Unsurprisingly, absolutely no one in the Toronto Maple Leafs camp expressed pride in the poor showing against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, and it was important for everyone to make the necessary adjustments ahead of Tuesday’s game. against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• Read also: Return of spectators to the Bell Center: “We missed it”
• Read also: The most convincing victory of the CH season
The Habs ignored the 40-point gap separating them from their rivals before the clash to teach them a lesson in the first 40 minutes. A five-goal lead and especially the unconvinced play of the Leafs allowed him to slip away to a 5-2 victory at the Bell Centre. However, several visitors’ color bearers had mentioned the dangers of falling asleep against opponents badly placed in the standings. It all happens on the rink and head coach Sheldon Keefe’s squad has seen it.
With four losses in their six most recent duels, the players in blue and white will have to raise their game a few notches.
“This was a follow-up to our defensive performance on Saturday against St. Louis [un échec de 6 à 3] and this is the most disappointing aspect, Keefe lamented, as reported by the daily “Toronto Sun”. We haven’t done a good enough job to leave our territory. We lost our battles, we didn’t have good communication and when our defenders were involved in the game, our attackers let them down.
Indeed, the Leafs want to tighten their defense and allow their goalkeepers to do their job more easily. Although Petr Mrazek had his ups and downs in goal on Monday, he surely would have appreciated more help.
“As a defensive core, we need to do a more effective job of limiting the number of scoring opportunities,” commented fullback Morgan Rielly. It starts on the opponent’s climbs. Once you’re in your zone, you have to break plays, take the puck quietly and try to contribute offensively.
Fortunately for Keefe, he can build on the third twenty of the last game, during which his team scored twice.
“I spoke to our group before the period. It was not necessary to linger over the scoreboard. There are still a lot of matches to be played and before long, this one will not be remembered. Honestly, this kind of part is sometimes necessary to ring the alarm clock. I look at those losses in Pittsburgh and Carolina: they were the start of our best hockey streak of the season which lasted 6-7 weeks, ”he said.
Forced change
The premature departure of Jake Muzzin, who remained in Montreal after being unable to finish the game following an accidental contact with Chris Wideman, could slightly modify the organization chart of the defensive brigade in the short term. Recently acquired from the Arizona Coyotes, Ilya Lyubushkin could be entitled to a rather difficult introduction because of the absence of Muzzin.
The latter has a history of concussion and it remains to be seen if he will be able to return to competition quickly. He has 12 points in 41 outings this season while posting a -8 rating.
After Tuesday, the Leafs will host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.