After opening with one of their stronger periods this season, the Leafs seemed to have the edge at home against Nashville, but weren't able to keep it up, eventually falling 4-2.
The Leafs managed 12 chances in an excellent opening frame; this came despite only being credited with 11 shots, as they hit a post and sent five chances wide. This lack of accuracy may have ended up hurting them, as despite their domination, they left the frame up only 1-0.
It was Nashville's turn to dominate in the second, and not only did they manage to better the Leafs' chance margin in the first, they scored three times to seize the lead going into the final period. Another early goal, a bad one from Bernier, really had Toronto on the back foot, and after the Leafs couldn't score on a solid stretch right either side of the 10 minute mark, they only managed one more chance the rest of the way. They did get a goal without a chance, when Kadri's long shot deflected in, but couldn't get closer than two goals.
Despite the defeat, this four-game stretch without losing the chance battle is the longest for the Leafs this year. Of course, it's also their longest stretch playing teams that aren't currently in playoff position, so the positive results in that aspect aren't unexpected.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
Nashville |
Toronto |
Nashville |
| 1 |
12 |
4 |
8 |
3 |
| 2 |
2 |
11 |
2 |
8 |
| 3 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
| Total |
19 |
18 |
15 |
14 |
Details below.
A very slow first period, with just three even strength chances, made it seem like it could be a long, dull night in Nashville. Fortunately, things livened up in the second. The Leafs dominated the play while the game was 5-on-5 in the second, outchancing the Predators 6-1. They opened the scoring thanks to a great pass from Van Riemsdyk to Kessel, and got another from JVR in the last minute.
Nashville woke up in the third, finally starting to generate some chances, but the Leafs were able to match them, and when Fisher took a five-minute penalty for boarding against Franson, who was pretty seriously cut against a stanchion, Nashville's chance lost all momentum. The Leafs added two on the ensuing powerplay, and that was it. Bernier held off the Predators to earn his first shutout as a Leaf.
I saw on the Preds broacast that they had the chances at 17-10; agreeing with me, but with one big problem: that graphic was at the 17 minute mark of the third, when I had the chances 11-9 for Toronto. I feel like I'm fairly generous with these summaries, but apparently not.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
Nashville |
Toronto |
Nashville |
| 1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
| 2 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
| 3 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
| Total |
17 |
13 |
13 |
8 |
Follow below the fold for details.
