The longest losing streak in the Leafs' season has come at a terrible time, with the playoffs now a serious question. It was a similar story, with the Leafs fighting back after falling into an early hole, and some questionable goaltending giving them big trouble.
A miserable first period saw the Leafs generate very little, outchanced 5-0 at even strength, and outscored 1-0. Only a powerplay in the closing minutes gave any hope to Toronto in the period. A bad start to the second saw the end of James Reimer's night, as two goals in quick succession saw the Leafs fall behind 3-0, with Drew MacIntyre coming in.
After the Devils' third goal, Toronto started to show some fightback, getting one back quickly on the powerplay, and outchancing the home team 4-1 at ES for the remainder of the second.
The chase in the third was far from ideal, as the Leafs did manage to generate opportunities, but also gave up quite a few, outchanced 7-4 by the Devils at ES on the period. They were able to put some pressure on in the last five minutes, with 5 chances over that time, including three with the goalie out, and a second goal from Kessel that made the last minute a tense one. However, the gap was too large to overcome, and they fell short again.
New Jersey dominated the ES chances, 16-8, but empty net and powerplay chances saw the Leafs come closer overall, 19-17. ES close chances were not kind to the Leafs, as they were beaten 7-0. In particular, the struggling James Reimer was hung out to dry, with the Leafs not generating a single chance at ES in his 22 minutes.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
New Jersey |
Toronto |
New Jersey |
| 1 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
5 |
| 2 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
| 3 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
| Total |
17 |
19 |
8 |
16 |
Details below.
After a long week without Leafs hockey, Toronto got back into action with a home game that served as both their Remembrance Day game and the yearly Hall of Fame game. The opponents were New Jersey, who have struggled to score goals this season, something that wouldn't change in this game.
A dull first period didn't see many chances for either side, despite a lot of Toronto powerplay time, including a double minor to Tedenby and a decent stretch of 5-on-3 for the Leafs. The second period was more lively, as New Jersey dominated, outside of a good Leafs outing on the power play. Jonathan Bernier was excellent, turning aside 10 Jersey chances in the period.
In the third, it was again Toronto's powerplay that was key, as it generated three of the four chances they managed, including the opening goal, a gorgeous solo rush from Phil Kessel that will get replayed on lot of highlight shows. New Jersey responded with 3 chances of their own, but their goal actually wasn't a chance, Bernier managing to deflect a harmless looking shot up and over his own shoulder to tie the game.
Toronto had a couple of good chances in the extra frame, forcing a great save out of Schneider on a 3-on-1, and was able to get the win in the shootout, where New Jersey's has an abysmal record, yet to score this year.
Toronto being heavily outchanced at even strength continues a pattern, but a good powerplay effort was able to save them in this one.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
New Jersey |
Toronto |
New Jersey |
| 1 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
| 2 |
7 |
10 |
3 |
10 |
| 3 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| 4 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
| Total |
18 |
15 |
9 |
15 |
Follow below the fold for details.
