St. Louis Blues embarrass Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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St. Louis Blues embarrass Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1, Here is the game summary and highlights for the game played on Thursday, February 2, 2017.

GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

Mitch Marner opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs at 14:22 of the first period. Marner has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) over his last 10 games.

Tyler Bozak registered the primary assist on Marner’s first period goal. Bozak has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) over his last 10 games and has registered eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in eight games against Central Division opponents this season.

James van Riemsdyk also earned an assist on Marner’s first period goal. He has registered eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) over his last 10 games and 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in nine games against Central Division opponents.

Frederik Andersen stopped 26 St. Louis shots in the loss.

SHOTS FIRED

The Maple Leafs were outshot by the Blues by a 31-27 margin in all situations and by a 27-21 edge at 5-on-5.

Toronto had a 60-44 lead in shot attempts in all situations and a 47-35 lead in shot attempts at 5-on-5.

James van Riemsdyk led the Maple Leafs with four shots on goal.

William Nylander, Morgan Rielly and James van Riemsdyk each registered six shot attempts.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The Maple Leafs are 11-9-6 on the road this season.

Toronto’s all-time record is 93-93-25-3 in 214 games against the Blues franchise and 33-62-14-0 in games played in St. Louis.

Toronto is 7-8-5 against the Western Conference this season and 2-5-2 against the Central Division.

The Maple Leafs continue their road trip on Feb. 4 at Boston.

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

OF NOTE…

Morgan Rielly returned to the Maple Leafs lineup after missing the last six games with a lower body injury. Rielly was injured on Jan. 17 vs. Buffalo.

Ben Smith returned to the Maple Leafs lineup tonight after being activated from the injured reserve earlier today. Smith had not played for the Maple Leafs since Dec. 19 vs. Anaheim.

Toronto is 19-5-5 when scoring first this season.

The Maple Leafs are now 6-5-2 when tied after one period and 2-14-1 when trailing after two periods.

Toronto has a 14-7-3 record when outshot by their opponent.           

Maple Leafs rookies combined for one goal tonight and have amassed 184 points (70 goals, 114 assists) in 49 games this season.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Saturday, Feb. 4 at Boston Bruins, 7:00 p.m. (Hockey Night in Canada, FAN 590)

Monday, Feb. 6 at New York Islanders, 7:00 p.m. (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)

Tuesday, Feb. 7 vs. Dallas Stars, 7:30 p.m. (TSN 4, FAN 590)

Thursday, Feb. 9 vs. St. Louis Blues, 8:00 p.m. (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)

Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7:00 p.m. (Hockey Night in Canada, FAN 590)

POSTGAME QUOTES:

HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK

On the performance tonight after scoring first:

They dominated the first 10 minutes, we got some timely goaltending, then I thought we had a good 10 minutes of the first period. After that they were just better than us. They were faster, more determined, executed better, they were on top of us and we weren’t good enough. We didn’t have enough players being good enough. The bottom line is we had a good thing going and we were playing good and we’ve let it slip away here. Now you’ve got to fight hard to get it back. There’s no sense feeling sorry for yourself or being frustrated. You’ve got to get your mind in gear, you’ve got to get your game right and you’ve got to play harder. When you do that and you play with structure, you’ll be fine. In the meantime, it’s not going as good as we’d like it to go.

On how he can help get the team on the right track:

We’re going to talk about it, that’s what we’re going to do. Obviously I thought we had done a good job of that prior to last game and I thought we had done a good job of that prior to the game before, but we obviously haven’t because I’m in it with them. I don’t have them playing at a high enough level or hard enough.

On if there’s a common theme between recent losses:                                     

I thought the one in Philly, they played harder than we did in the second half of the game or the third period and won the game. It was a tight one. We didn’t show in Dallas. I think we were more prepared to show tonight to be honest with you, but their level of determination and will was much more than ours. Just like things go well for you in a hurry, they can go bad for you in a hurry. You’ve got to decide how determined you want to be and stop it.

