Marner: Maple Leafs' loss to Golden Knights was 'wake-up call'
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner recognized the message a 5-2 road defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights sent to him and his team, and he downplayed the notion that three games in four nights was a factor when asked if the schedule caught up with them.
"I don't know, I mean, it's a tough excuse to use," he said postgame. "Last couple games really haven't been great by us. I thought our goalies kept us in it a lot of times, so it's a wake-up call."
The winger leads the club by 28 assists with 58 and by 14 points with 77 over 61 games this season. However, he took responsibility for the loss and said the onus is on the players in front of Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz to improve.
"Can't give up that many odd-man rushes as well to especially that good of a team, so we let our goalies out to dry, and we've got to be better," Marner said.
The Golden Knights stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and tallied two more in the second to go up by five before Auston Matthews replied with just under two minutes remaining in the middle frame. Marner scored midway through the third, but Vegas ultimately preserved the three-goal margin.
"Obviously after one (period), being down three, it's not ideal, but I thought our start was OK," Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "They (got) a couple goals that were caused by things we want to clean up, but I think we had 15, 16 shots after the first. It's just a matter of details."
The Maple Leafs outshot the Golden Knights 16-8 in the opening frame and 31-25 in the game.
However, Matthews didn't agree that his team's start was acceptable.
"I just thought we were pretty flat at the start and hey, that's a good team over there," the captain said. "They're a standard of the league, and I don't know, I just don't think we came out ready to play. Maybe we were hoping for an easy game."
Toronto lost for the second time in three nights following Monday's shootout defeat to the San Jose Sharks. The Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-5 in overtime Sunday afternoon.
The Leafs fell to 38-21-3 on the season. They sit second in the Atlantic Division behind the defending champion Florida Panthers. The Cats have an identical record but hold the tiebreaker with one more win in regulation.
Vegas improved to 37-18-6. The Golden Knights sit atop the Pacific Division with a six-point cushion on the Edmonton Oilers, who have also played 61 games.