Maple Leafs Struggle with Consistency Post-Deadline

The Toronto Maple Leafs have fortified their roster with new faces in hopes of finally finding playoff success this spring. But some familiar flaws proved to be their undoing as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the host Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

The Leafs sit fourth in the NHL with a record of 38-17-8. But they've had trouble handling business against teams near the bottom of the standings. 

The Canucks came into Saturday's game with the NHL's sixth-worst record. They ended up splitting their season series against the Leafs after losing 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 12. 

This year, Toronto is also 1-1-0 against the Columbus Blue Jackets (currently 32nd), 1-1-0 against the Chicago Blackhawks (31st), 1-0-1 against the San Jose Sharks (30th), 1-0-1 against the Anaheim Ducks (29th), 0-2-0 against the Arizona Coyotes (28th) and 1-1-1 against the Montreal Canadiens (26th).

"This is a similar game that we've played in these types of scenarios, with teams that are out of the playoffs," said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe on Saturday night. "We dominated the first period, and you don't score on your chances. You let a team hang around. You give them life, you give them energy, you give them hope. 

"We missed a breakaway, smashed one right off the post. When it was 1-1 in the third period, we hit the crossbar. The game is so tight, and our inability to execute and score in those moments lets the team hang around and lets the game go the way that it did."

The Leafs outshot the Canucks 14-5 in the first period and 37-24 in Saturday's game, but the turning point came just before the midway mark of the third period. Vancouver's Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller each scored shorthanded goals in the span of 44 seconds, breaking a 1-1 deadlock barely five minutes after John Tavares got Toronto on the board with a power-play tap-in off a perfect pass from William Nylander.

"I wasn't aware of them being aggressive, trying to counter," said Tavares, whose power-play unit was on the ice for both tallies. "So obviously, that's on us."

Tavares had a busy night, logging 21:21 of ice time. 

He said he was fine after he was levelled by a big hit from Tyler Myers on his first shift of the game and acknowledged new teammate Jake McCabe for fighting the 6-foot-8 Myers in his defense.

"I went and thanked him after," Tavares said. "Anytime someone comes in and steps up for you, it obviously means a lot — especially a new guy that's just getting acclimated. Not an easy thing to do, so definitely much appreciated."

Tavares' workload grew as the game continued, with fellow centers Auston Matthews and Ryan O'Reilly missing some action.

Matthews hobbled off the ice late in the first period after a point shot from Vancouver defender Noah Juulsen caught him on the inside of his right knee.

He returned about six minutes into the second, then logged 7:34 as the Leafs tried to play catch-up in the third. All told, he finished with 18:17 of ice time. 

"Just tried to grind my way through," he told the media post-game after receiving treatment. "It didn't feel too great but felt fine to play.

"It caught me in a weird spot and just stung," he added. "It still stings, but I was able to get it to calm down."

O'Reilly finished with 11:11 of ice time. His last shift of the game came late in the second period, when he appeared to be hit in the hand by a Matthews shot while playing the net front.

O'Reilly has three goals and five points in eight games since being traded from the St. Louis Blues to Toronto on Feb. 17. He missed 14 games earlier this season with a broken foot.

Keefe said he didn't expect to have an update on his new center's status until Monday. The Leafs are off Sunday as they travel to Newark. They'll finish their five-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Wrapping up three road games in four nights on Saturday and electing to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the second-straight game, Keefe said his group was well covered when McCabe logged 17 minutes of penalty time following his fight with Myers in the first period. But after pulling Matt Murray with more than three minutes left in the third and his group down 4-1, Keefe re-inserted his netminder after Pettersson clanged a shot off the post with 2:52 left to play.

"We're short a lot of forwards, a lot of bodies, and our guys that were on the ice, they were at the end of the tank — they didn't have much gas left," Keefe said. "So we just had to go with a 5-on-5 shift after that. It was really just a matter of managing the energy on the bench."

And while he was charged with four goals against on 24 shots, Murray looked solid in his return to action after missing 17 games with an ankle injury. 

"Matt's numbers aren't going to look good coming out of this one, but I thought he was excellent," Keefe said. "There weren't very many easy shots."

Murray said he felt "pretty good," but felt the outcome of the game hinged on Pettersson's shorthanded goal, which stood up as the winner.

"I think if I make a save there, it's a totally different game," Murray said. "That's one that I've got to have."

Now 2-2-0 on this road trip, the Leafs have work ahead before their game is in shape for what's expected to be a tough first-round playoff rematch against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"It's a little up and down for us at times," Tavares said. "We've put some really good stretches together over the last few weeks, but obviously we want to keep building momentum here." 

Morgan Rielly concurred.

"We don't want to be a team that's great one night, not good the next," he said. "We have to find a way to be more consistent in the system."

It will take more time for the new additions to get acclimated and for the team to gel. Rielly feels a sense of anticipation now that the drama of the trade deadline is in the rearview mirror.

"We feel confident with the people that we have so in that sense, moving forward, I think we feel good," he said. "Is it relief? I don't know. It's more excitement, honestly."