Darren Raddysh and the penalty that handed Utah the win
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller did not mince words after a third-period cross-checking penalty by defenceman Darren Raddysh handed the Utah Mammoth a late power play and the decisive goal in a 3-2 loss on Tuesday.
Raddysh took the penalty deep in the Toronto end while wrestling his stick away from Utah forward Barrett Hayton, who was on the ice. Nick Schmaltz capitalized on the ensuing man-advantage to break a 2-2 tie with just under seven minutes remaining, sinking a Maple Leafs comeback that had seen Jack Roslovic score twice—including the equalizer just two and a half minutes before the infraction—after Toronto was outshot 30-17 over the first two periods.
Stupid penalty,
Hiller said postgame. Let’s call it what it is, and it costs us. Thought we had all the momentum … and it didn’t turn out very well for us.
Darren Raddysh gets a penalty after a physical altercation with Barrett Hayton.#Leafs pic.twitter.com/Lufpm6wsvN
Hiller added that the 30-year-old Toronto native signed an eight-year deal with an $8.5 million cap hit after putting up 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games last season. I think he knows pretty clearly,
Hiller said. I haven’t seen that happen over and over again. That’s a one-off I guess in his case. He said he didn’t like the penalty and took it on himself, he understands that. That’s hockey.
How the teams match up statistically
| Team | Record | Key Contributor in Matchup |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 8-7-2 | Jack Roslovic (two goals on Tuesday) |
| Utah Mammoth | — | Nick Schmaltz (game-winning power-play goal) |
Utah head coach Andre Tourigny acknowledged his club was on the back foot during Toronto’s late push. I think we played a really, really good hockey game for the first two periods,
Tourigny said. I really liked our identity and what we wanted, we were connected, disciplined in our details and we played really good. They had a push in the third and we were on our heels a little bit and we will learn a lot from that.
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews emphasized that slow starts cannot become a habit despite travel and schedule factors. There’s no excuses,
Matthews said. It doesn’t matter with the schedule, the travel, the time change and all that. You gotta come ready to play, regardless. You’re not gonna have your legs every single night, but just try to find a way to compete and grind through. Unfortunately, it took half the game, but I thought we found it. We started competing and found some life.
The Maple Leafs drop to 8-7-2 on the season and sit idle until Saturday, when they host the Montreal Canadiens to open a back-to-back set that concludes Sunday against the New Jersey Devils.
