Leafs get 'wake-up call' in final game before trade deadline

The Maple Leafs had a day off in Denver on Thursday.

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The Maple Leafs refused to use a gruelling, road-heavy schedule as an excuse for Wednesday's 5-2 loss in Vegas. Both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner referred to the result as "a wake-up call."

"Maybe we were just hoping for an easy game," said Matthews, who is in his first season as the team's captain. "We weren't ready to go out there and really just grind and compete against a good team that plays hard."

The schedule seemed to favour the Golden Knights, who lead the Pacific Division, entering the game. Vegas is in the middle of a stretch of home games and had not played since a Sunday win over the New Jersey Devils. The Leafs, meanwhile, played Sunday in Pittsburgh and Monday at home against San Jose before flying West on Tuesday.

"A great challenge for us and we didn't come close to it," said centre John Tavares. "Starting with the leaders and myself, we've got to do a better job of being at the level we need to be and the level of detailed execution that we have to have."

The Leafs outshot the Knights 16-8 in the first period, but a few breakdowns ended up in the back of their net as the Knights built a 3-0 lead.

"I just thought we were pretty flat at the start and that's a good team over there," Matthews said. "They're [a] standard of the league and I just don't think we really came out ready to play."

The Leafs appeared to have decent energy despite the late start time – 7:22 pm PT / 10:22 pm ET – but their focus was lacking.

"Our intentions were right in the first period," head coach Craig Berube said. "We had chances. We were skating, I thought. But you can't give a team like that five odd-man rushes in the first period and think you are going to win the game. That is really what I take out of it. You have to have better structure. The guys have to reload harder. You can't give up odd-man rushes as we did in the first period. It cost us the hockey game."

The Leafs claimed wins in five straight games coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, but there have been signs of slippage lately. Toronto blew a 2-0 lead against the last-place Sharks on Monday before falling in a shootout. That result came on the heels of a wild 6-5 overtime win in Pittsburgh, which Berube labelled as too "high event" for his liking.

"The last couple games really haven't been great by us," Marner acknowledged.

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Berube pulled Joseph Woll after he allowed three goals on seven shots on Wednesday night.

"I mean, if you asked him, he probably wants the first two goals back," said Berube, who gave Woll a pat when he got to the bench.

It was the first time Berube has pulled a goalie this season.

"It's not Joe's fault," Marner said. "We didn't help him out enough out there. That's how it goes."

"As his teammates, we have to do a good job of supporting him," echoed defenceman Morgan Rielly. "We have to play better. You know, it's not him. I mean, it's never one guy, which is the great thing about team sports."

Adin Hill looked sharp in Vegas' net, especially early in the game. Knights coach Bruce Cassidy noted that the 3-0 scoreline after the first period was not indicative of what was happening in the game.

"We weren't as good defensively as we have been of late and we needed Adin for sure," Cassidy told reporters. "If they're opportunistic and start scoring the other way that's when games can get away from you. Our second period was really good. We played the right way, extended the lead, kept putting pressure on them. But, yeah, it goes without saying goaltending is so important. We got the saves in the first, they didn't, and it's a big reason why we were able to win the game." 

Woll also looked shaky in his previous start on Sunday in Pittsburgh where he allowed five goals on 34 shots.

Woll was not available to reporters after the game as the team opted to have the players who wear letters, and form the primary leadership group, address the loss.  

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Wednesday's game was the last one for the Leafs before the trade deadline, which arrives on Friday at 3 pm ET. Prior to the game in Vegas, Matthews made it clear he's hoping general manager Brad Treliving makes a move to bolster the lineup.

But most Leafs players struck a different tone when asked about the looming deadline.

"As players the most important thing you can do is just focus on yourself and take care of your own details," said Rielly, who is the longest-serving Leaf. "We didn't have our best night so we're going to have to talk about what we need to do as a group moving forward. We're not thinking about anything other than that."

Is Marner hoping the roster gets a boost?

"I mean that's not our job," the winger, who's in the final year of his contract, said. "Our job is to go out there and play as best we can and not focus on anything like that. So, it's up to the upper-management to do their job."

Treliving is looking to improve the team, but also tempered expectations for what he may do at the deadline in a media availability last week.

Wednesday's loss dropped the Leafs out of first place in the Atlantic Division. They have the same number of points as the Florida Panthers in the same number of games, but with one fewer regulation win. The Tampa Bay Lightning are three points back and have played one fewer game. 

