At least the Toronto Maple Leafs know what they have to work on tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. During the past two games, the team has lost to the Buffalo Sabres by a 5-1 score and to the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 6-4.
The truth is that the Maple Leafs simply didn’t show up against the Sabres for some unknown reason. But, although they showed up well against the Canucks, they just couldn’t keep the puck out of the net.
Item One: Tonight’s Plan Against the Blue Jackets
Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe was critical, but not damning in his critique of what had to be a frustrating game against the Canucks. The Canucks have now beaten the Maple Leafs in both games the two teams have played this season.
Keefe noted, “We’ve done a better job of defending the rush, but some of those issues around our net have come up.”
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The coach Keefe was more definitive about the issues he was referring to. “I’d say Jack did a good job. We have to do better in front on loose pucks and tips.”
Maple Leafs’ captain John Tavares agreed: “We just weren’t doing a good enough job in front of our net and helping out (Campbell) and obviously that led to them grabbing the lead in the third. … We generated a lot, I thought we did a lot of good things, but we’ve got to take care of in front of our net a lot better.”
That’s the nuts and bolts of it. Show up and take care of the front of the net better. In this issue of Maple Leafs’ News & Rumors, I’ll share some of the news emerging from the team as it prepares to meet the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road in the first game of a back-to-back. Tomorrow night, the team plays the Seattle Kraken on home ice.
Item Two: Petr Mrazek: Starting Monday
By the way, if the Maple Leafs are going to be clearing the puck from the front of the net better tonight, it will be for backup goalie Petr Mrazek. Mrazek starts tonight in place of Campbell. Mrazek will take the first half of the Maple Leafs’ back-to-back games with Campbell probably taking the second on home ice.
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Mrazek will try to bounce back from last Wednesday’s 5-1 listless loss to the Buffalo Sabres when he stopped 26 of 31 shots. Until that game, Mrazek had put together a three-game win streak. In his 14 games this season, Mrazek’s record now stands at 9-5-0 on the season, with a goals-against-average of 3.22, and a save percentage of .890.
Item Three: Rasmus Sandin Won’t Be Traveling to Columbus
Rasmus Sandin didn’t participate in practice yesterday because he was ill, and won’t be traveling to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets. He hasn’t quite shaken the flu bug he’s been dealing with. Coach Keefe’s report was that his young defenseman still had a fever and was trying to shake the illness. He hopes to play on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Swedish defenseman is expected to work out on his own in Toronto. On the season, Sandin has averaged just over 17 minutes of ice time, with almost 1:30 minutes on the power-play units each game. Sandin had missed Saturday’s game against the Canucks, but as I noted hopes to be ready for the Kraken.
Item Four: It’s Not the Flu, But Ondrej Kase Will Also Stay Home Today
Ondrej Kase will miss another game tonight and he, too, will be staying home in Toronto. Kase’s been nursing an upper-body injury and there’s no word if he’ll be an option for Tuesday’s lineup. Like Sandin, he’s reported to be skating on his own today in Toronto.
Kase has missed the team’s last three games will need to be removed from IR before he’s can play.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
When the Maple Leafs play the Blue Jackets, they’ll need to be on the watch for Patrik Laine. Laine’s game has come around this season in Columbus and he’s scored almost twice as many points on 20 goals and 21 assists (for 41 points) than he did last season.
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Last season in 45 games, he had 10 goals and 11 assists (for 21 points). This season, he’s a point-a-game player who has been on fire recently with 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in his last 16 games. Laine also scored the very quick overtime winner the last time the two teams met in Columbus on February 22. Rumors about him being on the trade block have quieted.