The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered a tough 4-0 loss to the Washington Capitals last night, but the score almost felt secondary by the end of it. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a shootout, they lost three players to injuries and looked rather lifeless.
With the regular season winding down, there are only four games left. At this point, it seems like everyone is just waiting for the season to end to finally get the nightmare over with. Let’s take a look at a few takeaways from last night’s game.
Injuries Bug Strikes Again
The biggest story from this one wasn’t the loss. It was what happened to the roster. The Maple Leafs saw three players leave the game with injuries, and by the final buzzer, the bench not only looked depleted, but pretty thin.
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First, there was Anthony Stolarz. The most concerning moment came just two minutes into the first period. Stolarz stretched out for a save and immediately went down in clear pain. He needed help getting off the ice, and it looked like a serious lower-body injury. Joseph Woll came in to finish the game, and while Craig Berube didn’t officially rule Stolarz out for the season afterward, he did say he will need imaging. The team has already called up Artur Akhtyamov ahead of tonight’s game against the New York Islanders and announced that he will get his first NHL start.
Then there was Brandon Carlo, who played just over 12 minutes before leaving with a lower-body injury. Berube confirmed postgame that Carlo won’t be available against the Islanders. To round out a rough night, Dakota Joshua suffered an upper-body injury after taking a hit from former Maple Leaf Rasmus Sandin and didn’t return. Like Carlo, he has already been ruled out for Thursday’s game. The only silver lining with all these injuries is it gives a chance for AHL players to get called up and make their NHL debut.
Ovi’s Last Game in Toronto?
While the Capitals picked up a big win to stay in the playoff race, there was a different kind of feeling in the building. Alex Ovechkin, who has been notorious for scoring against the Maple Leafs over his career, revealed yesterday to the media that he is going to take time this summer to decide what comes next, which added a different feel heading into the game. Is that the last time that he is going to play in Toronto in his legendary career?
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Unfortunately, he didn’t score, but you still noticed him. You always do. And if this ends up being his last game at Scotiabank Arena, it felt like one of those quiet reminders of just how long he’s been doing this, and how rare it is to watch someone do what he did for the last two decades.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs are right back at it tonight in New York against the Islanders. The team is going to look drastically different. Stolarz, Carlo, and Joshua have all been ruled out. The expectation is that Luke Haymes, William Villeneuve and Akhtyamov could all draw into the lineup and make their respective debuts or starts.
