Maple Leafs’ many issues exposed in intense loss to Canucks

The weaknesses of the Toronto Maple Leafs were on full display in a Saturday night thriller against Canada’s top-ranked team. And so were their strengths.

Problem is, right now — following a 6-4 loss, the Leafs’ fourth in regulation over their past five tries — it’s clear they have more of the former than the latter.

At even-strength, the Maple Leafs’ top-six forwards dominated the run of play against the Canucks’ top talent, as Rick Tocchet chose to match stars against stars. 

Vancouver’s own Morgan Rielly was fantastic, ripping an incredible 10 shots on net, chipping in a pair of assists, and mixing it up physically. Jake McCabe had a fine game himself, scoring and thriving off the bruises. And the Leafs did flex their commendable ability to crawl out of self-dug holes.

But because hockey is not basketball, and good teams must rely on their bench and goaltending is allowed, the Leafs get nights like this loud, cranky one in a fevered barn in British Columbia.

Nights where they can score enough goals (four) to win the average NHL contest and their best players are engaged, yet they still get undone by a thin bench, an exposed defence, some worrisome special teams and a third-string goaltender now coming back down to earth.

The Canucks swarmed their visitors from the drop of the puck, hemming the Leafs in their own zone, beating them in board battles, finishing checks with venom, and grinding out a bang-bang-bang trio of effort-based goals from depth forwards Nils Hoglander (two) and Conor Garland. 

Canucks’ Hoglander caps off dominant shift with hard-fought goal vs. Maple Leafs

By the six-minute mark, the Canucks had already jumped out to 7-1 lead in shots and 2-0 lead in goals, exhausting the bottom half of the Leafs lineup with relentless cycles.

One offensive-zone possession by Vancouver lasted 62 seconds — an eternity — before resulting in a Hoglander strike.

“Sloppy start,” McCabe said, bluntly. “They got on top of us, and we didn’t have an answer for it.”

William Nylander said the Leafs were missing “a little bit of competitiveness” from puck drop, and it was evident which side was getting coached by Tocchet.

“Probably one of the best coaches in the world right now,” Max Domi said. “You watch these guys play, they’re always ready to go.”

Despite knowing the identity they’d be running up against, the Leafs needed 10 minutes to warm up to the tone Vancouver set.

“That was a bit of a theme for the game with their goals — just them outcompeting us in and around our net. So, obviously didn’t like that,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The phrase “soft and purposeless” popped to mind through the first 20 minutes.

“Obviously wasn’t a great start for us, but give them credit,” goaltender Martin Jones said. “They came out really hard. They forecheck hard. They were physical. Everybody was kind of playing the right way. So, they’re good team.”

Down 3-0 after one, Mitch Marner said the group acknowledged a “pretty pathetic” effort and flipped a switch in the second, knotting the score 3-3.

Maple Leafs’ Marner steals puck and snipes short-handed goal on breakaway vs. Canucks

“We knew this game, the pace was gonna be very high and very competitive, and we didn’t bring it in the first period. I liked our response in the second,” Marner said, as the momentum shifted.

“Second and third period, we took it to them, except for their power-play. I think other than that, we played a good game.”

Added McCabe: “It’s not like we went away by any means. We competed all the way through to the final buzzer. And guys are battling their nuts off out there.” 

While the Leafs held their own 5-on-5 in the third and deciding frame, their tumbling special teams betrayed them.

Vancouver’s big guys couldn’t get it done at evens, but J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson each scored at 5-on-4 to salt the points away in the third. Meanwhile, the Leafs earned two more power plays than their opponent and went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

If losing the special-teams battle is a growing concern, so too should be overworking Jones.

The 34-year-old faltered in his 10th start in 11 games. He was slow to smoother pucks and gave up six on 21 shots.

While it’s certainly unfair to point the finger at a cap-friendly veteran who began his campaign with the Marlies, Jones has given up four, four, three, three and six in his past five starts — numbers that don’t include a couple goals wiped away by video review.

“I think Jones has been fine,” Keefe said. “We’ve got to do a better job in front of him.”

You can chicken-or-egg it to death, but the Leafs aren’t getting enough defence nor goaltending to be considered among the sport’s elite.

Since Dec. 12 at Madison Square Garden, Toronto has beaten just one team in a playoff spot (the L.A. Kings, who are mired in their worst slump of the season).

High intensity, strong opponent, bad result.

“It’s a good atmosphere in the building with their fans chanting. Physical game. Every battle meant something, it felt like. It’s good for us to be in those games,” McCabe said. “Unfortunately, we were not on the good end of it.”

So, what did Keefe take away from this game?

“Zero points.”

‘Zero points’: Keefe on what Maple Leafs can take away from loss to Canucks

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Fox’s Fast Five

• Timothy Liljegren’s ice time Thursday in Calgary (13:59) marked his lowest since getting injured in Boston on Nov. 2.

Keefe challenged the third-pair D-man a couple hours before puck drop Saturday.

“He is a guy we talk about daily in terms of needing and wanting more out of. We have to help him through it. We think he has more to give us. We have to get him in a groove and get going,” the coach said.

Keefe wants to see Liljegren defend the rush better and use his skill to get pucks to the opponent’s net.

“I don’t think he has done that to the level that we expect or have seen,” Keefe went on. “He is a guy who, no doubt, we would like to get more out of and help him work through that. Mike Van Ryn had a good meeting with him yesterday. We continue to work on that.”

• Tyler Myers’ monster check on Calle Järnkrok reminds us that the ol’ smash-you-into-our-bench hit never gets old:

• Quote of the Day.

Vancouver native Rielly, when asked if he’s hearing plenty about the Canucks great season from friends and family: “No. I have cut those people out of my life.”

• Sam Lafferty, GM Brad Treliving’s biggest trade out of Toronto: 10 goals, 20 points, plus-16, $1.15 million cap hit.

Tyler Bertuzzi, Treliving’s biggest signing to Toronto: six goals, 19 points, plus-6, $5.5 million cap hit.

Bertuzzi has one goal in his past 25 games and just one assist in his past seven.

The Leafs’ biggest off-season acquisition admits he’s been gripping his stick a little tight these days.

“Just gotta try and go to the net and get a greasy one and work from there,” Bertuzzi says.

• Rielly was asked if Nylander owes him one for committing a hooking penalty in Edmonton that was erroneously charged to the defenceman, busting his 41-game streak without an infraction.

“I was happy to go to the box,” Rielly replied. “I didn’t want that goose egg on there any longer.”

OK. But would he like to win the Lady Byng Trophy? 

“No comment,” Reilly said, flashing a grin.