The Maple Leafs squad that vaulted into a playoff spot thanks to a strong December and January is showing more than a few signs of cracks penetrating its armour, and Saturday night’s edition of The Battle of Ontario is just the latest example.
Toronto rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take the lead, only to lose 6-3 in front of 19,527 fans at Air Canada Centre.
The result wasn’t merely a case of the team missing its leading scorer, Mitch Marner, out day-to-day with an upper body injury sustained in Wednesday’s defeat to Columbus.
Rather it was a combination of sloppiness, like the defensive breakdown on the Senators’ opening goal by Chris Wideman; missed assignments, such as Mike Hoffman getting behind the Leafs defenders to fire a perfect shot past Frederik Andersen; or weakness in the faceoff circle, as was evidenced by Ben Smith’s lopsided loss on the penalty-kill draw that led to Derrick Brassard’s eventual game-winner.