Leafs generate plenty of chances but fall to Senators 4-2

The Maple Leafs applied plenty of pressure Saturday night and fought back from a 2-0 deficit in the final frame but ultimately fell 4-2 to the Senators.

LEAFS DOMINATE POSSESSION GAME IN FIRST PERIOD, BUT NEITHER SIDE SCORES IN OPENING FRAME

The Maple Leafs were playing Game 78 of their regular-season, and were looking to return to the win column by beating their Atlantic Division rivals in Ottawa Saturday night. And, as was the case March 16 when the Senators beat the Leafs 6-2, the Sens weren't about to hand the Buds a victory despite Ottawa not being a playoff team this year.
In particular, Senators goalie Craig Anderson made several big saves on high-quality opportunities as Toronto outshot Ottawa 18-7 in the first period. Anderson stopped them all, and Leafs goalie Garret Sparks also was perfect in the opening frame, so the two teams began the second period tied 0-0. The Buds were swirling and snarling around Anderson right out of the gate, but the veteran was stellar for his team as he helped keep the game scoreless.

SENATORS SCORE ONLY TWO GOALS OF SECOND, BUT LEAFS COME BACK TO TIE IT WITH TWO GOALS IN 27-SECOND SPAN OF THIRD PERIOD

The Leafs continued to be better than the Senators on the shot counter in the second period, getting 12 shots on net while limiting Ottawa to nine. Unfortunately for Leafs Nation, the Sens got two goals (from Anthony Duclair at the 5:24 mark, and Magnus Paajarvi at 14:33) out of those nine shots, and those were the only two goals scored in the middle frame.
However, the Buds showed resilience early in the third period, capitalizing on a power play at the 5:02 mark when centre Auston Matthews beat Anderson with a wrist shot for his 37th goal of the season:

Matthews' goal was assisted by winger Mitch Marner - for Marner's team-leading 66th-assist of the year - and it was a breakthrough for the Leafs, who got the game-tying goal from forward Connor Brown just 27 seconds later:

Brown's goal was his second in as many games, and it cleaned the slate for the Leafs with three-quarters of the third period yet to play. But Toronto's tie game with the Senators wouldn't last long, and wouldn't end in the Leafs' favour.

SENATORS QUICKLY RETAKE LEAD, ADD INSURANCE MARKER LATE IN THIRD TO LOCK UP WIN OVER BUDS

Again in the third period, the Leafs were firing pucks at Anderson at more than double the rate the Senators had shots - with Toronto outshooting Ottawa 14-9 in the third and 44-22 overall - but it was the Sens who produced the amount of offence needed to win the game. And the game-winning marker for the Senators came only 1:12 after Brown tied it for the Leafs; D-man Cody Ceci scored the third goal of the night for Ottawa, who got an insurance goal on the power play at 18:47, and the Leafs left the Canadian Tire Centre on a losing note.
Toronto will finish off its three-game road trip in Long Island Monday before returning home to Scotiabank Arena for games Tuesday against Carolina and Thursday against Tampa Bay. Toronto's possession dominance was a good sign, and though they played against a terrific goalie and couldn't come up with enough goals to win on Saturday, the Leafs are likely to have better results if they continue outshooting opponents at a similar rate.