On Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs let a 2-0 lead slip away from them against the Detroit Red Wings, with the eventual result being a 6-3 loss. The loss was chalked up to sloppy play. The Leafs showed up with better legs on Monday, enough to outshoot the Red Wings by a wide margin, but ill-timed penalties and bad bounces were the story of their second loss of the season.
The Leafs outshot them 13-6 by the end of the first period and had a lead of 12-3 on the shot clock at one point. They found themselves on the penalty kill after a cross-checking penalty to Morgan Rielly (one that he took serious exception to), and Simon Benoit whacked the puck out of bounds with an errant stick. From there, the Red Wings collapsed on them and opened the scoring. Nothing happened on the scoresheet until the third period, when a misplay at the blueline by Brandon Carlo sprung, of course, a former Maple Leaf in James van Riemsdyk on the breakaway to which he converted to make it 2-0.
Bobby McMann displayed great tendencies along the wall and set Matthew Knies up for his first goal of the season, before Knies himself one-upped McMann’s effort to set up Calle Jarnkrok for his third goal of the season and third in as many games. So, there were positives to take away from the result despite the final score and second consecutive loss to a divisional rival. But those positives were heavily diluted by Mason Appleton’s game-winner in the final two minutes. A point shot was blocked by Auston Matthews and landed right on Appleton’s tape, and then in the back of the net.
The loss capped off what was a wholly uninspiring Thanksgiving weekend of hockey. You can argue they didn’t deserve to lose this one, but when you drop the game before in a matchup that you did deserve to lose, you lose the benefit of the doubt for what comes after that.
The Maple Leafs have little time to dwell and will look to flush this one and turn their attention to Tuesday’s game against the Nashville Predators.
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