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SAN JOSE – A long road trip is the worst place to lose your sense of direction.
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But the bewildered Maple Leafs can’t keep stumbling any longer, especially against teams they should be beating. With three days to prepare for the Sharks 2-7, they conceded a poor goal in the first minute, fell behind two, rallied and then lost 4-3 in overtime on a goal from Erik Karlsson.
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Not a single point or even long-awaited goals from snake-bitten Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner could provide a silver lining to Thursday’s loss, their second straight on the five-game trip.
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“It’s okay, we didn’t do enough to help this team win,” Marner said. “Good for us, but this first shift we have to be better.”
Sharks captain Logan Couture put Toronto on their heels, finishing a run where he beat Matthews, a falling Justin Holl, and then undecided goaltender Erik Kallgren.
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“Rough start (for Kallgren), ten seconds later one of their best players is alone on you,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “San Jose’s best players gave us a hard time. Every time they stepped on the ice, they tilted it.
“Overall, moving the puck from our defense to our forwards, going on offense… our inability to move the puck right now has slowed us down.
“We have to execute. You watch the game and see how many times we don’t pass. We have a lot of very good players, good skills and we don’t connect on passes, strip to strip. We go to the wrong guy or we hang on too long.
“It starts with defence, their first touch has to be better,” Keefe said.
This has obvious ramifications for Toronto’s vaunted offense, although last year’s top line and number one power play struggled when they moved to the other end.
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Until Marner’s goal late in the second period, a 4-on-2 run and Matthews exploding a bar on Kaapo Kahkonen, the two stars were stuck on one apiece. Matthews tied the game, but the Sharks broke up William Nylander’s pass in overtime and Karlsson was alone on the outside to cap a three-point night at SAP Center.
“We want to create traction, but we haven’t put on a 60-minute game,” Matthews said. “Consistency and momentum changes are hurting us right now. We want good shifts to build consistency, instead of a lot of one-and-dones.
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Even the single point was uncertain when the Sharks scored on both ends of a minor double, Pierre Engvall and TJ Brodie both calling on the same shift. Couture scored an undisputed goal in the hall 5 v 3 and Timo Meier deflected his shot seconds later.
Keefe’s new lines, with Alex Kerfoot joining Matthews and Marner in a speed-soaked band, Engvell reunited with Kampf and Michael Bunting with Calle Jarnkrok and the activated Denis Malgin, had limited success.
It was also the first time the Leafs have lost in 16 games in which Kampf has scored since joining the team last year. But team play is about the hard-working center.
“We’re doing our best, but it’s not coming,” Kampf said. “Hopefully we’ll be better in the next two games (when the trip ends in Los Angeles and Anaheim). That’s no excuse, the season has already started so we have to be ready.
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The Leafs survived a penalty from Holl after those two quick power-play strikes from San Jose and eventually got some clutch saves from Kallgren.
He started this trip a few days earlier than planned, Keefe fearing that the duration of the trip and his previous workload would exhaust Ilya Samsonov. The No. 1 also battled some sort of cold or flu.
So Kallgren came in, hoping to atone for his role in a home loss to another beatable team, Arizona, a week ago on Monday.
“Not our best performance, not my best,” Kallgren said as his save percentage dropped to .857. “It sucks. And it sucks that I can’t make a save (on Karlsson’s winner).”
The Leafs got rid of Couture’s opening goal and played better around the Swede, but the double minor undermined them. Kampf replaced Matthews on a line change for his third of the year from a pass from Kerfoot. Marner had the other assist, his 322n/a as Leaf, passing Doug Gilmour for ninth place in franchise history.
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Mark Giordano deserved credit for tying the Leafs out of the first period, putting on his glove to prevent Karlsson’s open shot on goal.
Keefe has untested rookie defender Filip Kral on the trip, but without Jake Muzzin in the immediate future, he badly needs Timothy Liljegren as a blue-line option. The latter, along with Jordie Benn, began conditioning stints with the AHL Marlies.
Although Keefe did not spare his defense against criticism, he said changing pairs again was not the solution. The Leafs have Friday practice in Los Angeles to try and smooth things over before their weekend games.
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