In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs’ News & Rumors, I’ll take a look at what’s happening around the team as it prepares to play the Minnesota Wild tonight. Specifically, I’ll comment upon what I think is a revealing set of comments after the loss on Tuesday night that I believe reveals how devastating the loss to the Montreal Canadiens was on the Maple Leafs’ psyche. The team seems fragile right now.
Related: Predicting the Maple Leafs & Atlantic Division Final Standings
Second, I’ll report Jake Muzzin’s status entering the LTIR and what that might mean to the team’s roster moves. Finally, I’ll comment about the Maple Leafs’ goalie situation during the current three-game losing streak.
Item One: Maple Leafs’ Comments Reveal Embarrassment Over Loss to Canadiens
The Maple Leafs’ loss at the hands of the Canadiens – who won again last night for their fourth straight victory – must have been devastating for the team. They turned around and lost the next night in Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime, but oddly the mood from Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe seemed upbeat even after the team’s third loss in a row.
Keefe noted that he “thought our effort structurally was entirely better than it was (Monday) night, so I was happy with that.” He then added, “I thought we easily could have had two points here today.”
Related: Mike Modano – Superman on Ice
Reading between the lines of Auston Matthews’ comments after the game, he noted that “We did a lot of good things tonight, better than our last two outings. I think we can be a lot more proud of our effort tonight. We found our way back and got one point, but obviously leaving the rink sour.” His comments seem to suggest that the team was embarrassed.
Item Two: Ilya Lyubushkin Played OK in His First Maple Leafs’ Game
In the game with the Blue Jackets, Ilya Lyubushkin was thrown into the mix and made his Maple Leafs’ debut without practicing with his new team. Keefe noted that, during “that first period especially, there were times he had to defend, and he showed that, when you come into his space, generally he gets the play stopped.”
Keefe’s assessment was generally positive: “That’s a good quality and one we need in our defensemen. He battled, he competed.”
Item Three: Jake Muzzin Was Officially Placed on LTIR
Jake Muzzin’s concussion forced the team to place him on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) yesterday. That placement means he must serve a seven-day absence; and, even if he’s feeling better, he won’t be able to play until the Buffalo Sabres game on March 2.
The 33-year-old Muzzin will be missed. He eats up a lot of minutes, averaging just at 21:00 of ice time per game. He also has registered 12 points in the 41 games he’s played this season.
Related: Team Canada Women Back on Top of the World in Beijing
Muzzin’s placement on the RTIR has generated a series of “on paper” transactions as a way to make the most of his salary-cap benefit. I confess, I don’t know the specifics of how the salary-cap relief works. For example, both Kristians Rubins and Brennan Menell were promoted to the Maple Leafs and Rasmus Sandin was sent down to the Marlies. However, I can’t imagine that it won’t be Sandin and Timothy Liljegren who play most of the extra minutes with Muzzin out of the lineup.
Item Four: Petr Mrazek Will Start Against the Minnesota Wild
The truth is that Jack Campbell could have been better against the Blue Jackets. As always, Campbell took the blame for the Columbus loss when he noted that “I thought the team played amazing and deserved two points.”
I don’t doubt that there’s some truth in his note that “They just shot and beat me and it’s not acceptable on my part.” However, he might have been a bit harsh when he said: “We should have won 3-0, so just have to move on.”
Today it was announced that Petr Mrazek would start against the Wild. Mrazek too needs a bounce-back game after he allowed five goals on 24 shots to the Canadiens in Monday’s 5-2 loss.
On the season, Mrazek has posted a 6-4-0 record, a 3.16 goals-against-average, and a .890 save percentage in the 10 games he’s played. It would be nice to see a strong effort in the net. However, it would be nicer to see the team defense stand up and overwhelm the Wild so that the goalie’s play would be rendered moot.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs loss against the Blue Jackets was the team’s fifth loss in its past seven games. They could use a focused and intense performance to get their swagger back.
Related: Maple Leafs May Have Reason to Trade Matthews After 2021-22 Season
One player we know came to play was Matthews. In the game against Columbus, he took 11 shots on goal, which was his career-high. It was his fourth game this season with three or more points. I’d look for more from him.
You may also like:
- Insider Confident Maple Leafs Can Come Back in Series
- Why Isn’t Scotiabank Arena Louder for Maple Leafs’ Playoff Games?
- Maple Leafs Still Need More From Mitch Marner in the Playoffs
- Maple Leafs Won’t Go Far with Samsonov in Net
- Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Marchand, Domi, Samsonov & Nylander
