Game 15 - Vancouver 4, Leafs 0 - Leafs lose Bolland and game to end Western swing

Toronto's Western swing came to a disappointing end, as they were soundly beaten in Vancouver, with former coach/GM Pat Quinn among those in attendance, as Pavel Bure was honoured by the home team. This was the second straight Saturday night road game when Toronto got manhandled against the West, but while the score of this game was worse than the Chicago game, the scoring chances were more even.

In fact, through the first period, the two teams were level at even strength, despite Vancouver's shot advantage, and their goal. In the second period, the Leafs got into a lot of penalty trouble, including a long 3-on-5, and lost out in chances, but not that severely. The Toronto penalty kill was actually fairly solid, holding Vancouver to relatively few chances in more than 14 minutes of powerplay time.

Still, Toronto did nothing with their chances, failing to beat Luongo, while 2 second period goals extended Vancouver's lead. The score effects in the third were evident in the rate of chances, with just two total in the first half of the period. Vancouver led in chances, winning overall by 8. In four of the last five games, the Leafs have been outchanced by 7 or more, but they've managed to win two of those, thanks primarily to some very good goaltending.

Ultimately, the key story of the game will be the injury to Dave Bolland, who suffered a lacerated leg, requiring surgery that will likely leave him sidelined for a long while. Without Tyler Bozak, and with the Marlies struggling at centre, meaning there isn't a clear option to call up, things could get ugly down the middle for the next few weeks.


A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Vancouver	Toronto	Vancouver
1	4	6	4	5
2	4	7	2	5
3	4	7	3	5
Total	12	20	9	15

Follow below the fold for details. 



This was my list of scoring chances from the game. If you see any problems or omissions (here or anywhere else), please go ahead and leave a comment.
 

Club	St	P	Time	Note	Toronto						Vancouver
VAN	ES	1	18:38	Higgins wide from Santorelli	43	81	21	15	51	34	25	14	20	2	8	1
VAN	ES	1	16:10	Santorelli from Higgins	11	21	41	4	44	34	25	14	20	3	18	1
VAN	ES	1	16:02	Higgins from Santorelli	11	21	41	4	44	34	25	14	20	3	18	1
VAN	ES	1	15:57	Burrows from rebound of Higgins shot	11	21	41	4	44	34	25	14	20	3	18	1
VAN	ES	1	14:07	Kesler wide from rebound of D Sedin shot	43	81	21	3	51	34	17	33	22	2	8	1
VAN	SH	1	13:57	GOAL! H Sedin from Kesler	11	63	3	4	34	-	17	33	22	2	5	1
TOR	ES	1	11:43	Kessel from Kadri	43	81	21	4	44	34	25	14	20	2	8	1
TOR	ES	1	09:09	Kessel from Van Riemsdyk	43	81	21	15	51	34	25	14	20	5	23	1
TOR	ES	1	06:32	Ranger from Kessel	11	81	71	4	15	34	17	33	22	5	23	1
TOR	ES	1	05:31	Kadri wide from Van Riemsdyk	11	43	81	15	36	34	25	14	20	3	18	1
VAN	ES	2	19:06	Kesler wide from D Sedin	11	12	3	15	36	34	17	33	22	2	5	1
VAN	ES	2	17:36	Higgins wide from loose puck	43	81	21	15	51	34	25	14	20	2	8	1
VAN	ES	2	17:19	Higgins post from Santorelli	43	81	21	15	51	34	25	14	20	2	8	1
VAN	ES	2	14:55	GOAL! Higgins from giveaway	43	19	41	4	44	34	25	14	20	2	8	1
VAN	ES	2	13:59	Higgins wide from Tanev	43	81	21	4	44	34	25	14	20	2	8	1
TOR	ES	2	08:30	McClement deflects Raymond shot wide	11	71	12	36	51	34	9	15	49	3	18	1
TOR	PP	2	06:20	Lupul from loose puck	19	71	12	44	51	34	33	22	3	5	1	-
TOR	ES	2	05:39	Kessel from Van Riemsdyk	43	81	21	3	4	34	33	20	2	8	18	1
VAN	SH	2	04:20	D Sedin wide from H Sedin	11	3	36	34	-	-	33	22	5	23	1	-
VAN	SH	2	03:02	Edler from H Sedin	11	3	36	34	-	-	33	22	5	23	1	-
TOR	PP	2	01:21	Van Riemsdyk from Kessel	43	81	21	3	4	34	25	15	2	8	1	-
TOR	ES	3	14:56	Kessel from Kadri	43	81	71	4	15	34	17	33	22	3	23	1
VAN	SH	3	13:23	D Sedin from Hamhuis	11	41	3	36	34	-	17	33	22	2	5	1
VAN	SH	3	07:12	Bieksa wide from  D Sedin	23	12	4	15	34	-	17	33	22	3	23	1
VAN	ES	3	06:15	D Sedin from Kesler	11	21	41	3	36	34	17	33	22	2	3	1
VAN	ES	3	05:41	Richardson wide from Archibald	43	81	19	44	51	34	13	15	49	2	8	1
VAN	ES	3	05:32	GOAL! Hamhuis from rebound of Richardson shot	43	81	19	44	51	34	13	15	49	2	8	1
TOR	ES	3	05:03	McClement drives	11	28	38	15	51	34	13	29	3	6	18	1
VAN	ES	3	03:57	Santorelli wide from Burrows	43	81	19	4	44	34	25	49	14	2	8	1
VAN	ES	3	03:21	Richardson wide from rebound of Garrison shot	12	21	41	3	36	34	13	15	49	5	23	1
TOR	ES	3	03:10	Raymond from McClement	12	21	41	3	51	34	13	15	49	5	23	1
TOR	PP	3	01:19	Lupul from Phaneuf	81	19	21	3	4	34	25	14	2	8	1	-