The Panthers will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, while the Lightning welcome the Buffalo Sabres to Amalie Arena. Both teams in the Sunshine State have made some bold moves ahead of the deadline. Florida acquired defenceman Seth Jones and forward Nico Sturm while Tampa Bay added forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

The winner of the Atlantic Division will face a wildcard team in the first round of the playoffs leaving the other two Atlantic Division contenders to battle it out.

The stakes are high.

"Anytime you make additions, I think with the situation that we're in, it can obviously help the team," Tavares said. "But we have a lot of belief in everyone that's in here and going to battle with these guys all throughout the year. So, we'll wait and see what happens but, whatever the case, obviously, it's a great group in here that's got tremendous chemistry [and] belief in each other and going forward."

The Leafs will practice in Denver on Friday before taking on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

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The Leafs placed veteran forward Ryan Reaves on waivers on Thursday in a move that will clear some cap space.

Reaves has been a healthy scratch in eight of 11 games, but is a popular teammate. Usually the captain leads the stretch after a practice or morning skate, but on Wednesday it was Reaves, a former Golden Knight, who was sent to the middle of the circle.

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After a practice back in October, Matthew Knies sought out Reaves for advice on fighting. The 22-year-old winger was impressed with how Reaves remained so calm in fights and always had a plan.

"He's trying to do the smart things and protect himself too," Knies noted at the time. "That's what we talked about."

Knies looked calm on Wednesday night as he challenged Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud to a fight off the opening draw. Whitecloud had injured Knies with a big hit when the two teams faced off in Toronto back on Nov. 20.

"I put myself in a tough scenario," Knies said back in November. "I was just trying to get the puck in and you gotta keep your head up."

But Knies clearly wanted the league to know that a hit like that, clean or not, will not go unanswered.

"A young guy making a statement like that I thought was powerful," said Rielly.

"That's maturity by him," Matthews said. "Nod to both guys for obviously engaging in that. He's a big boy, so it's good to see that."

Marner revealed that Knies gave his linemates a heads up about his plan prior to puck drop.

The 6-foot-3, 227-pound Knies seemed to catch Whitecloud, who stands 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, off guard with a series of left jabs.

"He wanted some redemption," said Berube, who did not know what Knies was looking to do before the game. "I give him a lot of credit to do that and get it out of the way early."

"He wanted some retribution," Cassidy said. "It's the right way to settle things sometimes as opposed to maybe trying to get a guy when he's not looking or jump him, stuff like that. They settled it and then they move on. They have a mutual respect for each other and you play hockey. I thought it was good for both teams."

Knies was not available to the media after the game.

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Tanner Pearson scored in the second period to make it 5-0, but It looked like the Knights winger used his stick to move the glove of Anthony Stolarz before hitting the loose puck into the net.

"I took the shovel out on that one," Pearson told reporters in the Knights room. "I saw the puck kind of laying there still, didn't hear a whistle, so figured I'd give it another stab."

The Leafs challenged for goalie interference, but Berube acknowledged he considered it a Hail Mary attempt to keep the game within reach. 

"It was a 50-50," Berube said. "We thought the puck was underneath him."

It was the first challenge the Leafs lost this season after five correct calls. It snapped a streak of nine successful challenges initiated by Toronto's video coordinator and statistical analyst Jordan Bean.

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Matthews got the Leafs on the board with the 100th power-play goal of his career. However, it was notable that Berube gave the team's second unit the first shift on that power play.

"We were just sloppy on the previous power play," Berube said. "We gave up an odd-man rush. We gave up a breakaway on it. We started the other unit."

After the Leafs fell into a big hole, Berube juggled his lines with Matthews and Marner getting split up. William Nylander skated with Matthews and Knies while Marner joined Tavares and Bobby McMann.

Berube was asked if he was curious about any specific combinations.

"You are just trying to get something going to mix it up," he said. "If you get one and then another, you're back in the game. I was just mixing it up. I was not trying to really look for any combinations that might work. That is not what the intention was."

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Lines at the start of Wednesday's game:

Knies - Matthews - Marner

Holmberg - Tavares - Nylander

McMann - Domi - Robertson

Lorentz - Kampf - Jarnkrok


Rielly - Ekman-Larsson

McCabe - Myers

Benoit - Timmins


Woll

Stolarz
 

Lines at the end of Wednesday's game:

Knies - Matthews - Nylander

McMann - Tavares - Marner

Holmberg - Domi - Jarnkrok

Lorentz - Kampf - Robertson


Rielly - Myers

Benoit - McCabe

Ekman-Larsson - Timmins


Stolarz

Woll