Unprepared to start the game.
That was the story of the Leafs‘ 3-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night as they tried to dig themselves out of a 3-0 hole and ultimately couldn’t overcome it.
1st period
– The Leafs generate a little ozone time and a SOG from Polak on the first shift with Clarkson, JvR and Bozak, after Carlyle pretends to reunite the top line of old before yanking Kessel for Clarkson right after the draw.
– On the first shift for Kessel, Winnik and Kadri, the wingers (Kessel first, Winnik second) fail to get the puck moving on the half wall for consecutive turnovers; Gardiner loses the puck in his feet with another chance to move the puck up ice, leading to another turnover. Gardiner and Rielly are choppy on their D to D passes under the pressure of the Phoenix forecheck, and Rielly sends it 200 feet for an icing.
– That was the first of three icings for the Leafs in the opening stages of the first; after the lost defensive zone faceoff, the Leafs are looking lost in terms of organization in their own zone and Winnik flips it 200 feet down the ice again; the top line is still out there.
– After the top line finally gets off the ice, Mike Santorelli is looking a little uncomfortable on the wing trying to take a first pass up the boards from Franson, as it goes through his feet for the Leafs’ third icing in three minutes to open this game.
– The Leafs’ first, and arguably only, good shift of the period comes from the 4th line thanks to some good jump shown by Carter Ashton. He gathered speed in his own end, grabbed a short pass off the half wall and burst through the neutral zone for a zone entry before putting a puck on net. Carrick just missed on a good-looking shot shortly thereafter.
– Second shift of the game for the Bozak line; a chip in is expertly handled by Mike Smith to diffuse any forechecking pressure in one quick puck movement up the middle; the Coyotes are back in the Leaf end in no time.
– The Coyotes’ strong side D playing up tight on the Leafs wingers on the wall, combined with a good job tracking back through the middle by the Coyotes forwards, is frustrating the Leafs on the breakout, forcing flip outs into the neutral zone to nobody.
– The Leafs are looking bewildered and bunched up in the middle when Bozak recovers the puck in the Leaf slot; they scrum the puck out in ugly fashion and scramble to the bench, as the Leafs were having major issues turning the momentum tide in the early going. The scrambly change with the puck still in the neutral zone left open ice on the right side for the Coyotes to gain the zone and fire a shot on Reimer; a dangerous scramble ensued but Reimer managed to cover up.
– A Morgan Rielly breakout pass up the middle to Peter Holland is turned over at the offensive blueline as Brandon MacMillan stripped Holland; the Leafs get a hooking call here that was a generous one from the referees.
– Here comes the Leafs’ chance to grab a goal or build some momentum after a horrid start. Carlyle is seen imploring his players to wake up on the bench.
– Tyler Bozak wins the faceoff on the powerplay draw; some decent puck movement leads to a Jake Gardiner slapshot into the slot for a Bozak redirect in what would be the Leafs’ only shot on goal on this 5v4 powerplay and the upcoming 5 on 3 for 66 seconds.
– A high stick on JvR sends the Leafs to an additional powerplay and not a shot is gained on the minute-plus 5 on 3. Spott opts to run Franson and Phaneuf on the point on the 5 on 3; after a faceoff loss by Bozak, Phaneuf skates the puck up ice and goes for a loop around the Coyote net. Some puck movement between Franson, Phaneuf and Kessel leads to a Phaneuf attempted one timer foiled by a stick break.
– Kessel circles around up top with two Leafs standing on front before his shot deflects out of play. The puck and player movement has to be more dynamic than Kessel circling back and forth at the top of the zone.
– A Nazem Kadri draw win is wasted by the first of two blown tires by Cody Franson, as the puck leaves the zone. Dion Phaneuf fails to keep the puck in off a simple drop pass from Holland, before putting a pass into Franson’s feet in the neutral zone forcing the team to regroup; it’s a keystone cops routine of sorts between Phaneuf and Franson on this powerplay, finished off by Franson returning the puck to Dion for a rush up ice and Dion losing control of the puck at the blueline.
– The best chance of the powerplay comes off of good movement by Nazem Kadri; Kadri did a good job moving the puck and rotating into open ice down low before finding Morgan Rielly backdoor for a chance that should have at the very least been on the net; Rielly had to take the puck in tight to his body for the one timer and got it all wrong.
– Speaking of powerplay unit one, they came back on for the final 10 seconds of the powerplay, and a pass into Bozak’s feet by Kessel at the blueline was punted backward for Martin Erat to collect for a breakaway. Good save by Reimer.
This was a big turning point in this game, to be sure; the Leafs had an extended 5 on 3 and the best chance went to the Coyotes.
– Off the ensuing draw, Peter Holland fielded a pass up the boards and opted to regroup with two Phoenix forecheckers closing in. A drop pass to Gardiner in the corner was handled terribly; Gardiner needed to keep his feet moving with pressure incoming and move the puck D to D, instead he stopped and coughed up the puck with a soft turnover; bang-bang, it’s in the back of the net for the inevitable Coyotes opening goal.
