Coyotes-Maple Leafs Preview
The slumping Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t had much go their way
over the last three weeks.
They’ve also struggled against the visiting Phoenix Coyotes, who
go for a seventh consecutive win in the series Thursday night.
After opening 14-8-1, the Maple Leafs (17-16-3) have dropped
into eighth place in the Eastern Conference behind a 3-8-2 slide
dating to Nov. 25. Toronto has allowed an NHL-worst 50 goals over
that stretch, including a league-high 15 on the power play.
“Everyone is trying to turn it around,” center Jay McClement
said. “It seems like we need all of us to step up and take the
reins and change things. But it seems like we’re waiting too long
to do that.”
The Maple Leafs are coming off their fifth loss in six games,
3-1 to Florida on Tuesday. James Reimer allowed the game’s first
three goals before Mason Raymond scored with 16:17 to play.
“We just didn’t play well enough. That’s the bottom line,”
captain Dion Phaneuf said. “We take pride in being a team that
doesn’t get outworked. Tonight we were outworked.”
All three of the Panthers’ goals came off Toronto turnovers. The
Leafs are last in the NHL with 11.5 giveaways per game.
“I echo those remarks as something that we cannot be proud of
our performance,” coach Randy Carlyle said.
After avoiding the Coyotes (18-10-5) last season due to the
lockout, the Leafs surely aren’t looking forward to renewing the
series. Toronto has been outscored 28-13 during an 0-5-1 skid
versus Phoenix.
The Coyotes, though, are coming off a loss of their own, 3-1 at
Montreal on Tuesday. Mikkel Boedker gave Phoenix an early lead
before the Canadiens scored three goals in the third period, with
the first two coming on the man advantage.
“They capitalized on their power play and were able to score the
key goals,” defenseman Keith Yandle told the NHL’s official
website. “I think it’s just something that for us to be a better
team, we have to find ways to win in those situations, especially
in a building like this.”
Phoenix, tied with Toronto near the bottom of the league with a
penalty kill percentage of 77.3, is 1-5-1 when allowing two
power-play goals.
“Special units are part of the game, and if you can’t get them
to click, oftentimes you’ll lose the game,” center Mike Ribeiro
said.
It’s unclear if Coyotes captain Shane Doan will be available
after missing the last five games with an illness. Doan, leading
the team with 12 goals, has 14 points in his last 14 matchups
against Toronto.
The Leafs will be without forwards Colton Orr (elbow), Dave
Bolland (severed tendon in left ankle) and Tyler Bozak (strained
oblique). Trevor Smith joined the injured list after breaking a
bone in his right hand while blocking a shot Tuesday.
Reimer finished with 20 saves Tuesday, dropping to 0-3-0 with a
4.26 goals-against average in his last three home games. Teammate
Jonathan Bernier is 2-6-1 with a 3.28 GAA in his last 10
overall.
“There’s never an excuse. Injuries, tired, it’s all B.S.,”
Reimer said. “Those are all excuses. They’re useless.”
Bernier, who signed a two-year deal this offseason, is 2-0-0
with a 0.80 GAA in three meetings versus Phoenix.
Coyotes goalie Mike Smith is 3-0-1 against the Leafs, but he is
2-5-2 with a 3.09 GAA in his last nine games.
Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk, second on the team with 26 points,
has just one goal during a six-game stretch. The Leafs are 12-4-1
when van Riemsdyk notches a point compared to 4-11-2 when he
doesn’t.