Leafs Postgame: Leafs Overcome West Coast Ref Bias, win 4-3
9 years ago
On one hand, the Leafs are on a five-game winning streak and picked up a victory on the second half of a back-to-back against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. On the flip side, Toronto was utterly dominated for much of the night, and could consider themselves lucky to come out with a victory, especially after allowing Los Angeles to come back 2-0 deficit with three goals in exactly five minutes.
Quick’s glove save in the opening moments set the tone for a back-and-forth affair.
The Rundown
Bounces- quite literally- helped to decide this game.
After Mike Santorelli put the Leafs up 1-0, Cody Franson’s slapshot from the point snuck past Jonathan Quick for his fifth of the year with 30 seconds left in the first period.
Late in the second, Jake Gardiner played the puck with a high stick, which Justin Williams disregarded and ended up scoring the Kings first goal. The goal was questionable due to Gardiner’s high stick, which is more clearly explaind in the attached article below.
Shortly after, Dwight King’s goal in the final fifteen seconds of the period also slipped past Reimer, with some (mostly my roommate) believing the refs should’ve blown the whistle earlier. On the second replay, the puck appeared to be live the whole time, but either way, struck a nerve with some.
Among LA’s first two goals and numerous potential penalty calls, fans certainly weren’t happy with the reffing today.
Marian Gaborik took the lead for the Kings on this goal, where Korbinan Holzer could’ve learned from Andy Wozniewski that lying down on the ice isn’t a favourable idea.
Nazem Kadri drew a penalty on a breakaway (what else is new?), and James van Riemsdyk was right at home in front of the net to tie the game at 3.
In the end, the Leafs managed to push this game into overtime, which was scoreless, before Joffrey Lupul scored the lone shootout goal to earn the two points.
Blue Warrior:
Mike Santorelli. On his 29th birthday, Santorelli scored and added an assist on the first two goals of the game. Santorelli now has nine points in seven games in Decemeber, and has been a key contributor to the Leafs winning streak. Few Leafs were stellar in this one, but Santorelli and his linemates Winnik and Kadri were one of the bright spots on the night.
Notes:
- Drew Doughty is definitely the kind of guy who goes to play shinny and gets mad at the rink guard because he has to wear a helmet. He looked at ease out there with his flow reminiscent of a black-haired Guy LaFleur.
- James Reimer had a solid performance, while not otherworldly, making 33 saves on 36 shots.
- Daniel Winnik and Nazem Kadri posted 52 and 50 Corsi percentages, the only two positive marks on the team. Meanwhile, every King was over 50 percent, lead by Kyle Clifford at 82 percent. Tyler Bozak ended up with 20 percent, conceding 4 shot attempts for every one his line was able to generate. (JVR and Kessel weren’t much better at 27 and 29).
- The Leafs didn’t allow a single shot attempt at 5 on 5 in the final 8:43 of the third period. While they were shellacked 62-38 in this regard overall, it’s notable that the team was able to defend effectively and force overtime.
- Korbinan Holzer was on the ice in the first minute of overtime. That’s… not what I would’ve expected, to say the least.
The Leafs host Anaheim Tuesday night at 7:30.
(Stats courtesy of hockeystats.ca and nhl.com)
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