Oct 27, 2017
Babcock: Leafs ‘non-competitive’ from start
Toronto’s defensive effort was subpar in front of Frederik Andersen, who didn’t offer up the timely saves needed to cover his teammates’ sloppy play in a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night, TSN Maple Leafs Reporter Kristen Shilton writes.
TORONTO – It took less than three minutes for Thursday’s game to start slipping away from the Maple Leafs.
Toronto trailed the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 just 2:53 into the first period of play. It took until midway through the second before they clawed their way back to a 3-3 tie, but then gave up three unanswered goals, exhausting their scoring prowess en route to a 6-3 loss.
As has been the trend over their first 10 games, the Leafs’ defensive effort was subpar in front of Frederik Andersen, who didn’t offer up the timely saves needed to cover his teammates’ sloppy play.
“[We were] non-competitive right from the start to the end, said head coach Mike Babcock. "From the coaching staff to the players, we were all no good tonight."
“If we start like that, we’re not going to win many games,” said Auston Matthews. “I think it’s just a consistency thing for this team right now. [The Hurricanes] came out and they were flying and getting in on the forecheck and we weren’t very good defensively, so when we start like that it’s going to be tough to win games.”
For Toronto (7-3), it was their second loss in three games, and each of their defeats this season has been by the same 6-3 score.
Andersen gave up the Hurricanes’ first two goals in a span of 33 seconds and when the Leafs were trailing 4-3 midway through the third, he allowed two soft goals in 2:14 to seal the victory for Carolina (4-3-1) at a subdued Air Canada Centre.
He finished with 32 saves on 38 shots, for a .842 save percentage. It was the eighth time in nine starts this season he’s faced at least 30 shots on goal and the second straight game he’s seen 38, the Leafs’ season high. Andersen’s .893 save percentage on the season puts him in at fifth-worst among goalies in the league with at least five starts.
“I think we have to play more with pride,” said Andersen. “We got outworked pretty much all game. Simple. I think we have to execute better. I don’t know if we were lacking talk in our own zone, but we could have been better at getting out of our own zone.”
After the initial Carolina scores, Andersen did his best in the game’s first half to give the Leafs a chance to come back. His glove save on Noah Hanifin while sprawled out in the crease was his best stop of the season so far. But expecting their goaltender to come up with the huge saves when the Leafs aren’t firing on all cylinders defensively is part of their problem.
“You have to find something to get you going,” said Matthews. “You can't rely on Freddie to make these saves he’s making every night and just hope we get a chance the other way; we have to play well at both ends of the ice and that leads to more chances for ourselves. Tonight really wasn’t acceptable for our standard at all.”
Down by one early in the third period, the Leafs thought they had an opening to tie the game once again with a power-play chance. But Nazem Kadri was called for a faceoff violation before it began, negating the man advantage. Kadri was clearly upset, slamming the penalty box door as he sat down.
“Apparently, I jumped. I didn’t really see it that way and totally disagreed with the call,” Kadri said. “That’s a turning point in the game where we’re down 4-3 and a goal ties the game and at that point it’s up for grabs. It’s something I disagreed with and I’m not sure what I did wrong.”
No goals resulted from the ensuing 4-on-4 play, and from that point on Babcock continued what he started in the second period – he juggled his lines with gusto, looking for a combination that might create a spark. He tried several different tactics, including a few three-winger forward groups, but nothing that resulted in sustained offensive pressure.
When it was all over, Babcock found himself once again dissecting how his Leafs didn’t compete, and how they weren’t prepared. He made similar comments six days ago, after a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators. It’s not yet a worrisome pattern, but the root causes are things he wants to swiftly eradicate.
“Frustrated is a waste of time. [You’re] disappointed. We were no good. It’s always a concern when you don’t play good. But I’m not going to do anything tonight to make it worse. I’ll skirt around stuff, I’ll deal with the team tomorrow (Friday).”
TAKEAWAYS
Martin’s mark
He isn’t known for creating offence, but with speedy winger Mitch Marner on his fourth line, Matt Martin has started to emerge offensively as well. His assist on Dominic Moore’s goal was his second point in two games, matching Martin’s longest point streak since joining the Leafs at the start of last season. The helper was also the 100th point of his career, tallied in his 530th NHL game. Marner’s presence on the line has helped open up more space for all three players, and they’re all taking advantage of it. Moore’s goal was the second by the fourth line in two games. Their line was playing well overall against the Hurricanes, but their momentum was disrupted by Martin’s departure in the second period after taking a hard hit along the boards. He returned before the period was out but didn’t take another shift until the third. Babcock said after the game he was dealing with an upper-body injury but was fine.
Hot streaks
Matthews has been on a tear to start the season, recording at least a point in eight of the Leafs’ first 10 games. He tallied a goal and an assist in Thursday’s game, the third time in four games he’s done that. He now has three points in four career games against the Hurricanes. The sophomore’s 14 points leads the Leafs and places him tied for third in the NHL points race. His linemate Zach Hyman is on good role himself, showing marked improvement on the scoresheet from a season ago. Hyman scored his fourth goal at even-strength on Thursday in the 10th game of the season; he scored six in 82 games a season ago. It also took 26 games for him to reach four goals last year
Possession problems
Toronto posted a possession total of just 45.74 per cent, despite trailing for almost the entirety of Thursday’s game. Matthews’ line with Hyman and William Nylander stayed together most consistently throughout the whole of the game and posted the best possession numbers at 52 per cent or better, while Connor Brown, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov and Kadri, who moved around the most on line juggles, were all at less than 40 per cent.
Next game
The Leafs will complete their three-game homestand against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.