The Leafs were badly outplayed in the first thirty minutes, and while they managed some decent play in the back half of the game, they were unable to overcome another poor start. The level of St. Louis' domination in that opening segment of the game was stunning, and the Blues should be disappointed that the result was in question during the third period.
A powerplay that saw Toronto go ahead was the only real positive in the first period, as St. Louis dominated play, seeming to keep the puck in the Leafs zone nearly constantly. The end result, with the Blues winning the ES chances 7-1, was probably flattering to the Leafs, and two late goals saw St. Louis pull ahead in the game as well. The trend continued in the second, the Leafs getting outchanced 5-1 at ES in the first 8 minutes, and falling further behin.
From then on, the Leafs recovered well, pulling even with the Blues in chances over the rest of the second, despite a fourth goal from former Leaf Alex Steen. The third saw Toronto win the overall chances in the period, and only narrowly lose on even strength, and some sloppy defensive play allowed the Leafs to get within one. However, they didn't generate a single chance once the lead was cut to one, and the Blues managed to hold on.
That terrible start saw the Blues dominate the ES chances, 21-10. The ES close chances are even uglier, with the Leafs outchanced 11-2 during that time.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
St. Louis |
Toronto |
St. Louis |
| 1 |
3 |
9 |
1 |
7 |
| 2 |
4 |
10 |
4 |
8 |
| 3 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
| Total |
14 |
25 |
10 |
21 |
Details below.
After two decent games in which the Leafs didn't manage to earn a point, but played well against strong opposition, they got a real lesson from St. Louis. This was always going to be a tough game, facing a good team on the second night of a back-to-back after a fairly long trip, but it was difficult to predict just how poor the Leafs ended up being.
After getting one early chance, Toronto then disappeared for much of the first period, being put under heavy siege until a powerplay in the last five minutes. By that time, they'd already fallen behind by a couple of goals, and a third from Roy really left them in trouble, as well as spelling an early end for James Reimer.
A disastrous start to the second saw Stewart score almost immediately, though Nazem Kadri was able to answer quickly. The Leafs were somewhat fortunate to get out of the period down only three, as St. Louis again were heavily pressing the attack. Things settled down, with the Blues content to hold the lead in the third, and a Steen goal with 13 minutes to go seemed to be the end of it. However, a couple of Leaf goals, including a very fluky one that Pietrangelo kicked into his own net, meant that there was a little interest in the last few minutes, as the Leafs pulled the goalie to push for two goals, but ended up giving up an empty netter.
The worst game of the season for Toronto, as the Leafs were outchanced by 14 at even strength, and 16 overall. This was similar to the Chicago game, but that game at least had the benefit of never being more than a two-goal margin, while the larger gap in this one allowed the Blues to take it easy somewhat in the third, suggesting the chances might marginally under-represent their domination.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
St. Louis |
Toronto |
St. Louis |
| 1 |
4 |
11 |
3 |
10 |
| 2 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
8 |
| 3 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
| Total |
10 |
26 |
8 |
22 |
Details below.
