Without Matthews, Leafs’ offence is sputtering
Toronto lost its second game in a row, and the fact they’re now 0-2 without Auston Matthews is becoming an issue.
Ajax native Devin Shore put the Stars up 2-0 in the third period, notching his fourth point in two games. Jamie Benn had the other goal for Dallas while Toronto was blanked until Patrick Marleau’s third-period power-play goal with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
Toronto now has either scored a lone goal or been shutout in four of its last six games.
Offensive Stars: John Tavares, thanks to some good setups from Mitch Marner, rang a shot off the crossbar in the first period. He also had a sharp angle shot in the second, and nearly snapped it into a very small space over the shoulder of Stars goalie Anton Khudobin ... Marner was brilliant at both ends of the ice, but the other bigger offensive contributors — Nazem Kadri and Kaspari Kapanen — were quiet. And in a sign of the way things went for the Leafs, Tavares and Marner both fanned on clean chances during a two-on-one break in the third with the score 2-0.
Defensive Stars: Leafs D Justin Holl, making his season debut, crunched Stars forward Tyler Pitlick into the boards in the first period with a great hit … Marner, during a second-period penalty kill, checked three Stars players back into their own zone, an incredible piece of effort and anticipation … Dallas was awarded a second power play, just under three minutes after the first one, and Marner stole a puck, dashed in on net with a deke and narrowly missed a five-hole goal.
Turning Point: Shore’s goal, early in the third, was the dagger for the Leafs.
Talking Point: Where’s the offence? The Leafs have one goal in two games since Matthews went down with a shoulder injury. They were 1-for-5 on the power play, and that goal came on their 29th shot of the game. Toronto now has three power-play goals in its last seven games. Overall, the power play is 11-for-36.
Takeaways: The Leafs, after an unacceptable effort Monday against Calgary, vowed to be dramatically different Thursday versus Dallas.
They improved on their 26 giveaways Monday, but still aren’t the same team without Matthews.
A nice celebration for Ron Hainsey on his 1,000th career game. The Leafs certainly worked hard and had chances, but in the end, they failed to cash in on the emotional high coming from Hainsey’s memorable night.
Strange: Three scouts from the Carolina Hurricanes took in Thursday’s game, an unusually large number, and it sparked more speculation of the Canes’ interest in William Nylander, and the potential for other Leafs, in a multiple-player deal.
Up next: The Leafs head to Pittsburgh Saturday.