Five Takeaways - Leafs vs. Blues - 01/16/18

1. Martin sets tone with big check in scoreless first frame.The Blues beat the Leafs in their previous meeting this season - a 6-4 victory in St. Louis Nov. 4 - but Tuesday's game at Air Canada Centre was a defensive affair through the first two periods: neither side scored in the opening frame, and in the second, the scoresheet was blank as well. However, the Blues are a big and physical team, and as such, Toronto wanted to show them they weren't about to be intimidated by their size and doggedness on the puck.
The Buds sent that message almost immediately after the opening puck drop, when winger Matt Martin curled behind the visitors' net and laid a robust check on centre Kyle Brodziak that knocked the veteran clear off his skates. St. Louis' players did not take kindly to it, and Martin was immediately challenged to a fight by winger Chris Thorburn; Martin obliged, but the message was sent: the Leafs were going to match the intensity of the Blues and make them earn whatever they got.

2. Defensive battle continues in middle period as neither side gets on scoreboard. The Leafs have had issues generating offence in their current homestand, which had its sixth and final game Tuesday; Toronto was unable to produce more than three goals in any of their previous five games, and once again, putting the puck in the net proved to be difficult against the Blues. That said, it wasn't for lack of trying, and you have to give credit to a St. Louis squad that blocked 19 Leafs shots through the first two periods (and 21 through three periods).

This game was fought along the boards and in the neutral zone for much of the time, and both Blues netminder Carter Hutton and Leafs counterpart Frederik Andersen were laser-sharp through the first 40 minutes of action. And although the Buds came close to scoring a number of times, they also did a solid job of keeping St. Louis away from high-quality scoring areas.

3. Leafs' penalty kill comes through with big play as Brown nets shorthanded goal for game's first lead.The Leafs' penalty kill unit only had one Blues man advantage to kill off prior to the third period, and they did it well. But when blueliner Connor Carrick was called for tripping at 8:55 of the third, Toronto's defensive special team needed to come through again. And that's just what they did - only this time, they not only prevented a St. Louis goal, but scored one of their own.

Winger Connor Brown came through with the shorthanded marker after he knocked down a pass intended for Alex Pietrangelo at Toronto's blueline and caused it to bounce past the Blues D-man. Brown then sped past Pietrangelo for a breakaway and fired it over the glove of Hutton for his 11th of the year at 10:10 of the third. The ACC crowd erupted, and Brown's typically solid all-around game was rewarded.

4. Andersen stands strong, but Blues tie it in final minute of regulation.The Buds put in a strong effort in the third period, but St. Louis is one of the league's better teams for a reason, and they showed their resilience trailing by a goal in the final minute of regulation time. With Hutton pulled for the extra skater, centre Alex Steen scored his seventh of the year at the 19:03 mark to send the game to overtime.
Andersen almost always gives Toronto a chance to win, and Tuesday's game was no different. Despite surrendering the late goal, the Leafs likely wouldn't have been in position to have an overtime without his play between the pipes: he stopped all but one of the 40 shots he saw through three periods, and

5. Blues pull out win in OT, Leafs' losing streak extends to three games as they embark on short road trip.The Leafs had a golden opportunity to win the game in OT when winger William Nylander had a breakaway, but he couldn't convert it into the game-winner. Shortly thereafter, blueliner Vince Dunn beat Andersen on a 2-on-1 break to give the Blues the victory and hand Toronto its third straight defeat.

The Leafs have a day to work out the kinks before embarking on a two-game road swing through Philadelphia and Ottawa, but they did a lot of things right Tuesday. That said, closing out a game is something all playoff-bound teams need to do, and the Buds have work to do in that regard.