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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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In their only visit this season to the Lone Star State, the Maple Leafs started badly and never recovered, falling 6-3 to the Dallas Stars. Toronto had been red-hot on the road in December and January, but have now dropped their last two away from Air Canada Centre. They fall to 23-16-9 on the season, and three points behind the Boston Bruins for third in the Atlantic Division.

Takeaways

All-Star hangover: In their first game back following the league-wide All-Star break, the Maple Leafs were sloppy and lethargic in the first period, allowing Dallas to jump out to a 5-1 lead after 20 minutes. Starter Frederik Andersen didn’t get any help early from Toronto’s porous defence and saw his shutout streak halted at 129:04. He was chased for just the second time this season after giving up three goals on eight shots in 11:15. It was the first time in eight games the Stars scored a game’s opening goal and they matched a season-high with five goals on 12 shots. The last time the Maple Leafs gave up five goals in the first period was April 3, 2009 to the Philadelphia Flyers. Toronto is now 4-12-4 on the season when being scored on first.  

Missing Morgan: Toronto had hoped Morgan Rielly would be ready to return from injury against Dallas, but ultimately he sat out his sixth straight game after feeling not quite right post-morning skate. The Maple Leafs’ blue line could have used his legs - and leadership - on Tuesday. That group was a mess out of the gate with Jake Gardiner and Martin Marincin struggling in particular on Dallas’ first two goals and multiple pucks being turned over in their own zone. The Maple Leafs' back-end fell victim to too much puck-watching for which Andersen and Curtis McElhinney (who takes the loss in a nine-save performance) paid the price. Toronto went 2-2-1 before the break without Rielly and hadn’t looked as anemic as they did against Dallas since the first full game without him. 

New dynamic duo?: Desperate times called for desperate measures from Mike Babcock, who put Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on a line together for the final 40 minutes. He’s done it before with the two logging 41 minutes of even strength ice time together previously this season. They didn’t end up connecting on any goals, but did produce several good chances. Matthews and Marner have undeniable chemistry on the ice, anticipating each other’s moves like veteran linemates. In a game that was out of reach by the time they got together, the rookies were the Maple Leafs’ best skaters in a losing effort. Whether their performance changes Babcock’s mind about playing them together in the future remains to be seen - he has said before he believes each can drive a line on their own, hence the reluctance to pair them up. Matthews, Marner and Zach Hyman combined for nine shots on goal in the final two periods.

Numbers game: On a night where they were outclassed in nearly every category, Toronto had one of their best games of the season in the faceoff circle. The Maple Leafs average 48.7 per cent in the dot, but won a whopping 62 per cent of their draws against the Stars. It was about the only thing that did go right for Toronto with even their top-ranked penalty kill (90.1 percent on the road) giving up a goal on the Stars’ single man advantage. From top to bottom, the Maple Leafs looked unprepared.

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Next game: Toronto’s four-game road swing continues Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.