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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – As quickly as things were looking up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they got a sobering dose of reality.

Taking their three-game win streak into Tuesday night’s contest against the Los Angeles Kings, the Maple Leafs never found their game and were blown out, 7-0. The defeat moves Toronto to 5-5-3.

“You hate to have a night like this, but it happened, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Nazem Kadri said. “We weren’t at the top of our game. They taught us a lesson tonight. We’re going to take this, use it as a learning curve.”

Coming off an emotional, penalty-filled slugfest against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the Maple Leafs had noticeable jump to start off against Los Angeles. But the hard-bodied Kings don’t give up many shots – they’ve allowed more than 30 on goal only twice this season – and while Frederik Andersen was peppered at the other end, Toronto couldn’t get anything through. Los Angeles led 1-0, and 15-5 in shots, after the first period.

“They got better and we got worse and we didn’t have any push back at any time,” head coach Mike Babcock said. “As optimistic as everything appears one day, you win three in a row, and then you get your lunch fed to you and you’re not competitive, you’re not organized and you’re not prepared. It was a humbling experience for our players and myself in our building.”

The real trouble for Toronto started in the second period. Andersen kept them in the game through the first, making two critical saves on the penalty kill as the first frame ended, but the Maple Leafs’ turnovers in the neutral zone led to too much pressure against the netminder. By the time Jeff Carter put L.A. up 4-0 at 13:33 of the second, Andersen was pulled for Jhonas Enroth.

“We didn’t do anything for our goalies tonight,” Tyler Bozak said. “We were trying to be too fancy and we weren’t getting pucks in deep and they were just feasting on our turnovers and taking it to us. One thing we wanted to use was our speed, but they were right on top of you.”

“They’re good at taking time and space away. They clog up the neutral zone,” Morgan Rielly added. “At times I think we were hanging onto the puck too long, trying to look for a better option. They did a good job of making sure we didn’t have any speed going into their zone and that’s a big difference in the game.”

Toronto managed 19 shots on goal against Peter Budaj, their lowest total of the season. Andersen gave up four goals on 26 shots, while Enroth allowed three on 17. Babcock admitted he felt his team “embarrassed” themselves, and Tuesday night’s loss was a reality check about the distance between where the Maple Leafs are determined to get and where they are now. But Babcock said being youthful is no excuse for what transpired.

"I think when I started my coaching career I used to say experience is overrated and I thought that because I had none,” Babcock said. “So there's no sense worrying about that, right? This is our team, this is what we've got, let's find a way to win games.”
 
“We’re a group that wants to get to [the Kings'] level, where we want to be one of the best teams going in this league,” Rielly said. “I think they showed us tonight we have a long way to go.”


Takeaways

  • The Maple Leafs' penalty kill was the only bright spot in an otherwise poor performance. Toronto went 4-for-4 against the Kings and is 16-for-16 in its last five games while shorthanded.
  • Babcock did a good deal of line-juggling in the second and third periods. At times, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews were playing with Zach Hyman and then Nikita Soshnikov, with William Nylander on the fourth line with Matt Martin and Ben Smith. Whether that was a one-game trial or signs of permanent changes to come, Babcock wasn’t saying after the game. “I’m going to wake up tomorrow and go through the game like I always do and go to practice,” he said. “By Friday I’ll have a plan.”
  • Soshnikov was one of the Maple Leafs' best forwards throughout the game. He’s a pesky player to begin with and didn’t let up on the Kings even as the game slipped away. Soshnikov generated a team-high four shots on goal and was one of the few forwards who was continuously getting around the net. If Babcock’s line shuffling was any indication, Soshnikov could find himself moving up the depth chart by the club’s next game.
  • Martin Marincin looked lost for much of Tuesday's game. He and Connor Carrick finished a team-low minus-four, but while Carrick continually tried to make positive plays, the Kings were able to get behind Marincin too easily. More than once he was searching for a puck that was behind him already. His turnover in the neutral zone directly led to Jeff Carter’s first goal. On his own scoring chance, while alone in the slot with a wide-open lane, Marincin whiffed on the shot. He finished with zero shots and one giveaway.
  • Matthews continues to be snake-bit around the net. He’s generating quality chances – and had three shots on goal Tuesday - but hasn’t had his usual scoring touch of late. His last even-strength points came on Oct. 25 against Tampa Bay.