– Sloppy play in the neutral zone by the Jvr, Clarkson and Bozak line is followed by more issues with Santorelli on the right wing; Santorelli turns the puck over in neutral ice and then is twisted up trying to take a first pass up the wall in his own end for another Leaf icing. Moving cleanly through neutral ice is a major issue in this period for the Leafs.
– After a 4th line shift spent mostly in the leaf end, followed by an icing that was waved off, the Leaf top line comes over the boards and play returns to the Leaf end. A shot from the sideboards isn’t corralled by Reimer, the play comes around the back of the net and the puck is thrown at the goal, deflecting off Robidas and in as Reimer scrambles to get back into position. Just a simple case of too much time spent in the Leaf zone leading to bad things happening.
– The Leafs were overwhelmed in this period in all three zones. Arizona did a great job pressuring the Leaf D into making plays faster than what was comfortable, and forcing them to make multiple reversals to D partners that were covered by a heavy forecheck.
– The neutral zone was effectively clogged up with layers of Coyotes taking away ice from the slow-moving Leafs. That hurts a team’s ability to establish a forecheck, which was for the most part nonexistent; the Leafs also had to do a better job keeping the puck away from Smith, who was an effective third defender on dump ins on a few occasions.
2nd period
– The 2nd period starts off with a little more of the same for the Leafs, but they do complete a penalty kill, and the top line’s first shift of the period leads to a retrieval from Winnik and some cycle time; JvR and Bozak hop the boards and Polak and JvR both generate shots on goal from decent positions.
– Better results on the forecheck in the early stages of the period as the Leafs start dictating the flow a little more. Shots are still listed at 14-4 at this point but it seems the shot counters missed a few for the Leafs.
– A couple of threatening moments from the Leafs’ top two lines goes for naught and the Coyotes wind up on the board for the 3-0 goal, against the run of play for the previous couple of minutes; Morgan Rielly stepped up on a pinch and got caught for a 2 on 1, but Reimer dove out to make a good play on the puck after the pass got through Polak. Unfortunately, JvR turned the puck over behind the net before Reimer had a chance to get back into position, giving Vermette the wraparound finish. Not sure what JvR was doing turning the puck back behind the net.
– After a lost defensive zone faceoff leads to some scrambling, Panik drops his stick and lunges at the head of Yandle for a skirmish and a 4 on 4. It turns into a defacto powerplay for the Coyotes, who are moving the puck really well while Toronto plays chase, and the Leafs escape before JvR draws a tripping call going the other way.
– Finally, the powerplay breaks through in a 4 on 3 situation; a draw win by Bozak leads to a few back and forths with Phaneuf at the point before Dion launches a rocket through Smith with JvR providing the screen.
– Komarov, Holland and Clarkson carry the momentum forward with more offensive zone time and a jam play by Clarkson and Komarov; Leo would have had his first if he got the puck a little further off the ice.
– Some good puck protection by Clarkson helps sustain more offensive zone time the next shift before Rielly gets put in a tough spot trying to shortstop a bouncing clearance at the blueline; it leads to a fast break the other way and Rielly is forced to take a hooking penalty, stunting some of the momentum the Leafs were gathering from the Phaneuf goal.
– A good stick by Komarov on the penalty kill saves what looked to be a sure goal in the slot. That, plus a big save from Reimer off a one timer in front by Hanzal, and a nice glove save off a point shot by Sam Gagner, prevent a backbreaking goal from sinking the Leafs. The Coyotes move the puck extremely well on the man advantage and the Leafs spent nearly the full 2 minutes in their end. Reimer was big on this PK while dealing with some contact from Hanzal in his crease throughout.
– A third consecutive good shift from Clarkson; he protects the puck, takes it low to high, toe drags by one and rips a shot just wide of the far post, before generating a turnover on the wall which led to the Coyotes shooting the puck over the glass and sending the Leafs to the powerplay.
– Better puck movement on this powerplay among Kadri, Holland, Gardiner, Phaneuf and Clarkson; a few chances in the slot go for naught before Smith makes a good save on a Phaneuf slapshot. Powerplay unit 1 was sputtering before a nice entry by Kessel led to a Gardiner point shot and a rebound Bozak should’ve buried. Better, but the Leafs really could’ve used one here.
3rd period
– An important kill to start the period after a late Daniel Winnik high sticking penalty; another big time save in the slot off a one timer, as the Leafs had mostly Reimer to thank for escaping this game 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.
– Ashton with a good wrap around try on a shift with Clarkson and Kadri; Ashton’s doing his best with limited minutes, and you wonder if the Leafs are better off with him on the wing on l3, Santorelli back at C and Clarkson on the other wing (Ashton and Clarkson seem to work well off each other in limited spurts). That would push Holland back down to 4C, at which point they could either send Carrick back down or scratch Panik; vote here is for scratching Panik.
