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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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Returning to game action on Friday after a week-long break, the Maple Leafs struggled to get going against Detroit en route to a 3-2 overtime loss. Recently acquired defenceman Jake Muzzin made a quiet debut on the Leafs' blueline while Frederik Andersen did his best to keep the Leafs’ comeback hopes alive in a 30-save performance. But too many mistakes piled up to doom Toronto's chances. They fall to 30-17-3 on the season. 

TAKEAWAYS

Back to reality

Friday’s meeting with the Red Wings was Toronto’s first game in eight days, following its league-mandated time off for the NHL’s All Star Break and the team’s bye week. Right from puck drop (which was delayed nearly an hour by a tribute ceremony for Red Kelly), the Leafs looked like a team that hadn’t played lately, plodding along at a slower pace than usual and displaying a distinct lack of timing on even simple passing plays. 

It took nearly 14 minutes into the first period before Toronto even registered a shot on goal, relying on Andersen’s stout goaltending and the penalty kill to hold Detroit off. The Leafs had their own opportunities to get on the board first, including three fruitless power play attempts that came and went by the time Gustav Nyquist scored the game’s first goal off the visitors’ sloppy play in the defensive end.

Not until Auston Matthews’ tying goal late in the second period did the Leafs start showing signs of life, pressing with more consistency and creating more chances on the cycle. 

Toronto continued to look more cohesive at even strength at time wore on, but Detroit still took back its lead in the third period with a power play goal from Dylan Larkin.

Andersen was on the bench late in the third period when Patrick Marleau tied the game for Toronto on a deflection that fooled Jimmy Howard. That was enough of a comeback to get the Leafs a point in overtime, where they fell 3-2 on Danny DeKeyser’s game-winner. It was the third straight game between the Leafs and Red Wings to reach extra time, with Detroit winning two of the three decisions. 

It was another case of too little, too late for the Leafs, where a slow start caught up to them. Toronto never seemed to find its rhythm for any stretch, an expected after effect of a break perhaps. But losing to a Detroit team that sits second-last in the Eastern Conference is still a tough pill to swallow for a Leafs group anxious to start rolling in the final nine weeks of the regular season.

Power of the power play

There were nine power plays handed out on Friday, five for the Leafs and four for the Red Wings. Toronto went 0-for-5 on the night, while Detroit finished 1-for-4, a small but distinctly important difference in a one-goal game. 

It had been nearly two months since the Leafs had even garnered that many man advantage tries, going back to Dec. 13 in Tampa. Toronto has drawn the fewest penalty minutes in the NHL this season at 127, making those chances an increasingly rare commodity. In each of their previous seven games before Friday, the Leafs had been awarded two or fewer power plays, which they claim impacted their ability to perform. But more chances did nothing to stop Toronto’s familiar problems from resurfacing. Toronto was unable to latch onto any momentum from Matthews scoring the team’s second power play goal in 11 games during their last game before the break. 

From the power play’s opening zone entry on Friday, the Leafs were ineffective, unable to get set up or even hold onto the puck. Toronto’s second power play chance, carrying over from the first into the second period, was better, but still lacked good puck movement that generated dangerous chances on Howard. That was the story on their next three chances as well, where they never looking truly menacing or even particularly solid with the extra attacker.

Looking for a spark, Babcock tried flipping William Nylander to the first unit in place of Nazem Kadri, but it didn’t help. 

Detroit had entered the game ranked 23rd in the league on the penalty kill, while Toronto came in perched at ninth on the power play. Despite the disparity, the Red Wings managed to collapse the Leafs’ set plays well, and prevented them from doing much of anything positive. 

At the same time, Toronto’s penalty kill was also strong, holding the Red Wings to zero shots on goal during their second power play attempt in the second period after stymying their first opportunity with good stick work. When Detroit broke through on their fourth try, it was the result of a glaring error by the kill, a bad clearing attempt, and a terrific shot by Larkin. It marked the first time Toronto’s penalty kill has given up a goal in back-to-back games since mid-December. 

Astounding Andersen

One Leaf who didn’t look rusty at any point on Friday was Andersen, quickly emerging as his team’s best player. In the first period, Andersen was comparatively under siege by the Red Wings while his own teammates weren’t generating much at the other end. Detroit had a pair of quality scoring chances in the game’s first 10 minutes, and then went to an early power play to double their shot total from four to eight in a matter of 90 seconds.

