The Chicago Blackhawks added to the Maple Leafs’ woes, defeating Toronto 3-2 at the United Center Saturday night.
Joseph Woll made his season debut for the Leafs, and the Toronto net-minder was solid in his return, stopping 29 of 32 shots. Still, it was not enough as Toronto’s losing streak is now at five.
The game started in a familiar way with the Leafs falling behind. At the 11:05 mark of the first, Ryan Greene put Chicago ahead with his second of the season. The Leafs could not get the puck out of their own end, and the sustained Blackhawk pressure eventually broke down the Toronto defence. Arytom Levshunov drove to the net past tired defenders and found Greene at the side of the crease. The centremen beat Woll for the 1-0 Blackhawks’ lead.
The goal woke Toronto up, and the Maple Leafs dominated for the rest of the period. Their aggressive play resulted in the equalizing goal. With under a minute left, Nick Robertson scored his fifth of the season and fourth in as many games. The winger popped home a rebound over Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight to tie the game.
The Leafs continued their strong play into the second and took the lead on Morgan Rielly’s third of the year. Oliver Ekman-Larsson saw his defence partner streaking to the net and hit him with a perfect pass. Reilly tapped the puck through Knight to make it 2-1 Leafs.
Unfortunately, another troubling trend, blowing leads, continued for the Maple Leafs. At the 5:12 point of the final period, Teuvo Teravainen powered in on a rush, undressed Rielly, then chipped the puck over Woll for the 2-2 tie. Then, with under five minutes left in the game, Colton Dach redirected a Louis Crevier blast for the tiebreaker and the Blackhawks’ winner.
Next Up: The Maple Leafs are back home Tuesday night to square off against the St. Louis Blues.
