Lopsided Shots In Leafs Loss To L.A. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs once again scored enough to win on most nights, but were undone by defensive errors late in regulation in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. John Tavares led the way with a pair of goals, and Bobby McMann added his fifth of the season.

The Leafs started quickly, struggled in the second period, and surrendered their 2-0 lead but regained it on Tavares second goal, and held on to the precarious one-goal lead late in the third, but Alex Laferriere tied the game with 6:50 left in regulation, paving the way for Quinten Byfield’s game-winner 35 seconds into overtime.

Dennis Hildeby was under siege for most of the contest, as Toronto was outshot 37-15, but was excellent in his second start of the season.

“I liked our first period. I thought that we did some real good things, defended well,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the game. “We got the lead in the third, and I thought we sat back a little too much….We’re just not making (plays) and just not seeing it well enough right now, but we’ve got to pick up our pace.”

The issue for the Leafs, as it has been for most of the season, has been an inability to exit the defensive zone with ease on most shifts. The book on them is to furiously forecheck them and force them into turnovers, which they continue to do with regularity.

The absence of Chris Tanev has caused a domino effect on the blueline, forcing the promotion of Simon Benoit into the top four, Jake McCabe to play the right side instead of his natural left, increased minutes for veterans Oliver Ekman Larsson and Morgan Rielly, and the insertion of the likes of Philippe Myers or in the case of the Kings game, Dakota Mermis. 

Both Myers and Mermis played in a 5-3 loss in Buffalo on October 24 and were directly responsible for the defeat, as they were a collective -5 that night. Myers was particularly awful in the 5-3 loss to Boston on Tuesday and was replaced by Mermis, who was at fault for the tying goal. 

When teams are forced to play depth defensemen, you are not going to get a Cale Makar-type performance. What most teams are looking for is someone who will do no harm, which is the opposite of what the Leafs are getting out of Myers and Mermis, who should be in the American Hockey League. What is puzzling is the fact that there are two blueliners on the Toronto Marlies that merit at least a look. 

It is hard to imagine that Henry Thrun, who played 119 games with San Jose over the last three seasons, or 24-year-old William Villeneuve – who scored 40 points with the Marlies last season, could be much worse than the M & M boys.