– Score effects are visibly setting in as the Coyotes begin favouring the safe play and take one foot off gas on the forecheck. With the line juggling in full effect, the Leafs haven’t generated much in the way of scoring chances this period as the Coyotes are keeping everything to the outside.
– That stayed the case for much of the third, but the Leafs were given a lifeline with six minutes to go: A slashing penalty on Connor Murphy.
– Powerplay unit #1 cashes in, although it comes with the feeling of too little too late. Amazing play by JvR in front to no-look a backhand over to Franson on the backdoor.
– Attempts at a comeback were hurt by a Phaneuf closed-hand-on-the-puck penalty while trying to hold the blueline; he’s in a tough spot there, but he should be just batting that down.
– After a good kill, the Coyotes ice the puck with exactly 2 minutes to go… a tired Phoenix unit is on the ice and Randy opts to hold off on the goalie pull. That’s bizarre.
– Game more or less ended with the faceoff outside the zone after JvR knocked the net off in a goalmouth scramble.
| NO. | PLAYER | POS | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | S | HITS | BKS | GVA | TKA | FO% | PP TOI | SH TOI | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | D. Phaneuf | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 3:10 | 3:32 | 25:41:00 |
| 4 | C. Franson | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 3:19 | 3:34 | 21:55 |
| 12 | S. Robidas | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | 0:00 | 2:32 | 11:48 |
| 18 | R. Panik | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | 0:00 | 0:49 | 7:33 |
| 21 | J. van Riemsdyk | L | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 3:12 | 2:56 | 25:11:00 |
| 24 | P. Holland | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44% | 2:03 | 2:30 | 15:02 |
| 25 | M. Santorelli | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | 0:00 | 0:00 | 7:37 |
| 26 | D. Winnik | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43% | 0:00 | 3:53 | 16:04 |
| 37 | C. Ashton | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 0:00 | 0:00 | 6:43 |
| 42 | T. Bozak | C | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61% | 3:12 | 0:57 | 21:12 |
| 43 | N. Kadri | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 42% | 2:03 | 0:00 | 14:10 |
| 44 | M. Rielly | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0:36 | 1:44 | 18:46 |
| 46 | R. Polak | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | 0:00 | 4:38 | 20:47 |
| 47 | L. Komarov | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 0:00 | 4:55 | 14:45 |
| 51 | J. Gardiner | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 3:17 | 0:00 | 21:33 |
| 53 | S. Carrick | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71% | 0:00 | 0:00 | 6:01 |
| 71 | D. Clarkson | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 2:03 | 0:00 | 16:22 |
| 81 | P. Kessel | R | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 3:12 | 0:00 | 19:49 |
| Player | All Situations | Even Strength | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position | Corsi For | Corsi Against | Corsi | Corsi For% | Zone Start% | Corsi For | Corsi Against | Corsi | Corsi For% | Zone Start% |
| 3 | DION PHANEUF | D | 20 | 27 | -7 | 43 | 50 | 13 | 22 | -9 | 37 | 54 |
| 4 | CODY FRANSON | D | 16 | 24 | -8 | 40 | 61 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 42 | 55 |
| 12 | STEPHANE ROBIDAS | D | 9 | 15 | -6 | 38 | 70 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 50 | 88 |
| 18 | RICHARD PANIK | R | 4 | 10 | -6 | 29 | 60 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 31 | 60 |
| 21 | JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK | L | 24 | 28 | -4 | 46 | 61 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 47 | 55 |
| 24 | PETER HOLLAND | C | 14 | 6 | 8 | 70 | 62 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 64 | 50 |
| 25 | MIKE SANTORELLI | C | 5 | 6 | -1 | 45 | 33 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 45 | 33 |
| 26 | DANIEL WINNIK | C | 11 | 18 | -7 | 38 | 21 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 43 | 30 |
| 34 | JAMES REIMER | G | 48 | 59 | -11 | 45 | 48 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 44 | 47 |
| 37 | CARTER ASHTON | R | 4 | 9 | -5 | 31 | 60 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 31 | 60 |
| 42 | TYLER BOZAK | C | 23 | 21 | 2 | 52 | 61 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 55 | 60 |
| 43 | NAZEM KADRI | C | 13 | 12 | 1 | 52 | 42 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 40 | 30 |
| 44 | MORGAN RIELLY | D | 20 | 14 | 6 | 59 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 57 | 30 |
| 46 | ROMAN POLAK | D | 14 | 23 | -9 | 38 | 8 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 43 | 12 |
| 47 | LEO KOMAROV | C | 7 | 14 | -7 | 33 | 27 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 42 | 50 |
| 51 | JAKE GARDINER | D | 20 | 18 | 2 | 53 | 56 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 43 | 43 |
| 53 | SAM CARRICK | C | 3 | 8 | -5 | 27 | 60 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 27 | 60 |
| 71 | DAVID CLARKSON | R | 15 | 11 | 4 | 58 | 86 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 48 | 80 |
| 81 | PHIL KESSEL | C | 26 | 15 | 11 | 63 | 52 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 61 | 40 |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6eY7zt4KMo