The Extra Skater game profile.

Badly beaten again in Corsi, the Leafs go down 42-74 overall, 27-54 5-on-5 and 15-25 5-on-5 close.

Some notes:

1st - 15:57 - An great shift from Higgins, Santorelli and Burrows. The Leafs blow a zone entry, as Franson dallies on the puck too long, and is caught from behind by Burrows. Van Riemsdyk, jumping up to join the rush, then gets caught deep, leading to a 2-on-1 for Santorelli and Higgins against Rielly. They're able to exchange passes twice, with Rielly not any sort of effective obstacle. Reimer comes across well, though, stopping Santorelli on the stick side. Stanton then keeps the puck in, chipping it to Santorelli, who feeds it to a wide open Higgins, totally lost in the Leafs defensive zone scramble. McClement is a step behind Burrows as he goes to the net, allowing the Canuck to get a good shot on the rebound. The shot isn't all that good, as there's a lot of open net he doesn't hit, but it's a great job to get down and make that save.
1st - 13:57 - The Vancouver powerplay opens the scoring almost as soon as it starts, as Kesler tips a pass from Hamhuis out in front, right to Henrik Sedin, who snaps it over Reimer for the game's opening goal.
1st - 9:09 - What would a game be without JVR and Kessel on a odd-man rush? The three Vancouver forwards get caught down low forechecking. Vancouver had a chance to break up the rush, but the intercepted pass went straight to Ranger. He found Van Riemsdyk, who then threw it over to Kessel on the far side, but Luongo got over.
1st - 6:32 - Henrik Sedin turns the puck over, and Kessel springs loose the other way. He stops up and finds Ranger cutting through the middle. Ranger gets a decent backhand on net, through Garrison. The puck then drops right into the slot for McClement, who can't corral the rebound enough to put it on net.
1st - 5:31 - Franson and Kessel come in 2-on-3; Franson passes it off, and Kessel draws two defenders to him, leaving Van Riemsdyk and Kadri down the middle. JVR gets to it first, and touches a pass to Kadri, who shoots wide.


2nd - 17:53 - Vancouver get an early two-goal lead in the second, and the Leafs take a big blow. Kassian hits Bolland along the boards, lacerating his leg, and leaving the Leafs down a man on the shift and a centre for the rest of the game. Kassian then keeps the puck behind the net, chipping it to Richardson, who stays back there as Kassian drifts in front. He manages to spin around Raymond and get loose in front. Rielly, initially trying to block the pass out, comes after Kassian, with the puck going right past him. There's some bad luck in this one as well, as the puck goes off Franson's foot before hitting the back of the net. Given Bolland's struggles, I thought it was odd the refs didn't stop the play, as it was pretty clear he was immediately in rough shape.
2nd - 17:19 - A bit of a pick from Higgins allows Santorelli time to wrap around the net and throw it through the crease, a pass that makes it all the way through to Higgins on the far side, who isn't closely watched by Kadri. The shot goes of the post, though.
2nd - 14:55 - Rielly gets caught at the blue line, unable to handle the puck and springing loose Higgins and Burrows. Higgins, with Burrows going to the net, opts to shoot, and beats Reimer for Vancouver's third goal.
2nd - 13:59 - Higgins come close again, as JVR can't get the puck past Tanev at the line, and it comes to Higgins cruising through the slot. He gets a good shot off, but just puts it wide.
2nd - 5:39 - The Leafs get a little cycling time in the Canucks zone, a relative rarity. Van Riemsdyk ends up with it behind the net, with Kessel coming down the middle uncovered. His quick shot is one of the Leafs' best chances to this point.

3rd - 5:32 - Richardson cycles the puck into the corner, and then heads straight to the net, getting ahead of Kadri. Archibald, who went to the corner, throws a backhand pass to Richardson right out in front, but the shot went wide. After that, Vancouver continue to cycle, with Richardson putting a shot on net from a sharp angle, with the rebound sitting nicely for Hamhuis right in front, all but sealing a Vancouver win with a four-goal lead.


