Maple Leafs lose to Devils, defenceman Chris Tanev injured

Contents of the article

October obstacles continue to plague the Maple Leafs.

Contents of the article

Not only did they lose to the scrappy New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Tuesday, but key defenseman Chris Tanev left the team at 1:53 of the second period with an arm/shoulder injury after playing in the slot in front of Anthony Stolarz. Jack Hughes scored a hat trick for the visitors at Scotiabank Arena.

Contents of the article

Contents of the article

Toronto's record is 3-3-1 despite only having to play one road game to date.

Bearing in mind their 6-5-2 average at one stage last October before they hit their stride to win the division, they are once again frustrating coach Craig Berube's goal of early-season consistency.

After his very direct comments about his teammates' shortcomings on Saturday, Stolarz backed up his comments with big saves early in the match and a couple of errors. That allowed Toronto to maintain a 1-0 lead after one period thanks to John Tavares. Jersey beat the Leafs 34-25.

Contents of the article

Contents of the article

Toronto controlled the faceoff in which defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who had been replaced by Brandon Carlo to join Morgan Rielly on offense, fired a shot into the crowd and Tavares grabbed the rebound. For Tavares, who is now two goals shy of 500 in the NHL, it was number 1,122, ahead of Darryl Sittler's 65 points.th in the history of the league.

But there was massive mid-period disappointment as parts of the Leafs allowed the league to have a long shot at the pick for now. Updated first line with the addition of Max Domi. Auston Matthews and Matthew Nice was sandwiched before Jack Hughes scored. For some reason, the Leafs saw interference from goaltender Ondrej Palat as he battled for position away from Stolarz, a rare setback for their eagle-eyed video coaches.

Contents of the article

Cody Glass scored a delay of game penalty and Brenden Dillon added another on a 3-on-1. Matias Maccelli, playing Tavares and Nylander as part of new lines unveiled the day before, was negated for the first time as a Leaf by Hughes, who got behind a lone defender and beat Stolarz.

It was former Leaf coach Sheldon Keefe's first win over his old team as they destroyed both of Toronto's power plays and dropped to 2-for-16 on the season. Jake Allen blocked Rielly's shot that would have made it a one-goal game right in front of Hughes' empty net.

Toronto has a home-and-home game against the improving Buffalo Sabers this weekend, and is no doubt excited to see the Blue Jays getting the attention of every sports fan in town.

[email protected]

X: @sunhornby

Contents of the article