Missed Opportunity Has Toronto Maple Leafs Scrambling to Salvage Week
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Toronto Maple Leafs missed an opportunity against a weak Arizona Coyotes squad and now attempt to salvage the week against a pair of clubs looking for revenge and the season’s first Battle of Ontario.
The Maple Leafs failed to show up for the first half of their game against the Coyotes and spotted their opponent a 3-0 lead. Toronto dominated the second half of the contest but momentum killing penalties taken after both Maple Leaf goals were too much for the club to overcome in a 3-2 road loss.
The Maple Leafs must now move on and attempt to sweep the season series against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver after recording a 3-2 overtime victory in Toronto on Oct. 14. The Avalanche will be hungry for redemption after coughing up a 2-1 third period lead during their first meeting and will look to jump on the Maple Leafs early on. If Toronto starts the contest like it did against Arizona, the club will return home 0-2 from their mini-road trip.
Once the Maple Leafs return home they’ll host the New York Rangers on Saturday night, who they embarrassed at Madison Square Garden during the Rangers’ home opener on Oct. 12 with a 6-3 victory. Given Rick Nash’s incredible start to the season and his tendency to always seem to score against Toronto whenever he faces them, along with the extra motivation New York will have after their awful performance a month ago, the Maple Leafs will have their hands full attempting to protect home ice.
After facing two opponents who’ll have extra motivation trying to recover from previous losses to the Maple Leafs, Toronto will cap off the week with a contest likely to feature extra emotion against the Ottawa Senators. The Maple Leafs will travel to Ottawa on Sunday night as the two clubs play the re-schedule game that was cancelled after the events that occurred in Ottawa on Oct. 22.
The Battle of Ontario tends to always feature extra emotion and given that this will be the first time the two clubs face each other this season, the events that forced the cancellation and being days away from Remembrance Day, this will no doubt be an emotionally charged contest.
With the Maple Leafs facing three difficult challenges ahead of them, the missed opportunity against the Coyotes becomes that much greater.
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