Toronto Maple Leafs center Max Domi watches the play in front of Ottawa Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, on Dec. 27.Nick Turchiaro/Reuters
It is about time that a therapist pulls out a big comfy couch for the Maple Leafs. Have them all lay down and talk about issues that concern them. Not about goal songs or whether their phones work on the subway or why fans on Long Island hate John Tavares, but about a more serious consideration such as why they stink when they play lousy teams.
After Wednesday’s flop at home against the Senators, they have won two out of nine against Buffalo, Chicago, Columbus and Ottawa and are 15-4-4 against everybody else. With a few wins in those games against cellar-dwellers they would be atop if not challenging for the lead in the NHL’s Atlantic Division.
Toronto still may get there but it certainly hasn’t made it easy on itself.
The Maple Leafs avoided their customary bad start against the Senators and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. And then bupkis. It would be easy to blame this on the holiday humbugs – perhaps it was caused by a fragment of underdone potato – if they didn’t mostly rinse and repeat all of the time.
“We didn’t score the third goal,” Sheldon Keefe, the head coach, said afterward. “We let them hang around. Ottawa got better and harder as the game went on and we didn’t respond. Competitively we slipped.”
The Senators remain last among 16 teams in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets, Toronto’s opponent on the road on Friday night, are next-to-last. That should give the Maple Leafs the warm and fuzzies but you never know if they are going to fizzle or sizzle. Flip a coin and, by all means, stay away from your favourite sports book.
If history holds true, they will likely play better at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday against a tougher opponent in Carolina. They seem to rise to the occasion – and then fall flat as a flapjack versus the also-rans. The Bruins? Let us at ‘em. The Blue Jackets? Not terribly interested.
Mark Giordano will return on defence against Columbus after missing a dozen games with a broken finger. That should help, but the heebie-jeebies-afflicted Ilya Samsonov will be in Toronto’s net. Lately he has been as nervous as a squirrel in High Park.
It is either a wonderful opportunity for him to gain some confidence against an overmatched foe or another misadventure.
This is a busy stretch with three games in four days. After facing Carolina, Toronto departs on a West Coast trip that begins on Tuesday in Los Angeles. The Kings are very good but San Jose, the worst team in the league, looms after that. An obvious trouble spot for a team with as many faces as Eve.
Against the Senators, the Maple Leafs went up 2-0 and had a power play that, if cashed in, might have put them over the top. Instead, Ottawa got a short-handed goal. (Toronto has allowed five shorties thus far, tied for the fourth-most in the NHL). That was the first of four unanswered goals for the Senators – two in the second period and two in the third.
“We didn’t have a terrible third,” said Todd Bertuzzi, the left wing. Then he conceded, “We weren’t at our best.”
William Nylander continues to be. He posted his 30th assist of the season and extended his current point streak to 12 games. As of Thursday, he was tied for fourth in the league in scoring with 46 points. Matthews leads the league with 28 goals and was tied for 11th in scoring with 42 points.
Overall, it is in a safe playoff position while third in the Atlantic Division. The down side is that a lot of easily attainable points have been given up.
“To find consistency is the goal,” Keefe said after practice on Thursday. “It remains a challenge for us.”