Rittich struggles in net as Maple Leafs lose their fifth in a row
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Author of the article:
Terry Koshan
Publishing date:
Apr 20, 2021 • 44 minutes ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation 
Maple Leafs goalie David Rittich makes a save against the Canucks during the second period of an NHL game in Vancouver, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Photo by Darryl Dyck /THE CANADIAN PRESS Article content
William Nylander showed up on time on Tuesday night.
Not all of his Maple Leafs teammates could make a similar claim.
And we’re looking at you, goaltender David Rittich.
After getting a reprieve for being late to a team meeting on Monday, Nylander redeemed himself with a couple of assists on two John Tavares goals against the Vancouver Canucks.
As nicely as Nylander was helping in the offensive zone, Rittich was wretched at the other end, allowing two soft Canucks goals in the third period.
The result was a 6-3 Leafs loss, marking the first time they have lost five in a row since Mike Babcock’s last stand as Leafs coach. Toronto had lost six consecutive games when Babcock was fired on Nov. 20, 2019, and then won its first three with Keefe running the bench.
Tanner Pearson, with his second of the period, and Nils Hoglander scored on shots in the third that Rittich would have found disappointing had he let them in during a practice. Brandon Sutter scored into an empty net.
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Tell us how long it is again until Frederik Andersen returns from a lower-body injury?
The Leafs on Wednesday will travel to Winnipeg, where they play the Jets on Thursday and Saturday in two crucial games.
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Toronto, in first place in the North Division with 61 points, has a four-point lead on second-place Winnipeg. The Jets have a game in hand.
The Leafs lost Zach Bogosian in the second period after the defenceman lost his balance and crashed into the corner boards. Bogosian departed with an upper-body injury and didn’t return.
Defenceman Rasmus Sandin played in his first Leafs game since Feb. 8. A week later, he suffered a fracture in his foot during a game with the Toronto Marlies and had been recovering since.
Sandin initially was paired with Bogosian and Travis Dermott sat out.
Pearson scored the winning goal at 9:48 of the third on a Canucks power play. TJ Brodie, usually in control of his emotions, took an undisciplined cross-checking minor and watched from the box as Pearson smacked the puck past goalie Rittich.
At 13:36, Pearson scored from a tough angle and on a shot that had little velocity but got past Rittich anyway.
The Leafs had taken a 3-2 lead at 3:10 of the third, but didn’t give themselves much time to defend it. Adam Brooks scored Toronto’s third shorthanded goal of the season on a pass from Mitch Marner, whose puck work made the goal happen.
Vancouver got an ugly one at 6:43 to get equal, this one coming from Hoglander, who put a harmless shot past Rittich.
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Tavares tied the game 2-2 late in the second, scoring the Leafs’ second power-play goal in as many games after scoring one since March 9.
Nylander was key on the play, screening Canucks goalie Braden Holtby as Tavares wired a shot into the net at 17:14.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe initially wanted to bench Nylander for his transgression, but with few bodies up front because of the injuries to Zach Hyman (knee) and Ilya Mikheyev (undisclosed), kept Nylander in the lineup.
Nylander had to respond with a solid effort, and there he was setting up Tavares for the first goal at 16:55 of the first period.
The Canucks took a 2-1 lead in the second.
At 5:33, Sutter scored when got a fortuitous bounce of the puck off the side of the net.
It was 2-1 at 10:08 when Auston Matthews lost a battle along the boards and J.T. Miller got the puck to Quinn Hughes. The talented young defenceman took a couple of strides and beat Rittich with a shot that appeared to deflect off Marner.
Newcomers Nick Foligno, Stefan Noesen and Ben Hutton, having completed quarantine after being acquired prior to the NHL trade deadline, are scheduled to meet the Leafs in Winnipeg on Wednesday. Riley Nash, also acquired recently, will remain in Toronto to continue recovery from a knee injury.
Foligno has indicated he will make his Leafs debut on Thursday.
The Leafs placed forward Scott Sabourin on longterm injured reserve retroactive to April 13, allowing them to free up cap space to use Sandin and Brooks on Tuesday.
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The game on Tuesday was the 30th in the NHL for Sandin, the Leafs’ first-round pick in 2018. How Sandin fits in to the immediate plans — Hutton is bound to get a shot at some point and Dermott has formed a commendable pair with Bogosian — remains to be seen.
Of course, if Bogosian is out for a while, that could further open the door for Sandin.
“His pathway to being an NHL player (on a full-time basis) is to be a guy that shows he can handle the defensive responsibilities at the NHL level, handle the physicality,” Keefe said. “That’s a pathway for him to utilize the other skills that he has in terms of his offence and the way he distributes the puck and any contribution he can make on the power play. That’s really what we’re looking for.
“He hasn’t had more experience in game action just because of the circumstances that the world has brought on us, and then you (add) on his injury. But he has grown. He’s an older man now and he has continued to develop, he is stronger.
“It’s just a matter of whether he can do it in this short timeframe that we have and the circumstances that are in front of us.”
tkoshan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/koshtorontosun
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