The Leafs were certainly feeling that pinch early Tuesday night versus Florida, coupled with poor goaltending and a wonky power play.
“Teams like to play us physical and that’s perfectly fine,” said Auston Matthews, who is drawing much more attention after two years as league scoring leader. “We’re a team that likes to play with the puck and things will get chippy. That’s hockey sometimes. You just have to play through.”Article content
Gudas dished out nine of Florida’s 28 hits, almost double the Leafs total, while Saturday’s game versus league-leading Boston saw more than 60 traded, with Toronto on top, albeit losing that one-goal game. Nashville threw 36 hits the Leafs’ way in the home game before Florida. The Leafs have employed Wayne Simmonds as a deterrent when they can, have gone to a big third line with Engvall, David Kampf and Bobby McMann and have made their fourth unit edgier.
Of course it’s all a dress rehearsal for playoffs. The Leafs string of first round defeats has seen them falter in the war of attrition when their stars are stymied. Finding a balance will be the key in April.Keefe’s goaltending rotation is a little out of whack after Matt Murray didn’t respond as hoped Tuesday in consecutive starts, giving up four on eight shots to Florida.
Keefe naturally tried to deflect attention from Murray’s play on Tuesday to the Leafs’ overall sluggish start. Keefe noted Murray made a short-handed breakaway save on Aleksander Barkov before unchecked trailer Anton Lundell buried the rebound.The Leafs face a team at or near the top of its division for the second time in less than a week when Winnipeg comes to town. In the previous meeting on Oct. 22 in Manitoba, the Leafs won 4-1, helped by two John Tavares power play goals.
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