Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly scored the game-winner in extra hockey, and the Carolina Hurricanes got goals from forwards Victor Rask and Teuvo Teravainen in a 3-2 loss to the Leafs at PNC arena Saturday night.
In overtime, Rielly entered the zone, circled the net, cut open between the faceoff circles and beat Canes (27-27-11) goalie Cam Ward five-hole to give the Leafs (31-22-4) the win in an intense, back-and-forth game. Carolina fell despite outshooting Toronto 38-26 and getting plenty of quality chances.
“Credit to the guys for being ready to start on time; they did a good job there,” head coach Bill Peters said. “We’ve got to find a way to finish some plays. I thought there were a lot of positives in our team game. There’s lots to like; a little more finish around the net is what we’re needing and lacking right now.”
The Canes came to play out of the gate tonight, generating an early 9-1 edge in shots and spending extended time in the Leafs’ zone. Carolina cashed in with a sharp-angle shot from the side boards by forward Victor Rask that beat Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen on the glove side to make it 1-0 8:59 into the first.
The Leafs evened it up just over a minute later; rookie forward Mitch Marner beat Ward low on the stick side with a shot from the left circle for a 1-1 game, after multiple failed clearing attempts by the Canes’ defenders.
Rookie forward Valentin Zykov left the game in the first period after being hit into the boards by Leafs defenseman Roman Polak and did not return. With the injury, the Canes moved defenseman Ryan Murphy to forward, going down to five defensemen. As a result, Jaccob Slavin, who has been by far the Canes’ best blueliner this season played a season-high 29:47.
“I feel like the more I’m out there, the more I get in the game,” Slavin said. “I definitely don’t mind logging that many minutes. It’s tough here with [games] every other day, but hopefully I just stay consistent out there and smarten my play.”
The Canes’ power play struck early in the second period for its third goal in two games. Forward Teuvo Teravainen wristed one in through a screen from the point less than a minute in, giving Carolina a 2-1 lead.
“It’s all about confidence,” Teravainen said of the power play. “You want to feel good about yourself; you want to make some plays and have the confidence to make some moves. Either way, you have to shoot the puck too, like my goal, I just threw it in there and it bounced in.”.
Toronto tied the game again about eight minutes into the middle frame. Marner carried the puck into the Canes’ zone off a neutral-zone faceoff when defenseman Justin Faulk poked it off Marner’s stick; however, it went right to Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk, who snapped a shot past Ward to make it 2-2.
The Canes had some good chances the rest of the way, but could not break Andersen, a Canes draft pick originally, who played a very strong game in net. The Canes played better throughout much of this game, although the goalie battle ultimately ended up being the difference.
“Just keep shooting, eventually they’re going to go in,” forward Jordan Staal said. “Get 40 shots I guess. Obviously, there’s always a thing with getting in front of goalies and getting in front of his eyes. Goalies are good in this league, and they’re going to stop it if they see it for the most part. We have to do a better job of getting in front of them.”
Despite some poor results, the Canes have played well in many of their recent games. Even with another playoff miss all but certain and the team playing out the string, there is still something to play for down the stretch. Pride and individual evaluations from the team going into a long offseason are still on the line.
“I thought they were competitive tonight,” Peters said. “I think they’re going to be competitive each and every night. They’ve got a lot to prove, these guys. To me, it’s the best time of year to make an assessment on a player. Teams are desperate for points, absolutely desperate and hungry. If you can play at this time of year, then you’re an NHL player. If you fall off and struggle at the most important time of year, when the intensity of the game is very high, we have to be aware of that and make decisions on that. There’s lots of motivation for me and we want to finish strong.”
The Canes will be back in action Monday night with a trip to Brooklyn to face the New York Islanders.
