On a night where most of his teammates took the night off, Alexey Toropchenko continued to make his case for the St. Louis Blues.
The big Russian was at it again with grit, hard work, determination, being a net front presence, forechecking, skating ... you name it, Toropchenko was doing it.
He was rewarded with his ninth goal of the season, tipping in a Nathan Walker shot, that gave the Blues a chance at the time, but it was all for naught in a dreadful 4-1 loss against the shorthanded Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
When it was evident the Blues (28-22-2) weren't going to get much of anything from their top-end players, it was Toropchenko and linemates Walker and Oskar Sundqvist who provided some semblance of o-zone time for a forechecking game.
Toropchenko once again (deservedly) logged over 15 minutes (15:10), led the Blues with three shots on goal (he had 20 percent of their season-low 15 for the game!), and a team-high seven hits warrants Toropchenko far and beyond the player of the game in a losing effort.
Toropchenko's line and Jordan Binnington (28 saves, including two breakaways and two at point blank range) were the only reason the Blues stood a chance.
