The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped a relatively low-event 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, and it wasn’t the most exciting affair. They came into the game having won eight of their last ten games and tied for first in the Atlantic Division, but at some point, there’s going to be an obstacle on the road, and tonight, it was the Capitals and a well-played defensive game combined with some flukey goals.
That’s not to take anything away from the Capitals, who outplayed the Maple Leafs and ultimately deserved to win the game, but it had the makings of one of those games where the result would be decided by a bounce in either team’s favour, and for the Capitals, it was quite literally a lucky bounce that shifted the momentum in their direction for good.
If the video didn’t do it for you, that’s Connor McMichael scoring the game-winning goal with an assist from official Corey Syvret. It’s not an ideal goal to allow in those circumstances, and it’s not like the Leafs were playing well enough to guarantee themselves a win without that bounce, but it’s still one of those back-breakers that you can’t help but laugh at.
To add to the point that they were outplayed, however, the Maple Leafs did set a record tonight that head coach Craig Berube is not going to be thrilled about.
When you see stats like this pop up, it almost makes the loss a little more comforting in a sense. Sure, it’s annoying that the Capitals had four power plays to the Maple Leafs’ one, and yeah, losing the lead on a fluke play off of an official’s skate is frustrating. But it’s not as if those were the only two things that stood between them and a win.
It was a particularly tough night for Nick Robertson, who seems to be overthinking the style of hockey his head coach likes and letting it take away from his strengths. It was also a forgettable night for Nikita Grebenkin, who was out-chanced 11-0 when on the ice. That’s hockey, though. Not every night is going to be a winner.
The Maple Leafs will look to split the back-to-back with a road win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.