Maple Leafs angry after loss to lowly Senators

On paper, this should have been an easy two points for the Toronto Maple Leafs against their Atlantic Division rival Ottawa Senators, who are nowhere near a playoff berth and are in the throes of a rebuilding phase. However, you'd have thought that it was the visiting Sens who had championship aspirations judging by the final score of last night's game at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. 

Following a last minute switch in goal thanks to a lingering adductor injury to starter Matt Murray, goaltender Ilya Samsonov was victimized by poor defensive play by his teammates. Ottawa would ultimately put six goals on the scoreboard as opposed to Toronto's two, a blowout win that not many people saw coming.

Did the Leafs take the Senators too lightly? Not so, according to veteran defenseman Morgan Rielly. 

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Rielly said about taking opponents lightly. “When we talk as a group in the morning and we prepare for the game, we’re completely aware of this team and who they have up front, their skills. Their special teams are very good. We’re not taking anybody lightly.”

It was the first game that the Leafs played without star forward Auston Matthews, who will be absent for the next three weeks thanks to a knee injury. And while others tried to step up in his absence, there clearly wasn't enough effort displayed on the ice. 

“We were missing that little competitive edge,” forward Joey Anderson said. “They were heavier than us out there and took advantage of the chances that they had. And we didn’t do nearly enough to combat that and it led to some tough chances against.”