The Maple Leafs fell short in overtime on Thursday night, losing 4-3 to San Jose. Despite an encouraging comeback from the Maple Leafs, it wasn’t enough. Coming into Thursday’s game, the San Jose Sharks were having a miserable start offensively; the Sharks were ranked 32nd in goals averaging a lowly 1.89. The team was also looking for their first win at home against a Maple Leafs side coming off a frustrating game in Vegas. San Jose was the underdog. This late contest between the two sides was a game that had its ups and downs from the Maple Leafs’ perspective. Auston Matthews finally got his second of the year, but ultimately it wasn’t enough; a quick overtime goal by Erik Karlsson sealed this one for good.
In the opening period, things got started early; a defensive lapse from the Maple Leafs led to an early Logan Couture goal for the Sharks. It only took twenty-six seconds for the Sharks veteran to score his third goal of the season. A poor backcheck from Maple Leafs franchise player Auston Matthews led to Couture walking in and finishing one on the backhand. After the early Sharks lead, the blue and white clawed back in it, getting some good opportunities but couldn’t finish. After around five minutes after Logan Couture’s opening goal, it was unlikely goal scorer David Kampf who got one back. A beautiful setup from Marner and Kerfoot led to a stunning five-hole goal from the Maple Leafs’ defensive center. David Kampf is a player that’s much more known for his defensive work but deserves a ton of credit for his offensive production early on in the 2022-23 season. The 27-year-old forward has three goals in eight games; he had eleven last season through eighty-two games.
Heading into the second frame, it looked like a pretty comfortable game for the Maple Leafs; after giving up the early Couture goal, the blue and white finished with a nine to five shots advantage. Coming so close to adding a second, the Maple Leafs looked to be in control until a five-on-three opportunity arose for the Sharks. The Sharks’ power play was one of the bottom-ranked units coming into the game, but did they ever take advantage of this opportunity?
Sharks veteran Logan Couture added his second of the game, followed by another Sharks goal from Timo Meier, only forty-two seconds apart. Things went south quickly for the Maple Leafs, who had a pretty good showing so far. After the power play connected twice, when the play returned to 5v5, it wasn’t the same Maple Leafs team that finished the first. Sloppy breakouts, stale offense, and some very low-event hockey led to some serious frustration. However, before the period was about to end, another great setup from Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly and forward Alex Kerfoot led to Mitch Marner scoring his second goal of the season. The Maple Leafs finished the second period on a high note despite a pretty frustrating middle frame.
Going into the third period, all eyes were on the Toronto Maple Leafs and if they could salvage at least a point from this one. A frustrating night was quickly forgotten once Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews buried a slap-shot on the power play. The game was tied 3-3 with just over fourteen minutes remaining. Both teams came close to finding the go-ahead goal, but it was the Maple Leafs who had the better of the opportunities. A few bad bounces went the Sharks’ way in this one. A rebound shot skipped right over Maple Leafs forward Alex Kerfoot’s blade in the slot, which would have been a sure goal. The third period was pretty even as the shots finished ten a side heading into overtime.
In overtime, the Maple Leafs cendedit, a partial breakaway for Nylander as he turned it into a spin pass across the slot for John Tavares but had it broken up by Sharks forward Timo Meier. Streaking the other way was San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson who finished a beautiful breakaway opportunity on Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren. A nifty outside, inside goal from the once Norris-winning defenseman, had Kallgren beat to end the game in San Jose. The Maple Leafs will now shift their focus to this upcoming weekend, where they have a back-to-back against the Kings and Ducks.
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