TORONTO — Another day, another missed opportunity for the Maple Leafs to close out a series.
After a 4-0 Senators win in Game 5, the Leafs still have a 3-2 series lead but you might not know it by the way they played at home. They struggled to connect passes when it mattered, could not execute with the puck deep in the Senators’ zone and generally looked tense.
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By this point, we know the story: the talent on this Leafs team trumps the Senators, but the Leafs’ perennial problems closing out series have surfaced again.
The Leafs’ core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly are now 1-12 in games with a chance to win a series.
Full credit to the Senators for closing well defensively and getting elevated performances from players like Jake Sanderson and Linus Ullmark, who stopped 27 shots in an impressive shutout.
The Senators’ stinginess sends the series back to Ottawa for Game 6.
And they’ve planted seeds of doubt in the Maple Leafs after trailing 3-0 in the series. It’s springtime in Toronto.
Here are some takeaways.
Ullmark’s shutout
Linus Ullmark has been trending upward throughout this series. As the Sens struggled to get shots on net, they needed Ullmark to remain steady. He was perfection Tuesday. Ottawa ended the first period with three shots, virtually unable to generate chances in the middle of the ice. And their biggest reason for staying alive was Ullmark, particularly sharp when the Leafs had their first power play of the game.
It continued into the second period, where Ullmark benefited from some tight defensive play. One play that stands out in particular? Nikolas Matinpalo rushing back to break up a Steven Lorentz chance on a clean two-on-none.
Ullmark even did his best Anthony Stolarz impression when he was physical with Marner.
The Sens needed Ullmark to be at his best. They needed him to practically steal a game. It happened in Game 5 and the series returns to Ottawa. — McKenzie
Leafs look tense
Tense team, tense atmosphere
Shift after shift, fans throughout the arena seemed to get a clear look inside the minds of the Leafs. The home side seemed stressed and played like it, too. At their best, the Leafs can pluck through the neutral and offensive zones with ease. On Tuesday, they made edgy and indecisive plays with the puck.
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When they got close to the goal, they overthought their decisions. Lorentz’s decision to skate into Linus Ullmark on a two-on-none instead of passing or shooting the puck spoke to those anxious feelings.
And, naturally, as the game went on and the Leafs were unable to find the back of the net, Scotiabank Arena tightened up. A raucous crowd after puck drop grew quiet. The writing on the wall grew clearer with every shift. There were boos heard midway through the third period after the Leafs allowed the second goal.
This is a Leafs team that had a chance to own the moment and change the narrative around them on home ice. They didn’t. They’ll try again Thursday. — Kloke
Sanderson’s dominance
Jake Sanderson was the best defenceman on the ice for either team on Tuesday. On a night when the Sens’ offence wasn’t generating a lot, Sanderson upped his game on the defensive end. He broke up plays on the penalty kill and pushed opposing forwards to the perimeter.
Marner and Matthews particularly struggled with Sanderson. Their Corsi ratings were each below 50 percent with Sanderson on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. Matthews’ rate hovered below 30 percent for parts of the game while Marner only had an expected goal share of 0.24 with him on the ice. The best of any Leafs forward against him. By game’s end, Sanderson led all Sens defencemen in ice time.
His partner, Artem Zub, also deserves some love with seven shot blocks.
Many Sens players deserve credit for their defending, particularly on the PK. The Sens struggled with the Leafs power play in the early goings of this series. Since Game 4, the Leafs are 0-for-7 with the man advantage. When Ridly Greig took a third-period penalty, it looked dicey for the Sens. But then Adam Gaudette rushed up ice and fed Dylan Cozens for a short-handed goal — the Senators’ second in as many games. The Leafs didn’t recover. — McKenzie
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Leafs’ core comes up short
Again, stop us if you’ve heard this before: In a game that mattered, the Leafs stars did not take over. It’s not rocket science. Any team that is built top-heavy with some of the best offensive weapons in the league needs those weapons to fire in the biggest games.
But Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and Rielly put together a grand total of zero points in Game 5. That’s unacceptable.
The Leafs’ top players had chances to convert and take steps toward putting this series to bed. But the lack of execution is troubling. And by this point in the series, getting chances and chances alone isn’t something this core should be proud of.
The once white-hot Leafs power play has cooled off and is now 0-for-7 since the start of Game 4. The Leafs were given a gift when Ridly Greig took a needless holding penalty early in the third period. They sent that gift back by allowing a shorthanded goal.
Not good enough to win a game. And now it’s worth wondering if it’s good enough to win a series against a wild-card team. — Kloke
(Photo: Kevin Sousa / NHLI via Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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