Kerfoot on Leafs loss to Coyotes: 'We gave it away'

The Toronto Maple Leafs saw their three-game winning streak snapped Thursday with a 6-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes.

The Leafs led 3-2 after 40 minutes while outshooting the Coyotes 22-11, but the Coyotes stormed back in the third period, scoring four goals on 12 shots to earn the victory.

"We just didn't do a good job managing the game in the third," Toronto forward Alex Kerfoot said. "Coming into [the third period] with the lead, that's a game we obviously should be winning, and we gave it away."

The loss came two days after the Maple Leafs defeated the St. Louis Blues in overtime in a back-and-forth 5-4 contest.

“That is two games in a row now that we have given up a lead in the third period,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "It’s two games we’ve been in control of. It got away on us for different reasons.”

After being trade to Toronto from the Coyotes, the return to the desert didn't go quite as planned for Conor Timmins. The defenceman's high-sticking penalty early in the third period led to the Coyotes tying the game before eventually pulling away.

“That was just on me,” said Timmins. “I took a bad penalty early in the third period and let them back in, and then it's a tie game and it can go either way.

"We have to limit those mistakes, myself especially.”

The Maple Leafs will finish their 2022 calendar with a date against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. 

Toronto currently sits second in the Atlantic Division, nine points back of the Boston Bruins.