Michael Grabner burns former team as New York Rangers cool red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO — Mike Babcock’s words rang true Thursday night, though the Maple Leafs coach probably wished they had not.
“The game you are playing (next) is the hardest game of the year,” Babcock said following the morning skate.
“Once you get going, and especially if you become a good team, then those games are harder because people are preparing for a good team . . . A team that feels good about themselves today, five games from now might not be feeling that good about themselves.”
The Leafs got a glimpse into a world without Morgan Rielly when they played host to the New York Rangers at the Air Canada Centre, and though it was not apocalyptic, it wasn’t exactly shimmering either.
The Leafs were undone by defensive woes early and never really got on track, losing 5-2 before a crowd of 19,088. New York outshot Toronto 41-25.
With Rielly out because of a right leg injury and missing a game for the first time since Nov. 6, 2014, Jake Gardiner assumed a greater role, playing initially with Nikita Zaitsev and then with Connor Carrick. Gardiner was fine, though Rielly’s absence created a trickle-down effect that saw Frank Corrado play in his second game of the season.
The blue-line group is a work in progress once one gets past Rielly, Zaitsev and Gardiner. Roman Polak was paired with Corrado by the time the game ended, and Matt Hunwick was with Zaitsev.
Frederik Andersen was often left scrambling, though the Leafs were improved in their own end in the third period, when the Rangers recorded just six shots on goal.
One of those shots made a large difference, as ex-Leaf Michael Grabner scored short-handed on a breakaway at 14:57. It was the 20th goal of the season for Grabner, who had nine in 80 games for the Leafs last season. Minutes later, Grabner scored into an empty net.
The Leafs didn’t do many good things through 40 minutes, but insert Zach Hyman into the equation and suddenly it didn’t appear as bad.
Earlier in the day, Babcock mentioned that neither Hyman nor Connor Brown need a boost in the morning because they’re already going.
Babcock didn’t require further proof from Hyman, but got it anyway in the seconds before he scored at 16:02 of the second period.
With Corrado serving his second minor penalty of the period, Hyman provided a textbook forecheck and single-handedly scored the Leafs’ second goal.
Hyman doggedly hunted down Rangers defenceman Adam Clendening, who had the misfortune of possessing the puck. He relieved Clendening of the rubber and moved to the front of the net, waiting for Henrik Lundqvist to commit before roofing a shot high for the goal.
It’s the kind of play coaches could show their young players when they want to demonstrate exactly what determination is.
Alas, the Leafs got little right before Hyman’s unassisted goal, the Leafs’ third short-handed marker of the season.
The Rangers had 19 shots on goal in the first period, tying the most the Leafs have given up in the opening 20 minutes this campaign.
Two of those shots made it past Andersen and the visitors had a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.
Brady Skjei scored at 6:42 as the disorganized Leafs couldn’t get it right in the defensive zone. The majority of them were to blame, though William Nylander did a really poor job of taking his man.
The Leafs had some brief life when Tyler Bozak tied the game at 10:16 following some diligence by linemate Mitch Marner. After missing the net with a shot, Marner and James van Riemsdyk regained control, with Marner feeding Bozak.
It was the 27th assist of the season for Marner.
Pavel Buchnevich restored a one-goal lead for the Rangers at 14:44, but only after a review. The goal was allowed after replays showed Buchnevich tapped the puck into the net with his stick after kicking it forward.
J.T. Miller put the visitors up 3-1 at 9:02 of the second period, scoring on a one-timer that appeared to graze the face of Hunwick before getting past Andersen.
TORONTO — Mike Babcock’s words rang true Thursday night, though the Maple Leafs coach probably wished they had not.
“The game you are playing (next) is the hardest game of the year,” Babcock said following the morning skate.
“Once you get going, and especially if you become a good team, then those games are harder because people are preparing for a good team . . . A team that feels good about themselves today, five games from now might not be feeling that good about themselves.”
The Leafs got a glimpse into a world without Morgan Rielly when they played host to the New York Rangers at the Air Canada Centre, and though it was not apocalyptic, it wasn’t exactly shimmering either.
The Leafs were undone by defensive woes early and never really got on track, losing 5-2 before a crowd of 19,088. New York outshot Toronto 41-25.
With Rielly out because of a right leg injury and missing a game for the first time since Nov. 6, 2014, Jake Gardiner assumed a greater role, playing initially with Nikita Zaitsev and then with Connor Carrick. Gardiner was fine, though Rielly’s absence created a trickle-down effect that saw Frank Corrado play in his second game of the season.
The blue-line group is a work in progress once one gets past Rielly, Zaitsev and Gardiner. Roman Polak was paired with Corrado by the time the game ended, and Matt Hunwick was with Zaitsev.
Frederik Andersen was often left scrambling, though the Leafs were improved in their own end in the third period, when the Rangers recorded just six shots on goal.
One of those shots made a large difference, as ex-Leaf Michael Grabner scored short-handed on a breakaway at 14:57. It was the 20th goal of the season for Grabner, who had nine in 80 games for the Leafs last season. Minutes later, Grabner scored into an empty net.
The Leafs didn’t do many good things through 40 minutes, but insert Zach Hyman into the equation and suddenly it didn’t appear as bad.
Earlier in the day, Babcock mentioned that neither Hyman nor Connor Brown need a boost in the morning because they’re already going.
Babcock didn’t require further proof from Hyman, but got it anyway in the seconds before he scored at 16:02 of the second period.
With Corrado serving his second minor penalty of the period, Hyman provided a textbook forecheck and single-handedly scored the Leafs’ second goal.
Hyman doggedly hunted down Rangers defenceman Adam Clendening, who had the misfortune of possessing the puck. He relieved Clendening of the rubber and moved to the front of the net, waiting for Henrik Lundqvist to commit before roofing a shot high for the goal.
It’s the kind of play coaches could show their young players when they want to demonstrate exactly what determination is.
Alas, the Leafs got little right before Hyman’s unassisted goal, the Leafs’ third short-handed marker of the season.
The Rangers had 19 shots on goal in the first period, tying the most the Leafs have given up in the opening 20 minutes this campaign.
Two of those shots made it past Andersen and the visitors had a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.
Brady Skjei scored at 6:42 as the disorganized Leafs couldn’t get it right in the defensive zone. The majority of them were to blame, though William Nylander did a really poor job of taking his man.
The Leafs had some brief life when Tyler Bozak tied the game at 10:16 following some diligence by linemate Mitch Marner. After missing the net with a shot, Marner and James van Riemsdyk regained control, with Marner feeding Bozak.
It was the 27th assist of the season for Marner.
Pavel Buchnevich restored a one-goal lead for the Rangers at 14:44, but only after a review. The goal was allowed after replays showed Buchnevich tapped the puck into the net with his stick after kicking it forward.
J.T. Miller put the visitors up 3-1 at 9:02 of the second period, scoring on a one-timer that appeared to graze the face of Hunwick before getting past Andersen.
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