Listless Toronto Maple Leafs give up five goals in first period, fall to Dallas Stars
DALLAS — Soft D in the Big D.
That’s all that was required for the Toronto Maple Leafs to go down hard in their first game following the National Hockey League all-star break.
If there has been a worst first period by the Leafs in the Mike Babcock era, God knows it doesn’t come to mind quickly.
Toronto gave up five goals and scored just one themselves in the opening 20 minutes, and never recovered.
By the time the final horn sounded at the American Airlines Center, the Leafs lost 6-3 versus the Dallas Stars, picking up where they left off before the break when they lost last Thursday in Philadelphia.
And to think Babcock had said in the morning he wanted to see more will and determination in his players than what they had in Philly. Perhaps that comes in St. Louis against the Blues on Thursday, because it was nowhere to be seen against the Stars in the first match of a four-game trip.
“We did not compete hard enough as a group to have any kind of success whatsoever,” Babcock said. “I don’t think it is an indication at all of how we have played, so it is disappointing and actually it is surprising. Can’t be very proud of the way you walk out of the rink tonight.
“I’m happy to take the blame but make sure 22 guys in there (are included). I did not have our guys ready. (But) come on. Let’s all own up a little bit.”
The Leafs, who were 10-2-2 in their previous 14 road games, didn’t play like a team that was on the cusp of a playoff spot when the puck was dropped for the opening faceoff.
The Stars went to work immediately, and when they built a 3-0 lead on eight shots by the 11:18 mark of the first, they chased Leafs starting goalie Frederik Andersen.
Andersen, who was named the NHL third star of the week after posting back-to-back shutouts against Calgary and Detroit, couldn’t be blamed for what was happening in front of him.
Still, Babcock lumped Andersen in with the rest.
“He was in there right with us,” Babcock said. “Coach, players, everybody, we were bad. Let’s get on the flight, let’s get re-grouped. We play a good St. Louis team next. That right there had to be a humbling experience for the crew.”
On the opening goal, Stars rookie Devin Shore, a native of the Toronto suburb of Ajax, blew past Jake Gardiner and used a forehand move to score at 2:53.
At 4:37, Radek Faksa made it 2-0 on a Shore rebound, easily scoring despite the nearby presence of Leafs defencemen Martin Marincin and Nikita Zaitsev.
Andersen was done after Lauri Korpikoski scored the third goal. Each member of the Leafs’ fourth line — Frederik Gauthier, Matt Martin and Nikita Soshnikov — converged on Korpikoski, but none did much to deter the opponent.
Toronto got one back when Tyler Bozak scored on a power play at 13:46.
The Stars put two more on the board, marking the first time since April 3, 2009, against Philadelphia that the Leafs allowed five goals in the first period.
At 16:04, Brett Ritchie was not bothered by Connor Carrick and Roman Polak and was able to lift a shot past Curtis McElhinney, who had been summoned to relieve Andersen.
Dallas captain Jamie Benn scored on a power play at 18:22, ending the carnage.
To open the second period, Babcock switched Mitch Marner and Connor Brown, putting Marner on a line with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman, while Brown skated with Bozak and James van Riemsdyk.
The Leafs had a little more pep, getting goals from Soshnikov at 4:19 and Marner, now the Leafs scoring leader with 41 points, at 10:25. Between the two scores, Jason Spezza scored Dallas’ sixth goal.
The Leafs outshot the host club 43-20 before an announced crowd of 17,547. Yet the takeaway was simple: Start on time, always.
“You have to remember it so you prepare for the next time, but you can’t let it drag you down,” defenceman Matt Hunwick said. “One bad game is one bad game. You can’t let things like that snowball.”
DALLAS — Soft D in the Big D.
That’s all that was required for the Toronto Maple Leafs to go down hard in their first game following the National Hockey League all-star break.
If there has been a worst first period by the Leafs in the Mike Babcock era, God knows it doesn’t come to mind quickly.
Toronto gave up five goals and scored just one themselves in the opening 20 minutes, and never recovered.
By the time the final horn sounded at the American Airlines Center, the Leafs lost 6-3 versus the Dallas Stars, picking up where they left off before the break when they lost last Thursday in Philadelphia.
And to think Babcock had said in the morning he wanted to see more will and determination in his players than what they had in Philly. Perhaps that comes in St. Louis against the Blues on Thursday, because it was nowhere to be seen against the Stars in the first match of a four-game trip.
“We did not compete hard enough as a group to have any kind of success whatsoever,” Babcock said. “I don’t think it is an indication at all of how we have played, so it is disappointing and actually it is surprising. Can’t be very proud of the way you walk out of the rink tonight.
“I’m happy to take the blame but make sure 22 guys in there (are included). I did not have our guys ready. (But) come on. Let’s all own up a little bit.”
The Leafs, who were 10-2-2 in their previous 14 road games, didn’t play like a team that was on the cusp of a playoff spot when the puck was dropped for the opening faceoff.
The Stars went to work immediately, and when they built a 3-0 lead on eight shots by the 11:18 mark of the first, they chased Leafs starting goalie Frederik Andersen.
Andersen, who was named the NHL third star of the week after posting back-to-back shutouts against Calgary and Detroit, couldn’t be blamed for what was happening in front of him.
Still, Babcock lumped Andersen in with the rest.
“He was in there right with us,” Babcock said. “Coach, players, everybody, we were bad. Let’s get on the flight, let’s get re-grouped. We play a good St. Louis team next. That right there had to be a humbling experience for the crew.”
On the opening goal, Stars rookie Devin Shore, a native of the Toronto suburb of Ajax, blew past Jake Gardiner and used a forehand move to score at 2:53.
At 4:37, Radek Faksa made it 2-0 on a Shore rebound, easily scoring despite the nearby presence of Leafs defencemen Martin Marincin and Nikita Zaitsev.
Andersen was done after Lauri Korpikoski scored the third goal. Each member of the Leafs’ fourth line — Frederik Gauthier, Matt Martin and Nikita Soshnikov — converged on Korpikoski, but none did much to deter the opponent.
Toronto got one back when Tyler Bozak scored on a power play at 13:46.
The Stars put two more on the board, marking the first time since April 3, 2009, against Philadelphia that the Leafs allowed five goals in the first period.
At 16:04, Brett Ritchie was not bothered by Connor Carrick and Roman Polak and was able to lift a shot past Curtis McElhinney, who had been summoned to relieve Andersen.
Dallas captain Jamie Benn scored on a power play at 18:22, ending the carnage.
To open the second period, Babcock switched Mitch Marner and Connor Brown, putting Marner on a line with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman, while Brown skated with Bozak and James van Riemsdyk.
The Leafs had a little more pep, getting goals from Soshnikov at 4:19 and Marner, now the Leafs scoring leader with 41 points, at 10:25. Between the two scores, Jason Spezza scored Dallas’ sixth goal.
The Leafs outshot the host club 43-20 before an announced crowd of 17,547. Yet the takeaway was simple: Start on time, always.
“You have to remember it so you prepare for the next time, but you can’t let it drag you down,” defenceman Matt Hunwick said. “One bad game is one bad game. You can’t let things like that snowball.”
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