The Toronto Maple Leafs fell short in Vegas on Monday night, losing 3-1 to the Golden Knights. It wasn’t a great night for the blue and white in a game filled with events, from scrums to injury scares. Coming into this one, all eyes were on ex-Maple Leaf star Phil Kessel tying former National Hockey League defenseman Keith Yandle’s ironman streak at 989 games, and he surely didn’t disappoint. It was a slow start for the traveling Maple Leafs, but it was a close finish. Some blown coverages late led to Vegas capitalizing, taking the full two points in regulation.
In the opening period, all things were going in the way of the Golden Knights. Shots and high-danger chances filled in the opening minutes. A fantastic save by Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov on Knights forward Jack Eichel kept the game scoreless until the Vegas power-play. It was a too-many-men penalty that sent the Golden Knights to the man advantage, and they surely made the Leafs pay for their error. First, it seemed like ex-Maple Leaf Phil Kessel scored his 400th career goal on top of the milestone night against his former team. An extraordinary moment for the player was eventually wiped right out after Sheldon Keefe’s coach’s challenge. After the initial goal was deemed offside literally seconds after on the same power-play, Knights forward Nicholas Roy got it right back. After about the first ten minutes of the period, the blue and white finally started to get it going. There were a few shifts where Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was flying, coming so nearly to a goal after a miraculous effort from the Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson. The Maple Leafs couldn’t get a quick one to end the opening period after getting hot late.
Despite trailing into the middle frame, the blue and white had all the momentum. After being outshot by a fair margin to open the game, the blue and white clawed right back and began to dominate the chances. Finally, Maple Leafs forward William Nylander scores a nifty little shot that squeezed right by the Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson and tied the game up at 1-1. After Nylander’s 4th goal of the season, the 26-year-old Swede started to catch fire, streaking on in and almost burying his 2nd just seconds after scoring. As the period started to close, the Vegas Golden Knights took back some momentum. A few solid plays by their bottom-six forwards got the Knights some offensive zone time that couldn’t be converted. Samsonov remained strong through the opening forty minutes of play so far and kept the blue and white in a tied game.
Going into the third period, things started quickly for the Golden Knights. Forward Chandler Stephenson scored his 3rd goal of the season only forty-two seconds into the period. After Vegas took the lead, the Maple Leafs pressed trying to get one back, but a great defensive performance from the Golden Knights, followed by great goaltending from Logan Thompson, kept the Leafs from getting one. Eight minutes into the third period, another ex-Maple Leaf forward gave the Golden Knights a much-needed insurance goal; it was forward Michael Amadio finding the back of the net after walking into the slot and making no mistake with it. After the Knights went up two, things started to go in Vegas’s direction. The blue and white tried everything offensively, but nothing would go. A few bad bounces and missed shots on top of the great play by the Knights defensively was the ultimate story in this one.
Despite losing the game 3-1, all eyes will be on Maple Leafs star John Tavares and his status moving forward. Tavares got caught with a Rasmus Sandin slapshot in the back on the knee and would need assistance getting off the ice. He returned before the game’s end for a few shifts in the dying minutes of the game but was clearly still favoring that knee. Tavares has been arguably the team’s best player this season, and any injury would be a huge setback for this Maple Leafs team. The captain was faced with an Oblique injury in training camp this year and could now be dealing with a lower-body issue. This wasn’t a great night for the Maple Leafs, but there were definitely some encouraging moments that should lead to an entertaining game against the Sharks on Thursday.
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