The goaltender did all he could to hold Detroit off midway through the frame, when Toronto’s poor clearing attempts allowed the Red Wings to pounce with good pressure. Andersen made the initial stops in soft coverage by the Leafs’ defence, but while he was sprawled out Nyquist flipped a loose puck in. 

Andersen stayed hot after that, though, making a particularly difficult short side stop late during Toronto’s fourth power play attempt in the third to keep the game tied. Then, on the Red Wings’ fourth man advantage, Andersen had to reach all the way back in his crease to stop a sliding puck just before it crossed the goal line. But when the Leafs’ kill failed once again to clear the zone right after, Larkin snuck a puck just over top of Andersen’s shoulder to give Detroit a 2-1 lead. 

It would take a few more stellar saves by Andersen from in tight to get Toronto to overtime, earning them a much-needed point against a division rival. On the game-winning goal, Detroit zoomed through the Leafs’ end and through all three Toronto skaters to get set up, before DeKeyser buried it past a sprawling Andersen. 

The goalie gave Toronto every chance to come through before that goal went in, finishing with 30 saves and a .909 save percentage. 

Buzzin’ for Muzzin

In another trade scenario, Jake Muzzin might not have been afforded the opportunity to practice with a new team before getting into a game. But following Toronto’s acquisition of the defenceman from the L.A. Kings in exchange for two prospects and a 2019 first-round pick on Monday, Muzzin was able to use the final days of Toronto’s bye week to get acclimated before making his Leafs’ debut in Detroit. 

Skating on the club’s top defence pairing to the left of Morgan Rielly, there had to be plenty of early communication between the partners to make Muzzin’s transition successful. Even still, that will take more than one contest for Muzzin to accomplish, and he was solid defensively in his Leafs debut. 

Given it was his first go-around with the team, Muzzin was eased into action with the Leafs. Despite moving Ron Hainsey to the Leafs’ third pairing with Travis Dermott to make room for Muzzin, coach Mike Babcock still gave Hainsey more minutes than Muzzin in the first period and they finished with essentially the same total at 17:54 for Hainsey and 18:05 for Muzzin. And it was Hainsey and Rielly out in the final regulation minute of a tie game, Muzzin left looking on from the bench. 

Part of where Muzzin has to adapt is to Toronto’s quick transition game, where the puck is advanced through the middle of the ice at high speed, compared to the Kings’ tendency to be slower and more methodical in their approach.

Still, the 29-year-old defenceman did show off some of the strengths he’s bringing to Toronto’s lineup, most notably how he can break the puck out and find open forwards with a quick pass. He finished with two blocks and 54 per cent possession, while seeing time on both the power play (51 seconds) and penalty kill (2:18) units. 

Triple-Ms make a mark

Babcock would rather not have Matthews and Mitch Marner on a line together, believing each star forward can drive his own unit. But when the going was tough for Toronto before its bye week, he put the two 21-year-olds together with Marleau for one game before the break, and kept them together on Friday, a decision that paid off on the scoresheet. 

Only days ago, Matthews was paying tribute to his good friend and new linemate Marleau by unexpectedly wearing his jersey during last weekend’s All-Star skills competition in San Jose, where the veteran winger played for 19 seasons. Their connection turned into points for the Leafs when Marleau fed Matthews in front of Jimmy Howard’s net late in the middle frame so the centre could send a perfectly placed shot short-side on Howard to tie the game. 

Late in the third period, that line contributed the Leafs’ other goal when Matthews hit Marleau from behind the net to tie the game and force overtime. 

Matthews’ goal marked his 22nd of the season, second in as many games, but first at even-strength since Jan. 5. Recently, Matthews had been going through a dry spell, scoring only once in eight games before tallying a power play marker against Washington on Jan. 23. 

After scoring against Detroit, Matthews has goals in back-to-back outings for the first time since Dec. 18-20. His assist on Marleau’s goal brought his total to 16 points all-time against Detroit, most on any opponent in his career.

Marner didn’t garner a helper on either score, but did have a sensational chance to give Toronto the lead in the third on a wraparound try halted by Howard. 

Time will tell how long Babcock can stand to keep Matthews and Marner on a line, but the three forwards have looked better the more shifts they’ve taken together, so it could serve the team well to allow them time to keep growing. 

That line finished with 50 per cent possession and a combined nine shots on goal. 

Blue and White Trending

Tracking Leafs’ trends all season long

Including Friday’s overtime defeat at Detroit, Toronto’s last four losses have come against teams who were not in a playoff position.

Next game

Toronto returns home to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.