On if the veterans must lead the way vs. Boston:

I don’t just think veterans, I think each man has got to look after himself here and they’ve got to bring their game. As a coaching staff we’ve got to do a good job as well. It’s going to be a playoff game – it’s not a playoff game, it’s not the playoffs, but it’s going to be an important game to both teams on Saturday night. We have an off-day – we’re going to get in very late – we have an off-day, get rested, and let’s get prepared to play because obviously if you want this feeling to go away, you have to make it go away. No one is going to make it go away for you.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN (26 SAVES)

On how to rebound against Boston:

I think we need to keep working hard and outworking teams. That’s where we had success before and I think that’s what we’ve missed a little bit the last few games. It’s something where we’ve got to look in the mirror and everyone has got to battle harder.

On the sense of urgency in the group:

We’re not starting to panic or anything, we’ve just got to get back to the way we can play. Everyone in this room believes that we can play well and we’ve showed it. We’ve just got to get back to that compete level and attention to detail. I think that’s what we’ve had success with before and if we can get back to that, we’ll be fine.

On if he thinks he needs to be better going forward:

Yeah, of course. I’d like to make some more saves and give the team a better chance to win. In small periods like that where they come hard and score three, that’s never good. That’s one where you want to help your team out better. Everyone has got to look in the mirror and be better.

MITCH MARNER (1 GOAL, 17:54 TOI)

On tonight’s performance:

I think we just got off-topic with how we wanted to play. We’ve just got to make sure after the first goal goes in that we’re still playing the same way. That last 10 [of the first period] I thought we really took over the game. In the second, that power play, we kind of came out light and they took it to us. I think from then we had trouble getting our feet back.

On if there’s a common thread between the recent losses:

It’s just making sure we’re coming ready to play. When we get the lead or anything we’ve got to stick to the game plan and play the way we wanted to and just make sure we’re still moving our feet, playing hard down low. I think we got a little bit off-topic in that second period and it cost us.

On his penalty in the second period:

Emotions are running high, things happen. It was stupid. It’s something you want to take back as soon as you do it but there’s nothing you can do now.

MORGAN RIELLY (FIRST GAME SINCE JAN. 17)

On his return to the lineup:

I was happy with it but, that being said, it’s a game we wanted to play as a team. We get tomorrow to re-evaluate and get our focus back and get ready for a big game against Boston.

On what didn’t work tonight:

I think we got away from our game there for probably 20 minutes in the second period. We tried to get a bit fancy. We’ve just got to get pucks in when things aren’t going our way, but we did have moments where we were competing and playing well. Against a team that good you’ve got to be mentally checked in for 60 minutes and I just don’t think we were tonight.

On the team’s confidence level:

The confidence is there. We have lots of confidence in our group, we don’t have a lot to be proud of right now. We have two outings that didn’t go our way and we’re not very happy with so, if anything, we have that much more motivation going into a big game against a team within the division. There’s no reason to start getting concerned, it’s just a matter of trying to get our focus back and make sure we know what to think. Just get playing our game again.

JAMES van RIEMSDYK (1 ASSIST, 6 SHOT ATTEMPTS)

On tonight’s game:

I think we did some okay things in the first and then obviously the game got away from us a little bit. Obviously not a game that we’re proud of and now we’re in this part of the season where things start to tighten up out there and the game becomes a little bit harder and stuff too. It’ll be a good challenge for us and we’ll be ready for it.

On making mental adjustments to have confidence going forward:

Whatever you have to do to try and do that. Sometimes it’s easier said than done. That’s the key is staying even-keel through the highs and lows of the season. Obviously a little bit of adversity here for us but it’s a good challenge for us to see what we’re made of.

On the sense of urgency among the group:

I’m sure everyone realizes where we’re at in the standings and what part of the season we’re at. We know we’ve got more to give, we’ve got better hockey we’re capable of playing and it’s just a matter of going out there, executing, working, and doing the things we know how to do.