shots were 4-3 through 14 minutes) and took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
Everything was going their way. Even when it wasn’t.
When Brett Kulak got the crowd into it with a rocket of a one-timer to make it 2-1, Drew Doughty took them out of it 29 seconds later when he and Skinner both whiffed on a breakaway shot that trickled in through the five-hole
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Skinner allowed three goals on seven shots in the opening 20 minutes and while you couldn’t lay the deficit at his feet, the Oilers needed a save.
CUE THE COMEBACK
The second period was all Oilers. The same team that ran away with Game 1 showed up in the second period, washing away L.A.s lead in less than 11 minutes and turning the volume in Rogers Place as loud as it’s been in years.
Their relentless forecheck had the Kings on their heels all period, breaking them on Holloway’s first goal of the playoffs at 7:51 and Zach Hyman’s power play marker at 10:33.
In addition to scoring, Hyman also delivered the hit of the playoffs, crushing Phillip Danault with a violent open-ice check in the third period that sent the Kings centre straight to the dressing room. He returned a few minutes later after gathering himself in the room.
GRAND FINALE
The Kings refused to go away, tying it 1:46 into the third period on Kevin Fiala’s goal, but this time it was Edmonton’s turn to answer with a quick strike — Holloway at 3:23.
From there, it was next shot wins territory.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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Familiar Territory
James van Riemsdyk has played his fair share of playoff contests here in Toronto – but all of them have come in blue and white. On Wednesday night, he would be on the other side for the first time if he indeed makes his Bruins postseason debut, which appeared to be a strong possibility based on the Black & Gold’s morning skate.
“It’s always special to play in this building,” said van Riemsdyk, who played in 20 postseason games with Toronto, including nine at Scotiabank Arena. “In this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun. This time of year is always amazing, no matter where you’re at – if you’re at a 500-seat arena or a rink with all the tradition and history like this. It’s always fun and always a great opportunity to get in there.”
van Riemsdyk was a healthy scratch for the first two games of this series, following a trend across the second half of the regular season, during which he sat out several games.
“Playoff time of year is always the best time of year,” said van Riemsdyk, who has 20 goals and 31 points in 71 career playoff games between Philadelphia and Toronto. “Obviously, in this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun – two fun buildings to play in. You cherish every opportunity you get.
“This time of year, you learn that along the way, it’s all about the team. Whatever the team’s asking you to do, that’s always got to be your mindset and approach…you stay at it every day and just take it one day at a time.”
Montgomery said that if van Riemsdyk does re-enter the lineup, he’ll be looking for the veteran winger to help the Bruins’ offensive game. He also complimented van Riemsdyk’s professionalism throughout a trying second half.
“I guess getting his stick on more pucks,” Montgomery said on what he wants to see from van Riemsdyk. “We’ve talked about it a lot of times internally. Him and [Kevin] Shattenkirk have been great. They’re true pros. Every day come to work, come to get better. It’s not an easy situation, but he’s been great.”
van Riemsdyk concurred with his coach’s sentiments about helping Boston’s offensive attack, saying that he’ll be aiming to be around the net as much as possible.
“I think you’ve got to stay true to who you are as a player and play with good details and manage the game well and play to your strengths as a player,” he said. “This time of year, being around the net is always an important trait. You see all the goals being scored, it’s all within 5-10 feet of the net. That’s an area that I pride myself on, so going to be doing my best to get there and have an impact there.”
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It’s hard to say when, exactly, Alexandar Georgiev truly began to win some hearts and change some minds on Tuesday night.
Maybe it was in the back half of the second period; that was when the Colorado Avalanche, for the first time in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets, actually managed to hold a lead for more than, oh, two minutes or thereabouts. Maybe it was when the Avs walked into the locker room up 4-2 with 20 minutes to play.
Maybe it was midway through the third, when a series of saves by the Avalanche’s beleaguered starting goaltender helped preserve their two-goal buffer. Maybe it was when the buzzer sounded after their 5-2 win. Maybe it didn’t happen until the Avs made it into their locker room at Canada Life Centre, tied 1-1 with the Jets and headed for Denver.
At some point, though, it should’ve happened. If you were watching, you should’ve realized that Colorado — after a 7-6 Game 1 loss that had us all talking not just about all those goals, but at least one of the guys who’d allowed them — had squared things up, thanks in part to … well, that same guy.
Georgiev, indeed, was the story of Game 2, stopping 28 of 30 shots, improving as the game progressed and providing a lesson on how quickly things can change in the playoffs — series to series, game to game, period to period, moment to moment. The narrative doesn’t always hold. Facts don’t always cooperate. Alexandar Georgiev, for one night and counting, was not a problem for the Colorado Avalanche. He was, in direct opposition to the way he played in Game 1, a solution. How could we view him as anything else?
He had a few big-moment saves, and most of them came midway through the third period with his team up 4-2. There he was with 12:44 remaining, stopping a puck that had awkwardly rolled off Nino Niederreiter’s stick; two missed posts by the Avs at the other end had helped spring Niederreiter for a breakaway. Game 1 Georgiev doesn’t make that save.
There he was, stopping Nikolaj Ehlers from the circle a few minutes later. There wasn’t an Avs defender within five feet, and there was nothing awkward about the puck Ehlers fired at his shoulder. Game 1 Georgiev gets scored on twice.
(That one might’ve been poetic justice. It was Ehlers who’d put the first puck of the night on Georgiev — a chip from center ice that he stopped, and that the crowd in Winnipeg greeted with the ol’ mock cheer. Whoops.)
By the end of it all, Georgiev had stared down Connor Hellebuyck and won, saving nearly 0.5 goals more than expected according to Natural Stat Trick, giving the Avalanche precisely what they needed and looking almost nothing like the guy we’d seen a couple days before. Conventional wisdom coming into this series was twofold: That the Avs have firepower, high-end talent and an overall edge — slight as it may be — on Winnipeg, and that Georgiev is shaky enough to nuke the whole thing.
That wasn’t without merit, either. Georgiev’s .897 save percentage in the regular season was six percentage points below the league average, and he hadn’t broken even in expected goals allowed (minus-0.21). He’d been even worse down the stretch, putting up an .856 save percentage in his final eight appearances, and worse still in Game 1, allowing seven goals on 23 shots and more than five goals more than expected. That’s not bad; that’s an oil spill. Writing him off would’ve been understandable. Writing off Jared Bednar for rolling him out there in Game 2 would’ve been understandable. Writing the Avs off — for all of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar’s greatness — would’ve been understandable.
It just wouldn’t have been correct.
The fact that this all went down now, four days into a two-month ordeal, is a gift — because the postseason thus far has been short on surprises, almost as a rule. The Rangers and Oilers are overwhelming the Capitals and Kings. The Hurricanes are halfway done with the Islanders. The Canucks are struggling with the Predators. Panthers–Lightning is tight, but one team is clearly better than the other. Bruins–Maple Leafs is a close matchup featuring psychic baggage that we don’t have time to unpack. In Golden Knights–Stars, Mark Stone came back and scored a huge goal.
None of that should shock you. None of that should make you blink.
Georgiev being good enough for Colorado, though? After what we saw in Game 1? Strange, surprising and completely true. For now.
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