The New York Rangers have certainly turned their game around at home to start this season. Currently undefeated at 6-0-0, these Blueshirts went from not winning at home to not being able to stop winning at home. However, their road style remains a concern for those wondering if they are in fact the real deal, with only one victory in their first five games away. A chance for them to get going on the road presented itself tonight in Scotiabank Arena, but the Maple Leafs had other plans, in gut-wrenching fashion too. An intense back-and-forth game in Toronto ended in a heartbreaker as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 5-4 late in the third period.
The puck dropped, and the Maple Leafs jumped right ahead to start this one. A quick change for the Rangers let Easton Cowan walk in and beat Dylan Garand to make it 1-0 less than two minutes in. Certainly not the start the Blueshirts hoped for, looking to get back in the win column on the road, and now they had come from behind, something they haven’t had to do a lot of to start this season. Moments later, the Rangers made it clear they weren’t gonna be blanked so easily, as Mika Zibanejad tipped a shot from Vladislav Gavrikov past Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game at one. The Rangers answered back, and Toronto did moments later after some sloppy work in the Rangers' end, with Teddy Blueger giving the Maple Leafs the lead once again. Despite the shot advantage for most of the period, Toronto won the first period, leaving the Rangers 40 minutes to figure something out.
New York looked to answer early in the second, and they did. The fourth line came on the ice, and Justin Dowling made a big effort to put one on net, leading to a rebound that Oliver Bjorkstrand cleaned up to tie it at two. The Maple Leafs came hungry moments later, but the defense kept this game tied. The Rangers weren’t done yet, though, as they took their first lead moments later. A juicy rebound from Bobrovsky opened the lane for Adam Fox, who shot and found the back of the net off a tip by Tye Kartye. It was a classic back-and-forth game, and it got crazier when Toronto responded with a goal by Brandon Duhaime. Moments later, the Leafs went back on top for the third time tonight as Kirill Marchenko found his rebound and tapped it in on the power play late in the second, making it 4-3 Leafs. No doubt who had the clear edge that period despite the close scoring; New York had twenty minutes left to clean it up.
Nothing seemed to change in the third period for the Blueshirts, other than the penalty kill doing its job on an early Toronto power play. New York got their chance halfway through on their first power play of the night, but the Maple Leafs are the league's first-best unit on the kill for a reason. The desperate play began, and with less than six minutes to go, the game was tied again when Alexis Lafrenière fired a shot from the blue line that found the back of the net. As back-and-forth as the game has been, it would make sense to have a little extra hockey to finish it. Sadly, Troy Stecher had other plans: left wide open on a delayed penalty and made it 5-4 Toronto with 27.5 to go. As the final seconds went off, the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled away with this one in a heartbreaker.
An Original Six matchup that didn’t disappoint despite the final score. As the road woes continue for the Blueshirts, they’ll face a much bigger test on Saturday as they head to Ottawa to take on a red-hot Senators team. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs head over to Rogers Place to take on the Oilers. At home, these Blueshirts may be able to please their fans, but on the road, it looks like the exact opposite. A gut-wrenching loss, no doubt, and as their road trip continues on Saturday, can they get it together away from home?
