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About having that playoff-type mindset in the final stretch to the post-season, the Maple Leafs will have to get back to you.
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The Leafs didn’t pick up in their first game after the all-star break where they left off, losing 3-2 against the New York Islanders on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
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A three-game winning streak before the Leafs went their separate ways last Sunday wasn’t extended against an Islanders team that won for the second time in five games under new coach Patrick Roy.
The Islanders swept the season series against the Leafs, winning all three games including two in overtime. There’s no way the Leafs can put a pretty bow on leaving points on the table against a team that is not in a playoff spot and has made a coaching change.
Stuck in the first wildcard spot with 58 points, the Leafs got a good performance from the John Tavares line — the captain himself had some jump — but couldn’t get the better of goalie Ilya Sorokin.
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Former Leafs winger Pierre Engvall, in his first game in Toronto since he was traded to the Islanders last February, scored the winner at 17:58 of the third when he slipped the puck under goalie Ilya Samsonov. That came after Morgan Rielly turned the puck over deep in the defensive zone.
Tavares had tied the game on a power play with 4:48 remaining when he tipped a Rielly shot.
Auston Matthews hit two posts in the third period on the same shot.
Some takeaways from the Leafs’ 48th game of the season:
GAME ON
Samsonov couldn’t get across the crease to stop a drive by Mike Reilly midway through the first period, and couldn’t recover in time to stop the rebound when Reilly’s shot hit the post. The puck went directly to Isles all-star Mathew Barzal, who easily slammed it into the open net. That gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 10:31.
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The Leafs tied the game at 50 seconds of third when Mitch Marner went high over the left shoulder of Sorokin while the teams played at four-on-four.
Toronto got no momentum from the goal. Exactly two minutes later, Kyle MacLean put the puck past Samsonov after going to his backhand on a breakaway. The chance came after MacLean got out of the penalty box and was spotted by Cal Clutterbuck.
There appeared to be a scary moment for the Leafs when Samsonov was slow to get up after stretching his left leg to make a pad save in the second period, but the netminder stayed in the game.
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THAT PHYSICAL ELEMENT
Defenceman Simon Benoit had a team-high 92 hits going into the night, even though he didn’t play in 14 of the Leafs’ first 47 games, and we got another glimpse of his physical instincts early in the second period.
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There’s no Islanders player who has more talent than Barzal, and there was Benoit lining him up for a big hit in the defensive zone. Benoit got enough of Barzal to cause the Isles winger to stumble to the ice. Had Benoit made complete contact, we’re afraid Barzal might not have returned to the game. The hit was enough to draw the attention of the Islanders’ Bo Horvat, who engaged Benoit in a fight and got an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. The decision went to Benoit.
The physicality of Benoit should take some pressure off Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to seek that kind of player in a trade. While more of that would not hurt, the Leafs should be comfortable in knowing they have that in Benoit.
Another player added to bring the rough-and-tumble approach, winger Ryan Reaves, stayed in the lineup with injuries to forwards Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf. Reaves was penalized for boarding Matt Martin in the first period on a hit that wasn’t necessary.
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CROWDED HOUSE
With the NHL trade deadline just over one month away, no less than 17 clubs had reserved seats in the press box.
The numbers will only increase as we get closer to March 8, after which NHL general managers suddenly will have plenty of free time on their hands. Among those in the press box was Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios, who could be looking to add despite the Sens’ position at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
As for the Leafs and what the weeks leading up to the deadline might entail, as much as Treliving might like to add one of his former players, Calgary Flames defenceman Chris Tanev, the Leafs really can’t afford to move what remains of their high picks. Toronto doesn’t have second-round pick in each of the next three years and doesn’t have its 2025 first-rounder.
As we’ve said before, while Tanev would help on the blue line, the Leafs need more to push them closer to Stanley Cup contender status. And Treliving won’t be dealing from what we would call a position of strength, no matter who he seeks in the next month.
tkoshan@postmedia.com
X: @koshtorontosun
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