Toronto Maple Leafs drop second straight
The Toronto Maple Leafs, winners of their first four games of the season, have now lost two in a row, and for the second game running managed only one goal as the the New York Rangers came away with a
2-1 victory on Thursday 21 October.
How it happened
The Rangers got all the offence they would need in a one-minute span late in the first period when Ruslan Fedotenko got his first of the season poking home a loose puck that was resting on the goal line
after Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson lost sight of the puck.
Artem Anisimov made it 2-0 when he tipped a beautiful feed in front by Michal Rozsival past Gustavsson 61 seconds later.
From there it was up to Rangers goalie Martin Biron, who stopped 24 of 25 shots, to secure the victory.
The Maple Leafs did a get a goal midway through the third when Colby Armstrong scored his first of the season, but it wasn't enough.
What they're saying
Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson was critical of his team and their effort when he said, "They managed to get two (early) and then muddied up the game. We didn't want to get our nose dirty by going into
the hard areas, coming across to support the puck. We got what we deserved."
"The last game we didn't score a five-on-five goal for almost the same reason," Wilson added. "We weren't willing to go to the front of the net. If anything, we've got some great lessons to be learned."
The Leafs lone goalscorer, Armstrong, reiterated his coach's sentiments.
"I think that's the first time we didn't play the way we really wanted to play. I think we're a pretty fast team, and at times we were looking a step behind or not winning our battles. ... We had our spurts
here and there, the last 10 minutes of the third I thought we came on pretty hard, but it was just a little too late," he said.
What it all means
The Rangers got their second win of the season and avenged their 4-3 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs back on 15 October. It also snapped a three-game losing streak as the Rangers look to keep pace with
the Islanders and Penguins in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers travel to Boston to take on the Bruins, who are currently riding a four-game win streak, on Saturday 23 October.
The Maple Leafs have now lost two in a row and their offence has begun to sputter. They travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Saturday.
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