Posted February 19, 2023 • Last updated 6 minutes ago • 4 minutes read
Patrick Kane #88 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates scoring his hat trick goal in the second half against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the United Center on February 19, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The unofficial “Week of Guaranteed Victory” for the Maple Leafs did not go as hoped.
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After five straight games against teams at or near the bottom of their divisions, Toronto would have liked to have had at least one more win but ended up with a 3-2 record and a 5-3 loss at the United Center in Chicago.
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“If you’re not watching the ball, a good team can make you pay,” said defenseman Morgan Rielly.
Patrick Kane, in a complete reversal from an almost invisible night in Toronto, had three goals and assisted on Max Domi’s empty net, the son of ex-Leaf Tie, who assisted on all of Kane’s troikas.
Kane was able to dump a ton of frustration after the New York Rangers picked Vladimir Tarasenko as their top trade deadline pick-up and two days after Toronto went on the same train with the Blues’ Ryan O’Reilly. That’s five goals in Kane’s last two games, showing clubs still buying through March 3 — like Dallas, Edmonton and Vegas — that he’s motivated at age 34 but has no lingering hip problems.
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“He created a lot of stuff (but) we gave them a lot,” said Leafs winger Mitch Marner. “He saw the ice really well. You know they will do their best against us.”
Toronto shared a duel with Columbus, losing on home ice, then knocking out Chicago and Montreal before a somewhat confusing late-afternoon game in the Central Time Zone at the Windy City. The Leafs are trying to fend off the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division and are now facing a number of playoff teams or teams in the bubble, starting with Buffalo at home on Tuesday, the Minnesota Wild Friday and then five crosses -Continent street games.
Coach Sheldon Keefe said his team didn’t fare well in this case of back-to-back starts, with the flight and an odd puck drop at 5 p.m. Central Time Zone.
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“We were clearly a very tired group from the start and we made tired mistakes,” he said. “They didn’t have many chances or shots (at Ilya Samsonov) but they looked clean and we didn’t do enough to support him.”
Samsonov felt well enough to start overcoming the flu, despite frequent visits to the toilet over the past few days. He has tipped his mask to 444-goal career shooter Kane.
“This guy, if he has the time, he’s going to score, not like an AHL guy or a fourth-row guy. He’s a superstar.”
Chicago Blackhawks’ Cole Guttman (70) attempts to skate the puck onto Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov (35) in the first period at the United Center February 19, 2023. Jamie Sabau USA TODAY Sports
The Leafs killed a Mark Giordano penalty early in the third period and then completed a two-goal rally. Rielly shot cleverly wide at the end of his shift and let Marner catch up for his 20th goal.
But after Marner hit the post looking for the go-ahead, Cole Guttman went high with a 2-on-1 chance less than a week after making his first NHL debut in Toronto.
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Kane’s ninth career hat-trick and second against the Leafs in seven years included two in a 2:52 span of the second period. His first of the night, after not being a factor in Toronto when the trade clutter was all around him and the Leafs were loudest, was a snap past Samsonov where he let Timothy Liljegren get in his goalie’s path before letting go.
After a Domi pass, as Auston Matthews and Justin Holl botched a breakout, the third was really smart, following a rebound behind the net and setting it off Samsonov’s back. There was initial hesitation in counting until the video noted that Holl had failed to sweep the puck away before fully crossing the red line. This allowed the shower of chapeaus to continue.
The other new leaf, Noel Acciari, picked up his first in the Toronto colors to close the gap thanks to ex-Hawk David Kampf catching a puck and bringing it to his racquet for the quick pass. With 24 seconds left, O’Rielly made his second contact with his first Leaf goal, hitting Jaxson Stauber just wide of the post.
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O’Reilly and Acciari will play their third game on Tuesday – with no practice as the Leafs have Monday off.
Noel Acciari #52 of the Toronto Maple Leafs works for a loose puck against Seth Jones #4 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at the United Center on February 19, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Toronto quickly equalized after Kane’s first goal, Matthews taking a penalty and then stopping an attempt at clearance that eventually led to John Tavares’ 11. power play goal, one more than the captain had last season. Rielly’s assist for the game was his 400th NHL point, 22nd hand and fifth defenseman to reach that milestone with Borje Salming, Tomas Kaberle, Tim Horton and Ian Turnbull.
But the Leafs ran into trouble trying to slow the momentum.
Keefe kept his attacking lines together from Saturday but didn’t have to make 100% defensive changes with Rasmus Sandin. Conor Timmins came back after sitting against the Habs.
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Ahead of the game, Chicago captain Jonathan Toews released a statement about his recent unexplained absence from the lineup, saying he’s still battling symptoms of “Long” COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome. He won’t play through the deadline.
“It was really difficult to act out those symptoms,” Toews said in the statement. “The last few weeks have gotten to the point where I have had to step back and focus on getting healthy.
“I’m grateful for the patience and support of my teammates, the coaching staff and the entire Blackhawks organization.”
Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson met with the media ahead of the game and said Kane’s countless posts gave him every right to make a decision on whether to play on March 3.
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