Leafs can’t hold on to late lead
Frederik Andersen was asked Tuesday morning whether t here would be challenges for the goaltender coming off a bye week.
“Just getting back in the feel of it again, feel like having your f eet under yourself,” the Maple Leafs netminder said. “It’s about coming back with a really good sense of urgency and putti ng t o ge t her s o me wins.”
Several hours later, Andersen put some muscle behind his words.
Andersen was the best Leaf on the ice against the St. Louis Blues at the Air Canada Centre, making 40 saves.
But Andersen’s t eammates could score just one goal in support, and the Blues left with a 2-1 win in overtime.
Vince Dunn scored the winner at 1: 43 of the extra period, beating Andersen with a low shot on the stick side on an odd-man rush.
That came not long after Blues goalie Carter Hutton stopped William Nylander on a breakaway.
Both clubs were coming off their bye week.
The Leafs, who had not played since losing at home against Ottawa last Wednesday, finished a six- game home stand with a record of 2-2-2.
The Leafs were holding on to a 1- 0 lead in the final minute when Alex Steen put an Alex Pietrangelo rebound past Andersen to tie the game with 57 seconds remaining. The Leafs had several chances to clear the puck but were unable to do so. On the goal, Ron Hainsey was right there, but could not react in time to get the puck before Steen used a backhand to score.
Connor Brown broke a goalless tie at 10: 10 of the third period when he scored the Leafs’ third short- handed goal of the season.
Brown burst past a diving Pietrangelo to take control of a bouncing puck and skated in alone on Hutton. Brown, buried on the fourth line for much of the season, waited for Hutton to commit and then roofed the puck over the netminder’s glove, sending many in the crowd of 18,951 into a frenzy.
Earlier in t he period, Morgan Rielly, who made a couple of big gaffes in the Leafs’ final two games before the break, made a fine defensive play to track down Ivan Barbashev, who had a brief breakaway on Andersen.
The Blues remain the only NHL team against which Auston Matthews does not have a point. Matthews has played the Blues four times now.
After the morning skate, Leafs coach Mike Babcock was asked whether the bye would help sharpen his team’s focus.
“Great question, I don’t know the answer to that,” Babcock said. “The bye week puts more games back to back, more games closer together. But the bye week gives you a break where you get to breathe and you get to rejuvenate and feel good.”
The Blues didn’ t have much to worry about early. They were outshooting the Leafs 6-1 before the game was two minutes old.
In the first two periods, neither goaltender was tested regularly or with vast amounts of difficulty.
Still, some saves stood out.
Andersen made a pointblank save on defenceman Robert Bortuzzo, who has one goal in 44 games, midway through the first and later got a pad on a Steen shot. After Travis Dermott gave the puck away in the second, Andersen snared a shot by Patrik Berglund.
Hutton wasn’t as busy, but had to be on the ball to make saves on Tyler Bozak, who was set up by Connor Carrick and Nazem Kadri.
There’s little excuse for it, but Kadri’s slump continues, as he has scored one goal in 17 games. The Leafs like their balance up front, but Kadri hasn’t been holding up his end for a while now. Kadri has not recorded an assist in 20 games. That’s ridiculous for a player of his stature.
Kadri c a me close to breaking his assist slump when he set up Patrick Marleau on an odd- man break late in the second. Marleau had a great chance of scoring, but Pietrangelo managed to get his right skate on the shot and deflect the puck out of play.
The l one moment that got the fans out of their seats in the first 40 minutes came early, as Chris Thorburn went after the Leafs’ Matt Martin, who had just crushed Kyle Brodziak with a hit behind the Blues net.
Thorburn and Martin were handed five- minute fighting majors.