The St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs face off for the first time tonight in a game that feels as close to a must-win as they come for both teams. Both clubs are struggling this season, very badly. Currently, they rank 28th and 30th in the entire NHL, which is way below expectations for where these teams should be.
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Unfortunately, tonight one of them has to lose, but maybe, just maybe, it will help get one of these two organizations back on the right track.
Game Recap
1st Period:
The first period started much like the game on Saturday between the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks. It was fast paced, high energy, and had a good amount of scoring chances. The Blues got on the board first with a goal from Nathan Walker at 1:50 into the period. It was not long after that when newly acquired Troy Stecher drew a penalty to send Toronto to their first power play of the game. It was Jake McCabe, one of the most unlikely candidates to score on the power play, who put the puck in the net to tie the game at 1-1. After both teams traded chances, the game remained tied, even after the Maple Leafs had a four-minute power play at the end of the first period.
2nd Period:
The second period had a lot of the same, with the only real change being that the Blues were able to come back in the shot department. The Maple Leafs opened the scoring in the second frame with a goal by Steven Lorentz at 9:32 into the period. That gave them a 2-1 lead, but much like the first period lead by the Blues, it did not last long. St. Louis was able to score less than five minutes later to tie the game at 2-2.
Jake McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
During the second frame, it was Toronto’s turn to go to the box, with McCabe taking not one but two tripping penalties. They were able to kill off one of them, but the Blues took advantage of the man advantage to tie the game on a goal by Dalibor Dvorsky.
3rd Period:
The third period is where the game slowed down. There was still some fast paced play and scoring chances, but with how much the period meant for both teams, it appeared they tried to play more conservative than the first two periods. In terms of shots, the Maple Leafs led for the majority of the game, until the Blues passed them in the final 20 minutes. That is something that has been plaguing Toronto throughout the entire season. The third period ended with a 2-2 tie, which gave both teams a point and sent yet another game this season to overtime.
In the extra frame, there were a few chances. The Blues looked to try and hold on to the puck to draw the Maple Leafs up and open an odd-man rush. However, it did not work, as John Tavares took the puck into the corner and held on to it against all three members of St. Louis. Just when you thought he lost the puck, he passed it out of the scrum along the boards to Morgan Rielly, who found William Nylander and he dangled the puck around the defenseman and Jordan Binnington to win the game for Toronto, 3-2.
