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Few Maple Leafs losses in 2023-24 will sting as much as what happened on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
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The Leafs lost 5-3 against the Colorado Avalanche after building a 3-0 lead in the first period. If the Leafs were using the Avs as a measuring stick, they failed in a big way against a Colorado club that has won seven of its past eight games.
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Nathan MacKinnon scored the winner at 16:35 of the third, beating Martin Jones on a shot that should have been saved. Ross Colton scored into an empty net with seven seconds remaining.
Truth be told, though, the Leafs’ structure was an issue throughout the evening and it wasn’t a shock that the Avs managed to come all the way back.
Our takeaways:
TIGHTENING REQUIRED
A sizeable Toronto lead in the first period disappeared completely at 7:35 of the third when Andrew Cogliano tied the game.
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A shot by Josh Manson was blocked before it got to the net, and Jones was out of position after anticipating the original attempt.
Though the Leafs had just killed off a John Tavares minor, requiring four Jones saves to do so, the Cogliano goal was aided by a structural breakdown in the defensive zone. The Leafs also weren’t great in front of Jones in the second period when Mikko Rantanen scored following a rare gaffe by Auston Matthews some eight minutes after Jonathan Drouin scored during a Colorado power play.
Even as the Leafs’ lead grew in the opening 20 minutes, there wasn’t the sense that the outcome was secured. Certainly not against a team as sharp as the Avalanche. And sure enough, the visitors refused to pack it in as they started a five-game trip.
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Max Domi, Morgan Rielly and Timothy Liljegren scored for Toronto.
SMART CHOICE
Hours after he modestly deflected a question about potentially playing in the all-star game, Rielly scored one of his better goals. Not just of the season, but of his lengthy career with the Leafs.
Oh, and between the morning and the goal that gave Toronto a 2-0 lead, Rielly indeed was announced as a participant in the all-star game thanks to a substantial push by Leafs Nation.
When reminded after the morning skate that his teammates had been pushing strongly for him, Rielly had this to say: “I don’t want to get too carried away with it. My focus is always here. Just having the acknowledgement from my teammates, that’s enough for me.”
That Rielly’s first appearance in the NHL all-star game will come in Toronto is fitting. Not only is the longest-serving current Leaf an insightful ambassador of the game, he’s deserving as well considering the strong season he has had on the Leafs blue line.
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When the NHL released the results of fan votes on Tuesday, Rielly was in 11th among skaters with 216,416 votes. By the time voting ended at midnight on Thursday, the 29-year-old had moved up to seventh with 830,480 votes.
Now about the goal, which came at 10:47 of the first period. Rielly gathered the puck deep in the Leafs end, and has he found some open ice in the neutral zone, flipped it toward Colorado defenceman Devon Toews. As Toews tried to find the puck at his feet, Rielly poked it past him and went in alone on Georgiev, moving to his backhand to go top corner on the netminder’s glove-hand side.
That the goal came with Toews and star defenceman Cale Makar on the ice made it all the more impressive. A few shifts previously, Rielly stood up Rantanen in front of Jones to thwart a scoring chance for the visitors.
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We hope Rielly hadn’t been making any travel plans for the all-star break. He’s in line to have some fun with Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner at the all-star festivities Feb. 1-3 at Scotiabank Arena, an accolade that was overdue.
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GOALTENDING QUESTIONS
The intrigue around the Leafs’ goaltending deepened on Saturday morning.
Regarding Jones and the home game against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, coach Sheldon Keefe was adamant: The veteran netminder won’t be in net.
“That would be overdoing it,” Keefe said. “Even though it’s a back-to-back at home, he has played a lot this week. We’re going to need another guy, but let’s focus on (Saturday).”
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Of course, “another guy” meant Ilya Samsonov or Dennis Hildeby. Samsonov backed up Jones on Saturday, while Hildeby was coming off a 20-save shutout for the Toronto Marlies against the Belleville Senators on Friday night.
Samsonov hasn’t played since Dec. 29, when he allowed six goals against Columbus in an overtime loss. After clearing waivers on Jan. 1, the veteran has been trying to get his game in order, initially with Marlies goalie coach Hannu Toivonen before getting back to work this week with Leafs goalie coach Curtis Sanford. The Leafs really won’t know whether Samsonov will be in the proper frame of mind until he gets in a game, but giving him the nod would be a risk considering his struggles.
The Marlies play in Belleville on Sunday afternoon, and there had been some thought that Samsonov might get that start.
The Leafs have been reluctant to use Hildeby as well. Either way, they’re going to have to take a chance against Detroit, whether it’s Samsonov or Hildeby.
It’s a tough spot for the Leafs.
tkoshan@postmedia.com
X: @koshtorontosun
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