'Rotten' special teams unravel Maple Leafs on Long Island

ELMONT, N.Y. — Sheldon Keefe warned of an adjustment.

Following a three-game, point-stacking run against bona fide bottom-feeders in Anaheim and San Jose, the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs was keenly aware his group would be tested much more stiffly on Long Island, where the captain's former team is very much fighting for a playoff berth.

"Aggressive team offensively," Keefe cautioned at Thursday's morning skate. "They're going to come to the net hard. Puck is going to go to the net."

And while the Maple Leafs proved up to the task 5-on-5, rallying from a first-minute 1-0 deficit to build a 3-1 lead of their own, it was their odd-man situational play that failed them in a 4-3 overtime loss that snuffs Toronto's win streak at four games.

"Special teams were rotten tonight — power play, penalty kill, overtime. That costs you games," Keefe said, pointedly. "Power play had one chance and did nothing with it. It's as bad as we've looked in any power play. And then penalty kill, it's in our net before you can even blink to start the game."

He's not wrong.

The game's first shot on net bounced off the inside of a well-screened Martin Jones's blocker and landed on the tape of New York's Kyle Palmieri, who deposited the game's second shot into the net at the 40-second mark.

"It was a difficult night, for sure," Jones said. "Just dealing with traffic, bodies and sticks in front."

Unrattled, the Leafs settled into the game's flow and scored three unanswered even-strength markers, each one prettier than the next: a Bobby McMann one-timer teed up by a nifty no-look Noah Gregor pass, plus two more in-tight strikes by Rocket leader Auston Matthews, who is now up to 33 goals on the campaign.

Five-on-five, the Leafs outscored the Islanders 3-1, outshot them 25-18, and led in high-danger chances 12-6.

No wonder Keefe was peeved when, still leading with seven minutes to go in regulation, defenceman Timothy Liljegren committed a "careless high stick" on Brock Nelson that gave the home side its third power-play opportunity of the contest.

Bo Horvat promptly tied the game, converting a second power-play goal on a smart pass from Noah Dobson after the Leafs failed to clear the zone.

"Those are the kind of mistakes that cost you games and cost you points," Keefe said.

Credit Dobson (four assists) and game-winning goal-scorer Mathew Barzal (four points) for their game-breaking efforts. 

Blame the Leafs for not executing nearly well enough on special teams as they did 5-on-5.

Turning points that gifted energy to the more desperate Islanders, who juggled all four of their lines ahead of Toronto's arrival after dropping four of their past five games.

"A couple times where we gave them that life, and they fed off it, and they fed off the crowd a little bit too," McMann observed. "They had some big goals and found that momentum and we just weren't able to crush it near the end there."

In terms of league-wide ranking, both the Maple Leafs' power play (sixth at 26.7 per cent) and their PK (24th at 76.8 per cent) have taken a step back from where they rated in 2022-23. 

"Not doing a good enough job on the kill," Mitch Marner lamented. "S----- bounces, obviously. We gotta get our clears when we got 'em. A couple times we'd just miss the lane by half an inch, half a millimetre, and it ends up in the back of our net."

Small margins, big differences.

Fox's Fast Five

• The relentless booing of John Tavares on Long Island continues, to the shock of no one. Only time he received cheers Thursday? When a linesman tossed him from the faceoff dot.

"J.T.'s my buddy. He's a great captain. But these fans aren't backing off," ex-Leaf Matt Martin told Real Kyper & Bourne. "They're passionate. They care. They don't like the way it ended. There's not telling them otherwise.

"We love our fans the way they are. Myself personally, I don't hold anything against J.T. personally for going home to play. That's his decision. But, yeah, our fans aren't going to let up — and that's the beauty of it."

• All-star voting ended Thursday at midnight. The fans' choices to play in the Toronto showcase will be revealed Saturday. Keefe said he would be surprised if more Leafs don't join Auston Matthews at the event.

William Nylander, who leads all candidates at last check, is a slam dunk, but a deserving dark horse is Morgan Rielly — who has never been invited.

"He should've been there already," Tavares says, "so I think it's long overdue. And no better way than for his first one to be in Toronto, especially what he's given to this city and this organization and the level that he's playing at and just how much we rely on him. One of the most unselfish players, teammates, that I've had in my time in the league and the game, so would be great to see him get that recognition."

• Conor Timmins hasn't played a hockey game since Dec. 21. William Lagesson hasn't played since Dec. 27. As Toronto finds its stride defensively with three consistent pairs, those players' healthy scratches will continue.

"For the time being, while we're healthy, we don't see a reason to change," Keefe says.

• The Islanders have developed a fine depth forward in 22-year-old Simon Holmström. 

The 2019 first-rounder is already up to 11 goals in his first full NHL season despite skating just a shade over 13 minutes per night and starting 64 per cent of his shifts in the D-zone. 

Moreover, Holmstrom leads all NHLers with five shorthanded goals and six shorthanded points.

• His Sudbury special flapping out the back and both earholes of his helmet, Tyler Bertuzzi simply continues to be a dog on the forecheck. A fine complement for Tavares and Nylander.

"Yeah, he's just been all over it. I just find the puck kinda stays glued to him on the forecheck. When he has it roaming around in the O-zone, he's really good at protecting it. And if somebody thinks they stole it, he just gets it back. And he's just really good at shielding and coming out of it with the puck in his hands," Matthews says. 

"He's been playing really good for us over the last couple weeks, and he just continues to get better."