St. Pats Lose Battle to Blackhawks 2-1 OT

With St. Patrick's Day yesterday it was fitting that for tonight's matchup, the Maple Leafs honoured their past by embracing the franchises former identity as the St. Pats as part of the festivities. The new look St. Pats were in for a real measuring stick game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The lucky green sweaters seemed to be paying off early on in the game for the St. