Predators fall to Leafs 2-1 after 5-round shootout

An undeterred Holland still scored the only goal in a five-round tiebreaker to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Only a few weeks ago, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Toronto were actively looking to upgrade between the pipes in the wake of Jonathan Bernier’s 0-6-1 record, James Reimer playing just as badly in a backup role and doubts whether minor leaguers Antoine Bibeau and Garret Sparks would be the answer down the road. “All the teams got a pretty good power play and our penalty-killing’s been great for us”. “When one or two gets away, that happens”. Fourteen of the Leafs’ 18 skaters blocked at least one shot. “They’ve been working hard, sacrificing and making my job easier”.

Weber’s goal was the only shot on goal Nashville was credited with on the power play in the game.

But that lead lasted just over three minutes. Shawn Matthias had the puck on the left side and slid a pass to Bozak in the low slot, where he put the puck behind a diving Rinne. Both teams played hard defense.

So which style suits the Predators better: the freewheeling nature of Tuesday’s win or the grind-it-out style of Thursday’s loss?

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer (34) blocks a shot by Nashville Predators center Filip Forsberg (9), of Sweden, during a shootout at an NHL hockey game Thursday, November 12, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. Right winger Craig Smith nearly beat him in the fifth round, but his attempt trickled off Reimer and to the right of the goal line.

Rinne made 22 saves and denied Dion Phaneuf’s slap shot at the end of overtime.

“It wasn’t the best game, and these are the games that you want to make sure you get the two points”, Rinne said. Toronto C Nazem Kadri leads the team with 70 shots – third in the league through Thursday – but has scored just once in 16 games.3.

Coach Mike Babcock continues to be pleased with the effort, and sees the confidence growing within his club.

The Maple Leafs are now enjoying their most successful run in the Lamoriello era, having scooped standings points in five of their last six outings and winning back-to-back games for the first time all season. That may not seem like a lot, but only five Toronto Maple Leafs have scored more, and they’ve all played more games. Weber skated in his 700th career contest tonight while Calle Jarnkrok appeared in career game No. 100. The 19-year-old has three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 17 games with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.