Saturday night, Leafs vs Canucks.

First Period

0-1

Brock Boeser's leg gets the first shot of the game into the back of the net. An unlucky deflection.

first shot of the game

Omar (@tictactomar.bsky.social) 2025-01-12T00:21:57.750Z

Tavares doing vintage/current Tavares things.

Tavares took that open lane Lankinen makes the glove save

Omar (@tictactomar.bsky.social) 2025-01-12T00:39:31.728Z

Marner and Matthews doing work and getting a chance.

Marner forces the turnover Matthews gets the eventual shot

Omar (@tictactomar.bsky.social) 2025-01-12T01:17:45.198Z

After One

Overall the Leafs had the better chances in the first period and were the better team, but that first shot going in was the difference on the scoresheet. Kevin Lankinen with nine saves, Hildeby with eight.

Second Period

Rielly got hurt in the hand after a hit. He stayed in the game and was okay but I definitely worry about lingering hand injuries for key Leafs players.

Patches being himself.

Loved this move in NHL 12.

Nylander took a high stick from JT Miller, the Leafs got a power play. Did they do anything with it? Ha, you're so funny!

Even better, they had to try and defend a scoring chance instead.

0-2

In the dying minutes of the period, Timmins and Benoit combine to help Quinn Hughes double the lead. The puck initially went off Timmins in front of the net, then Benoit knocked the puck into the net with his stick.

After Two

The Leafs technically had ore shots in the second period but I would argue the Canucks got to the net better and made life more difficult for the Leafs than vice versa. Overall it was a close game, but a deflection goal at the beginning of the game and another deflection goal at the end of the second gave the Leafs a gulf to work past in the third.

Third Period

0-3

And within a minute of the third, it's a third goal for the Canucks. Hughes did most of the work creating an opening, Keifer Sherwood put it away.

The Canuck poured on the pressure in the opening minutes of the period and were rewarded with that goal above. Shots were 1-5 against the Leafs.

The Leafs fought back a bit with some shots of their own, but no changes to the scoreboard.

The Leafs don't score. Lankinen gets the shutout.

Takeaways

Some things I noticed in this loss:

Timmins-Benoit were by far the worst players on the ice, and their results of being -7 and -12 in shots respectively showed that. They were quite overwhelmed by Canucks in front of the net and were present for nothing of quality offensively.

The Tavares line players Miller's line and Hughes' pair to a draw, but received a lot of shots at the ends of their shifts from the Blueger line.

On the flip side, the Domi line was 30% in shots against their main opposition, the Pius Suter line. They several some perimeter shots on the other lines. I noticed that was at their end of an opponent's shift when that line came in on the fly. The Domi line was exclusively played on the fly, not from a faceoff. Two reasons for that could be getting the rush line during line changes, or Domi's 45% on the draws.

For the team on the whole, they had the following numbers:

57% of the shot attempts
55% of the unblocked shot attempts
53% of the shots on goal
54% of the expected goals
0% of the goals.

None of those alm0st-50% averages mean the Leafs should've won the game. Score effects near the end brought their averages up a couple points, too. Two deflections would do it, and it did.

I also found it interesting that the final shot counter was only 20-19 for the Leafs. I shouldn't be too surprised because the Leafs this year have been a lot lower in shots on net for/against. Not getting to the net as much and also protecting the goalie. I thought Hildeby was good, he wasn't the problem in this game.

And outside the numbers, this is the story. Oh well.