Leafs crash after late goalie switch

With Auston Matthews hurt again, the Maple Leafs Core Four dropped to the Big Three. And though William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares each got on the scoresheet, the Maple Leafs dropped two points to the Ottawa Senators.

Brady Tkachuk scored twice as the hungrier Ottawa Senators – who hope to get into the playoff conversation over the last part of the regular season – beat the Maple Leafs 6-2 at the Scotiabank Arena.

It was a head-shakingly bad performance by the Leafs.

“You can look at the effort to a certain extent, you can look at execution, turnovers. There were lots of things that we didn’t do well, lots of areas where we lost to them not just on the scoresheet,” said Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly.

“It’s an opportunity to learn. We’ve got two games between now and the break. So we’ve got to make sure we get better and execute.”

The Leafs expect to be without Matthews (sprained knee) for three weeks, but didn’t expect a surprise change in net.

Ilya Samsonov had expected to be the backup, but a flare-up of an undisclosed injury during warm-ups meant Matt Murray spent the night on the bench. The Leafs are expected to recall a goalie from the AHL Marlies on Saturday.

Samsonov ended up having one of his weaker games of the season, allowing early goals in all three periods and the Leafs playing from behind most of the game. Ultimately the Senators did a better job of protecting Anton Forsberg, blocking plenty of shots, than the Leafs did in front of Samsonov.

“He’s been our guy,” Rielly said of Samsonov. “He’s been playing great for us. As a group, we need to be better off in front of him. (The loss) is not on him in any way. It’s on the group. If you’re giving up chances, odd-man rushes, clean looks, that’s not on our goalie. That’s on our group in front of him.”

Samsonov stopped 28 of 34 shots. Forsberg stopped 31 of 33 shots.

It was the Senators’ first win in Toronto since Feb. 15, 2021, and the first with fans in the building since Oct. 6, 2018,

Joey Anderson and Nylander scored for the Leafs, who lost at home for the first time since Jan. 6.

A four-game win streak against Ottawa also ended.

“We were missing that little competitive edge,” said Anderson. “They were heavier than us out there and took advantage of the chances that they had. And we didn’t do nearly enough to combat that, and it led to some tough chances against.”

Nylander’s goal was his 27th of the season and 58th point, personal highs through 50 games.

Marner’s assist on Nylander’s goal gave him 40 for the seventh consecutive season, a feat accomplished by just two other Leafs: Darryl Sittler (nine times) and Borje Salming (seven).

Curious start

Coach Sheldon Keefe had been talking about managing Samsonov’s workload as a reason to start Murray. But at game time, Samsonov took the net and became the first Leafs goalie this season to start five straight, and appear in six in a row.

Murray came out first for warmups, indicative of the starter, but a shot from Nylander seemed to sting Murray and may have contributed to the late switch. He stayed on the bench as the backup.

It was an entertaining first 20 minutes; defence was optional. The shots were 15-14 for Toronto, the score 1-1. The Senators surrendered their zone rather easily, creating endless scoring chances for the Leafs. But it was Ottawa that scored first: Thomas Chabot on the Senators’ second shot.

It seemed to catch Samsonov offguard from about 40 feet, perhaps indicative of Samsonov’s lack of preparation. Anderson tied the game on a wrist shot, his second goal of the year.

Holmberg time

The biggest early beneficiary of Matthews’s available ice time was rookie Pontus Holmberg. He’d proven himself in a defensive role this season, but took on more responsibility against the Senators on the second line with Nylander and Calle Järnkrok.

His play as OK, but he took a fourminute high-sticking major in the first period, and a tripping minor in the second that led to an Ottawa power-play goal and helped Ottawa take control in the middle frame.

Tkachuk scored 23 seconds into the period, with Nylander responding on the power play.

Ottawa’s power-play goal with Holmberg off was credited to Derick Brassard, though it was accidentally tipped in by Timothy Liljegren for a 3-2 Ottawa lead.

Drake Batherson scored late in the period.