The scoring chance numbers for the Leaf players:

Player	F	A	D	TOI	ESF	ESA	ESD	EVTOI	PPF	PPA	PPD	SHF	SHA
Phaneuf	4	8	-4	25:59	2	4	-2	12:24	2	0	2	0	4
Franson	6	8	-2	23:19	4	6	-2	12:52	2	0	2	0	2
Mcclement	4	9	-5	21:31	4	5	-1	11:53	0	0	0	0	4
Raymond	3	3	0	19:17	2	2	0	10:46	1	0	1	0	1
Ranger	5	5	0	17:31	5	4	1	14:55	0	0	0	0	1
Lupul	2	4	-2	16:26	0	4	-4	12:38	2	0	2	0	0
Van Riemsdyk	6	10	-4	18:45	4	10	-6	10:17	2	0	2	0	0
Smith	0	1	-1	07:14	0	0	0	05:53	0	0	0	0	1
Orr	1	0	1	04:13	1	0	1	04:13	0	0	0	0	0
Gunnarsson	2	6	-4	18:09	2	3	-1	10:06	0	0	0	0	3
Mclaren	1	0	1	06:23	1	0	1	06:23	0	0	0	0	0
Kulemin	1	7	-6	15:33	1	6	-5	08:39	0	0	0	0	1
Kadri	6	9	-3	16:34	5	9	-4	13:17	1	0	1	0	0
Rielly	2	8	-6	14:14	1	8	-7	10:53	1	0	1	0	0
Gardiner	5	6	-1	21:51	4	6	-2	15:53	1	0	1	0	0
Bolland	0	1	-1	06:18	0	0	0	04:51	0	0	0	0	1
Clarkson	4	0	4	11:30	3	0	3	09:52	1	0	1	0	0
Kessel	8	8	0	17:05	6	8	-2	12:25	2	0	2	0	0
Reimer	12	20	-8	60:00	9	15	-6	38:00	3	0	3	0	5

Not a lot of positive on another tough night for the Leafs. The top line generated chances well, but only Kessel, at -2, had even a decent night, with JVR a really bad -6. Nikolai Kulemin also struggled in his return to the lineup, a -5. David Clarkson was probably the best Leaf, on for three for, and not a single one against.

Like Dave Bolland, who struggled in a big return to Chicago on Saturday night, Morgan Rielly had a tough night in his first game in his hometown, a team low -7. His partner Franson was much more effective, only a -2. Of course, the much-maligned Paul Ranger ended up having a positive night, a +1, the only Leaf defender above 0.


The Canucks:

Player	F	A	D	TOI	ESF	ESA	ESD	EVTOI	PPF	PPA	PPD	SHF	SHA	SHD
Hamhuis	13	4	9	23:10	11	2	9	11:59	2	0	2	0	2	-2
Bieksa	5	5	0	24:49	4	4	0	15:52	1	0	1	0	1	-1
Garrison	6	4	2	21:24	2	3	-1	10:59	4	0	4	0	1	-1
Weber	0	1	-1	02:46	0	1	-1	02:46	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tanev	9	4	5	15:34	9	2	7	11:09	0	0	0	0	2	-2
Kassian	0	1	-1	09:33	0	1	-1	09:18	0	0	0	0	0	0
Welsh	3	2	1	02:57	3	2	1	02:57	0	0	0	0	0	0
Burrows	9	4	5	17:12	9	3	6	11:35	0	0	0	0	1	-1
Richardson	3	3	0	12:16	3	2	1	09:39	0	0	0	0	1	-1
Kesler	6	2	4	25:08	3	2	1	12:01	3	0	3	0	0	0
Stanton	3	4	-1	11:42	3	4	-1	11:42	0	0	0	0	0	0
Higgins	8	4	4	19:59	8	4	4	13:27	0	0	0	0	0	0
D Sedin	8	3	5	23:10	3	2	1	12:07	5	0	5	0	1	-1
Edler	4	4	0	24:11	1	4	-3	15:19	3	0	3	0	0	0
Santorelli	9	5	4	20:35	9	3	6	12:24	0	0	0	0	2	-2
Sestito	0	1	-1	02:26	0	1	-1	02:26	0	0	0	0	0	0
H Sedin	8	4	4	23:17	3	3	0	12:37	5	0	5	0	1	-1
Archibald	4	2	2	09:59	4	2	2	09:53	0	0	0	0	0	0
Luongo	20	12	8	60:00	15	9	6	38:00	5	0	5	0	3	-3

The Sedins weren't the danger men for the Canucks on Saturday, instead it was the line of Burrows, Higgins and Santorelli, which had a couple of spectacular shifts. All were on for at least 8 ES chances for, almost the same as the entire Leafs team.  The single best player was Dan Hamhuis, an incredible +9 and on for 11 chances. Tanev also had a good net at +7. The only substantial negative was Alex Edler, who was -3.

Players with nice chance numbers:
Toronto - David Clarkson
Vancouver - Dan Hamhuis, Alex Burrows, Mike Santorelli, Chris Tanev

Players with poor chance numbers:
Toronto - Morgan Rielly, James Van Riemsdyk, Nikolai Kulemin
Vancouver - Alex Edler