Leafs melt down on home ice
Last-place Sens storm back from 5-1 deficit, spoiling another big night for Matthews
“We definitely blew this one.”
That was Auston Matthews’ frank review of the Maple Leafs’ performance Monday night, after wasting a four-goal lead and allowing the Senators to steal a 6-5 win in overtime at Scotiabank Arena.
Worst loss of the year? Yup. The players said they would put this one behind them — but not before they hear it from Sheldon Keefe. The coach just shook his head before he left the post-game Zoom call.
The loss, as stunning as it was for a first-place club, isn’t the end of the world just 16 games into a 56-game season. But Keefe and his staff have been emphasizing team defence and smart puck management since last summer’s qualifying-round loss to Columbus. This kind of collapse — Ottawa scored five unanswered goals on the road, including a short-hander by Evgenii
Dadonov — was not supposed to happen, not to this group.
Keefe was clearly unhappy, and he should be. The Leafs were in complete control, with Matthews bagging two goals and linemate Joe Thornton — just back from a 10-game injury layoff — adding a goal and an assist.
“What I saw started before the 5-1 lead … we got sloppy with the puck,” Keefe said, adding that the problem has “been creeping into our game.”
He gave some credit to the last-place Senators, who may be last in the North Division but work hard every minute. But in the end, Keefe agreed with Matthews: “We gave it away today.” á Who’s your Dadonov? Dadonov was the star of the game for Ottawa, now the only team with a winning record against the Leafs this season (2-1). He batted the puck out of the air at 17:59 of the second period to cue the comeback. There was nothing to suggest a collapse at that point, but the goal came seconds after the Leafs had killed off a four-minute high-sticking
penalty to Zach Hyman.
In overtime, Dadonov blocked a Morgan Rielly shot from point-blank range, then broke away to pot the winner past Frederik Andersen.
“I really don’t have an issue with the defensive side of things,” Keefe said. “What we had going against us is sloppy play, and that led to us playing more in our own zone than we had to. It wasn’t everybody, but enough guys gave the game to them.” á Joe’s job: On the bright side for the Leafs, the 41-year-old Thornton said he felt great after a long layoff with a rib injury.
“It felt like our line (with Matthews and Mitch Marner) moved the puck well and generated chances,” Thornton said.
The line combined for six points.
The Matthews streak: With a pair, Matthews boosted his NHL-leading goal total to 13 — 12 in his last 11 games. He also has at least a point in each of his last 13 games. The franchise record is 18, shared by Darryl Sittler and Eddie Olczyk, according to NHL statisticians. á Oh brother: Leafs defenceman Jake Muzzin dropped the gloves with Brady Tkachuk after the Sens forward crashed the crease and knocked Andersen to the ice. Muzzin stepped in to defend Andersen, who’d had enough of the rough stuff, and went after Tkachuk. That makes it a Tkachuk double for Muzzin, who also had a tussle with Matthew Tkachuk when the Leafs played Calgary earlier this month. á Campbell watch: Backup goalie Jack Campbell worked out with the team Monday, a sign that he’s getting closer to a return from the leg injury that has sidelined him for two weeks. Keefe, however, said there is no exact timeline for Campbell’s return: “He’s more than a week away.”
For years, Christian Klueg (right) has welcomed hockey-loving locals — from teenagers to 50-somethings — to his smallish backyard rink in Northville, N.Y. This year, with indoor rinks closed or restricted, he invested in an expanded ice surface (below), added boards that used to belong to a minor-league team, even bought a used Zamboni. Demand to hit the ice has never been higher. The 39-year-old father of three isn’t alone. Locked out during the pandemic, many hockey parents south of the border have pivoted to their backyards, where they repurposed old barns, expanded previous spaces or bought easy-to-assemble kits. Some like-minded neighbours knocked down fences to make enough room. There’s a lot to consider, including bumping up insurance in case someone gets hurt, but they say the payoff has been worth it. “It’s almost like Prohibition-era speakeasy hockey,” Klueg said. “Knock a certain way, come on in.”