Maple Leafs lose to Sharks, fail to gain in Atlantic race
via NHL.com
The Toronto Maple Leafs allowed three goals in the third period and lost for the first time in four games, 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday.
“I think they just kept coming and coming, and a lot of times we just had no pushback,” Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews said. “It was tough to get stuff going our way.”
Evander Kane scored two goals, and Antti Suomela and Stefan Noesen each had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (29-33-4), who have won three games in a row. Martin Jones made 25 saves in his third straight start.
“We’ve kind of made up our mind as a group, and as players, that we want to ruin seasons for some teams and be as disruptive as we can down the stretch,” Kane said.
Matthews scored his 46th goal and had an assist for Toronto (35-24-8), which remained five points ahead of the Florida Panthers for third place in the Atlantic Division. Jack Campbell made 33 saves.
“I feel responsible for this one,” Campbell said. “When the second intermission came around, I thought we had weathered the storm. But I wasn’t able to shut the door on them. That’s the bottom line.”
They said it
“They dominated us in the second period. They did what they wanted and they won the puck battles. We weren’t strong enough to hold them off. We just have to be consistent on every shift.” — Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner
“Over the years, we play our best games against top teams in the League, and I think we’ve done that especially in the last two.” — Sharks forward Evander Kane on wins against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Maple Leafs
Need to know
Matthews extended his point streak to four games (three goals, three assists). He trails Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak by one goal for the NHL lead. … Maple Leafs center John Tavares had his five-game point streak end (three goals, four assists). … Center Joe Thornton played his 1,100th game for the Sharks. … Kane extended his point streak to three games (three goals, three assists).
What’s next
Maple Leafs: At the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, SNO, NHL.TV)
Sharks: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)