It was a game that was close until it wasn’t. It looked like the Toronto Maple Leafs had the best of the offensive play; however, the Ottawa Senators hung around and, when the Maple Leafs made a defensive error, they cashed in. The Senators then exploded in the third period with three goals and erased any chance for a Toronto comeback.
The plain and simple fact of the matter was that the Maple Leafs made way too many defensive errors. This time, when they fell behind, they couldn’t score their way out of the hole. The result was a 6-3 Senators win in the battle of Ontario.
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The Maple Leafs got goals from William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Nick Robertson. Nylander extended his franchise-record point streak to 13 games. However, that wasn’t the point of the game. The fatal flaw that tipped the ship was that Toronto struggled defensively.
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The team has now allowed four or more goals in a seventh straight home game. That hasn’t happened for almost 50 seasons, dating back to 1976-77. The post-game comments from Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe stated the obvious. His team’s defensive struggles were front and center. Keefe emphasized the need to address what the team gives up on the ice and not how much they score.
Item One: Elliotte Friedman on John Klingberg’s Confidence
In his 32 Thoughts post after the game, Elliotte Friedman expressed concern about John Klingberg’s performance and his confidence level with the Maple Leafs. He also mentioned in the panel after the game that Klingberg played only four shifts in the third period, indicating the struggles he was having in his game. While acknowledging Klingberg’s offensive prowess, Friedman observed that the defenceman appears out of sorts and is visibly struggling with confidence.
Friedman also noted the challenging environment of playing in an intense market like Toronto, where every mistake gets scrutinized – repeatedly. He raised the question of whether the Maple Leafs might consider sitting Klingberg for a game to allow him to regroup and regain confidence. The concern in Friedman’s analysis was that Klingberg’s confidence issues need attention. The question is how the Maple Leafs might work to address the situation to achieve the desired results.
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After the game, coach Keefe also talked about Klingberg. While he noted that Klingberg’s play wasn’t good enough he made the statement that the team had “to protect him better.”
Item Two: Tyler Bertuzzi Finally Scores His Third Goal
Tyler Bertuzzi’s goal in Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Senators offered a glimmer of hope that the snakebit forward might break free from his challenging start to his Maple Leafs’ season. Bertuzzi has faced fluctuating ice time because of his early struggles, and his three goals are far fewer than anyone expected from him at this point in the season. In his 13 games thus far, he has only four points (on three goals and a single assist).
Despite the tough stretch, Bertuzzi has been working hard. He had a team-high five shots (tied with William Nylander) for the game lead. During the 2021-22 season, Bertuzzi scored an impressive 30 goals and added 32 assists with the Detroit Red Wings. It’s funny how some players have a tough time with the transition to another team. It’s a bit ironic if the difficulty has been that the Maple Leafs’ increased expectations for stronger team defence have caused him issues.
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I wonder why his brief time last season with the Boston Bruins was so strong. As the season progresses, fans will learn a lot more about Bertuzzi as he works to rediscover his scoring touch and contribute more consistently to the Maple Leafs’ offence.
Item Three: Calle Jarnkrok Pushes Scoring Streak to Four Games
Despite the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 loss to the Senators on Wednesday, Calle Jarnkrok extended his point streak with an assist on Nick Robertson’s goal. It was nice to see the team’s third line push for a goal.
With the assist, Jarnkrok now has a four-game point streak (with two goals and three assists). He is currently on pace for a career-high 50 points. The forward had a career season in 2022-23, with a personal best of 20 goals and 19 assists (for 39 points). In his second season in Toronto, he looks to pass that mark.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
Joseph Woll looked a bit lost at times during the game last night. It was the first time he looked confused on the ice that I can remember. He learned a lesson about taking too much time to play the puck behind his net. The Senators’ final goal came when he got caught with the puck behind the net and Tim Stutzle stole it and quickly dished it to Claude Giroux in front of his vacated net. We’ll see what Woll does with that information as he gains more experience in the crease.
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All in all, Woll had a tough night in the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 loss. He was hanging in there until the game took a turn for the worse in the disastrous third period when the Senators scored three goals in just over three minutes. Woll has now lost three of his last four starts, giving up at least four goals in all three defeats.
I’m guessing the Maple Leafs will give Ilya Samsonov Friday’s start against the Calgary Flames with Woll starting the next night against the high-flying Vancouver Canucks when they come to town.
