5 thoughts from Blue Monday — A 3-2 loss to St. Louis
4 years ago
The defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues came into Toronto and steamrolled the Leafs by a 3-2 score.
Wait, what?
More accurately, the Leafs fell behind 1-0, scored twice in 24 seconds, and then saw a pair of unanswered goals dictate the narrative as Toronto couldn’t find enough to muster up a late tying goal for a second consecutive game.
Here’s 5 thoughts on the game that was, well, something.
1. Jason Spezza wants to be here
After a bit of a back-and-forth in the preseason with head coach Mike Babcock, Jason Spezza’s great effort helped to make things 1-1 midway through the second. Looking every bit like he deserves to be a part of the roster, Spezza earned his first point as a Leaf on the play.
Having found his way into just two of the Leafs’ games so far (and having had been a healthy scratch last year in the playoffs for Dallas), Spezza likely knows he can’t just waltz into a roster spot. But he looked alright in his first go around in Toronto, and helped carry the play on what was a great performance from the fourth line.
2. William Nylander is flying
Look at him go!
Now up to four points in four games, Nylander potted his second goal of the season on this slick effort.
With a couple other chances and his typically smooth zone entry skills, Nylander’s already doing his best to kick his 2018-19 season in the trash.
3. Morgan Rielly sometimes has some ugly games
It’s hard to remember a game where Morgan Rielly looked as off as he did tonight. Rielly turned the puck over at the blue line at least a couple of times, and his failed stretch pass directly led to Brayden Schenn’s tying goal late in the second period. Maybe he’s hungover. Maybe it’s Maybelline. Maybe it’s just bad luck, but whatever it was, Rielly’s going to want to forget that one real soon.
4. The Goat is a keeper (for now)
From MoneyPuck (all situations):
His goal from in close helped matters, but overall a strong game from The Goat tonight. No complaints here.
5. Sometimes you just don’t have it
The Leafs outshot the Blues, held the lead after a quick surge, and skated up and down the ice with them for much of the night. The power play generated some nice chances, and… it was all for naught, as the Leafs couldn’t hit the net for 59 of the game’s 60 minutes.
It’s game four. Let’s take a deep breath, and we’ll see you Thursday as the Leafs take on the Lightning.
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