Walter

 Game 26: Leafs vs. Canucks

Simon B

    Hockey lost an icon late Thursday. Walter Gretzky, Canada's ultimate hockey dad passed away at 83. 

Walter wasn't famous just for being the father of the greatest player to ever lace up skates. First and foremost, he was the kindest and most genuine person you would ever hope to meet. Walter did more for the hockey community in his home of Brantford, Ontario than anyone in history, both publicly and in hundreds of ways that went largely unoticed. He always took the time to meet with everyone who wanted to meet him, all while singing thousands of autographs. I never met him myself, but over the past few days since his passing, I've heard some of the most incredible stories about the way he touched people's lives every day. 
Walter Gretzky deserves a special place in the Hockey Hall Of Fame to represent all the hockey Moms and Dads who sacrifice so much to allow their kids to play our national game. I hope that Chairperson Lanny McDonald and the HHOF Board agree.

On To Vancouver

    This was the first game in over a week that the Leafs had their entire lineup healthy and ready to go. Freddy Andersen got the start for Toronto, and Thatcher Demko was in for the Canucks after his great performance in Vancouver's win on Thursday. The Canucks were without their star forward Elias Petterson, who is still out with injury. 
    

Toronto was the better team in the first three minutes or so f play. The Tavares line did an especially great job at keeping the puck in the Canucks zone and forcing Vancouver's defenseman to sustain long shifts. Then Vancouver started to  get into the rhythm of the game, and the play leveled out after that.

Matthews took a rare penalty to give the Canucks the first power play of the game. The Leafs caught a partial break on which they didn't capitalize that sent Vancouver rushing the other way outnumbering the Leafs. JT Miller (who was exceptional in this game) sent a pass across the ice to Brock Boeser who tapped it into the gaping goal to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead. 
Typically, I lose all confidence when the Leafs are down in a tight game like this one. But I've learned to be more patient with this year's group, and tonight my patience paid off. After putting a lot more pressure into the Vancouver zone (and Demko bailing out the Canucks multiple times), the Leafs finally brought it home. A quick zone entry saw Alex Kerfoot nail a pass right to John Tavares, who sniped a shot from just beyond the right faceoff dot (goalies view) up and over Demko's shoulder to tie things up at one. The Leafs continued to dominate throughout the period but time ran out before they could score again and both teams were even heading into the first intermission.
   

Toronto's domination spilled over into the second as they once again came flying out of the gates. Jason Spezza and TJ Brodie made a really nice passing play that ended with Jimmy Vesey putting in his third goal in as many games to give the Leafs their first lead of the night. The Leafs were up, but it still felt as if they needed a goal for fans to be comfortable with the team just hitting "autopilot" and falling back defensively. Vancouver's Antoine Roussel took a cross-checking penalty and the Leaf got their first power play of the game. 

Ironically, just the game should have gotten better,  went downhill for the Leafs from there. Bad zone entries and sloppy passes meant that the Canucks easily killed off the penalty and gain all kinds of momentum. The Canucks started to overwhelm the Leafs. Toronto was way back playing on defense and the Canucks were poised to tie the game. They were saved by the horn and kept their narrow lead going into the final frame of regulation.
    

This period needed to be a reset period, one where they would play well defensively and close down as many gaps as possible to take the 2 points home. An insurance goal would've definitely been helpful but it went the other way around. Nylander flipped the puck over the glass without a deflection to give the Canucks  another power play. On this one, they had lots of traffic in front of Freddy. Brock Boeser took a shot from the point that Bo Horvat was able to tip in from the high slot (the area between the hash marks) and tie up the game. Less than 3 minutes later, Brock Boeser (again!) threw the puck on the net, and it was deflected right to JT Miller, and he put it in to give the Canucks the lead. 

After that, the Leafs just looked frustrated. They weren't getting many opportunities and when they did, Thatcher Demko was there to answer. The game was getting out of reach...and then it slipped away completely. Neils Hoglander (one of the best rookies in the league in the 2021 campaign) dashed into the Leafs zone, ripped a shot off the bar, and then started celebrating (as did all 4 other Canucks) as if he had scored. On the review, the puck went in and out of the net so fast that it looked like it hit the bar but in fact, it went past Andersen to give the Canucks a 4-2 lead that Vancouver held until the bitter end.

The Wrap

 So a disappointing second straight loss for the Leafs. It's the first time they've lost two straight games in a year (they never lost 2 straight in the bubble) so I feel pretty bad as a fan. But now is also that time of year when you start to look at how the teams around you are doing because the playoff scenario is starting to shape up. A little context sheds some light for the Leafs in the bigger picture. The second-place Jets got pounded 7-1 by the Habs so the Leafs maintain their stronghold on the division for now. We'll have to see how things change when they play the Jets in their next three games starting on Tuesday.
        

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