Leaf Takeaways: Mistakes out-strip contrition in Calgary calamity

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If the Maple Leafs thought the back end of their Alberta trip would be an easy exit, they were sorely mistaken. 

A painful 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames, which could cost them top-flight winger Kirill Marchenko, brought them back to earth after Saturday’s romp in Edmonton, so much for Toronto’s four-game win streak and a reminder to start on time against a team that is riding a wave of its own. 

More intel on the game in our Takeaways: 

Sloppy Bob can be better 

Kudos to Sergei Bobrovsky for settling down for 20 saves after three of the first 12 Calgary shots eluded him, but Bob was rather discombobulated all evening. He was fortunate another couple of pucks didn’t slip by, bailed out by his defence clearing or blocking pucks sitting around the goal line. 

He’s still trying to get a handle on a newcomer such as 20-year-old Calgary marksman Matvei Gridin, who beat him with two different well-aimed releases. While three straight wins would’ve pleased Bobrovsky and his coach, it’ll be interesting to see if Jim Hiller spares him Wednesday in Seattle and lets Anthony Stolarz try for another W or thinks the 38-year-old is best served getting right back in the pilot’s seat. 

Kirill joins walking wounded 

As Hiller told media in Calgary, the early report about injured winger Kirill Marchenko was inconclusive “but he couldn’t finish the game … so that’s never a good sign”. 

The innocent-looking play saw Marchenko’s leg awkwardly fold under him under the weight of his body as he fell and skidded into the boards. He had difficulty putting weight on it during a break in play and headed to the room. 

General manager John Chayka had just delivered some optimistic news on a spate of injuries, including that centre John Tavares is skating back in Toronto. But Tavares needs to practice with the team next week, said the boss, to have that lower-body issue evaluated. For the remaining two games in the West, if Marchenko is out, the Leafs have Bo Groulx as the spare forward or can activate Dakota Joshua after his AHL conditioning stint. 

The Leafs have a travel day Tuesday with no Marchenko update expected. With 14 points in 14 Toronto games, he was among the highest-performing NHL players with a new team so far this season on a line with William Nylander and Nick Paul, who is subbing for Tavares in the middle. 

Learning from a sin bin sentence 

Just about every Leaf who mucked up on Monday went a long way to atonement before the game ended. 

Start with forward Easton Cowan, who’d lost the puck on Calgary’s second goal and took an over-emotional penalty at the end of the first period trying to retaliate for a hit he resented. Gridin converted that to a goal, the first time the Leaf penalty kill, of which Cowan is part, had been burned in consecutive games. 

Hiller let the sophomore think about his behaviour for a few shifts, but the spirited Cowan properly channelled his enthusiasm the rest of the night, finishing off a drive to the net on Toronto’s first goal. He could’ve added a seventh point the past four games, Paul scored on a couple of his great set-ups on the power play. 

William Nylander’s goal to make it 3-2 also came after he’d high-sticked a Flame and the Leafs killed it, but Auston Matthews, usually of exemplary behaviour, served two third-period minors that drained energy from Toronto’s comeback. Falling forward on the first draw of a Calgary penalty, his hand contacted the puck, a faceoff no-no, and he was quickly in the box, too. 

“I think (the referee) has got to be sure 100 per cent,” Matthews told media afterwards. “I don’t know what exactly the rule is, if you have to cover it or whatever. I’ve got a lot of respect for refs. They’re not perfect, but in that situation, I feel like you gotta be sure.” 

There were 13 minutes to complete the comeback when Matthews went out for that fateful faceoff, but he compounded Leafs problems with an errant high stick. 

Lhornby@postmedia.com 

X: @sunhornby 

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