Toronto Maple Leafs Lose 4-3 in the Shootout to the Ottawa Senators

After a great start to the game, the Toronto Maple Leafs lose the game against the Ottawa Senators to finish the Rookie Tournament.

Another year, another Rookie Tournament. The Toronto Maple Leafs end their’s with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators.

The game itself was pretty exciting. The Leafs had a great start, and those who struggled in Friday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens seemed to have improved. It was 3-0 Toronto at the end of the first period. You can’t say that wasn’t a great start right?

Unfortunately, the Leafs prospects may have been channeling their inner NHL Leafs spirit. The team gave up three unanswered goals in the third period, allowing the Senators to force 3-on-3 overtime. After an entertaining OT period, where the Leafs had opportunities to score, the game went to the shootout (do you see where I’m going with this?). Then the game ended after six rounds where Sens prospect Maxime Lajoie got the game winner.

So to recap: Leafs lead, blown third period, exciting overtime with no goals, lose in the shootout. They do say imitation is the best form of flattery. All jokes aside, it is a Rookie Tournament, and as great as it is to win the game, what matters the most are how the individual players themselves played.

Now that the weekend has past, the next stop is the main training camp. Leafs fans should probably have any idea of where some their prospects stand going into that. One thing to say for sure though. Be it the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Toronto Marlies, the present and future of the organization is in very good hands.

Thoughts and Observations

Timothy Liljegren

The hot topic of the game against the Habs was how poor Timothy Liljegren played. He had flashes of good play, but overall it wasn’t a good debut. This game was completely different. The 2017 1st round pick looked more calm and confident in his second game.

Being paired with Travis Dermott definitely helped that. The two seemed to generate some on-ice chemistry fairly quickly. What was interesting was how much the Leafs were using the young Swedish defenceman.

Liljegren also saw time on the power play, but what was more surprising was that he was used on the penalty kill as well. It’s only one game, but this may be something similar to what the Toronto Maple Leafs did with Morgan Rielly last season. They know Liljegren is skilled offensively, however what he needs to improve on is his defensive game. Playing on the PK will accelerate that.

His play on the Trevor Moore goal was one of his best. Liljegren was not shy to move around with the puck in the offensive zone and distribute it, and tho his benefit it led to the Leafs’ 3-0 goal.

Travis Dermott

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Back to Dermott, he did what a Leafs fans wanted. He stood out. Dermott played with an edge the whole game including a nice-looking hip check hip check in the neutral zone.

Overall, the 2015 2nd round pick looks like the could make the next step this season. He was making good decisions, passes, and the skating was great as well. The only blemish from the game was that he got pushed off which led to a turnover and the eventual 3-2 goal for Ottawa.

When asked how he felt his play was at the end of the game, Dermott responded saying:

"I thought I had some decent passes. My offensive play was ok. Stepping up and interrupting their rush a couple of times was good for me. Negatively, both their goals in their third could’ve been interrupted by me."

We’ll have to see if he can continue to improve and bring this play to training camp. However, if he doesn’t make the main club, that Marlies blue-line will be in good shape, especially if Dermott is paired with Liljegren again.

Additional Thoughts

Martins Dzierkals said at Development Camp was that he wanted to push forward and play with the Marlies this season. He earned himself an AHL contract, and has given fans and management an idea of what to look from him last season.

He had a great performance for the Leafs on Friday, scoring a goal and got another one Sunday. It wasn’t just the goal that was impressive, but his play on the other end of the game was notable as well.

2017 6th round pick Ryan McGregor scored the other goal for the Leafs in the first.

Finally, we have to talk about the goaltending. Kasimir Kaskisuo was better than the results. For what it’s worth he was far from the reason the Leafs gave up the third period lead. He made key saves for Toronto in particular on Drake Batherson who had a breakaway coming out of the penalty box.

Ian Scott also had a better outing. He looked pretty rocky on Friday, but seemed more confident against the Sens. It was still 3-0 when Scott was switched out for Kaskisuo after making 18 saves. Consistency is something that he needs to work on.

Next: Liljegren on the Marlies Next Season

What did you think of the game? Will Liljegren stay and play for the Marlies? Will Dermott push through and play for the Toronto Maple Leafs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.