Losing a low-scoring game to the Ottawa Senators is quite a feat these days.
But a strange goal midway through the third period led to the unusual circumstances, Saturday’s 2-1 win for the playoff desperate Sens against the Atlantic Division leaders. After so much talk about quiet crowds at home, the Leafs didn’t use a vocal travelling band to their favour.
After a tie game threatened to drag into overtime, Shane Pinto had a pass from Matthew Highmore chip high off Leaf Mitch Marner’s stick at the side of the crease hit his knee, go back across the blue paint and tuck just inside the post as Marner tried to sweep it away.
For Ottawa, with three shutout losses its previous five games and one of its victories accomplished with just two goals, this second win against the Leafs this season was needed fuel for its sputtering post-season drive. Toronto lost a second time this week to a team not in a wildcard position.
The Leafs turned it on late with Joseph Woll pulled, but their earlier misses on Anton Forsberg, including one power play, came back to haunt them as he shut the door.
Coach Craig Berube double shifted the new-look first line of Auston Matthews, Marner and guest left winger Bobby McMann, who took the injured Matthew Knies’s spot. It paid off when Marner centred through traffic to McMann, his 14th of the year, going on to be the Leafs most active offensive player on the night. Marner collected NHL assist number 498, though Matthews’s five-game goal streak came to an end, his first shot on goal not until the third period.
The evening was an unexpected reunion with McMann and Colgate University teammate Nicholas Quillan, who flew in from New York City to watch younger brother Jacob make his Leaf debut. Jacob was a call-up from the Marlies after winger Max Pacioretty went on injured reserve.
Quillan was almost an early casualty when Nick Cousins stuck his hip out to catch the rookie unaware through the neutral zone, but they clipped knees. Quillan limped to the bench, but soon returned to the relief of 15 family members at the Canadian Tire Centre, Cousins did not. Quillan and the bottom six were rarely used in the third period as Berube shortened the bench.
After it was not issued a penalty Wednesday against the Blue Jackets, Toronto was hit with two in the opening period. On the second power play, a 4-on-3 after Max Domi and Brady Tkachuk went off together in an exchange of rough stuff, David Kampf abandoned his two blueline mates to get a new stick with Tim Stutzle taking advantage of the exyra ice in the two-man advantage to tie it.
Other than that, and the fluke bounce, Woll was sharp in making 21 saves after taking a few days off at the club’s insistence to re-gain some energy after a busy three-game winning streak. This was his career high 26th start of the season.
Forsberg held his own as the Sens try and get by in the continuing absence of injured No. 1 Linus Ullmark. The Leafs are back home Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild.
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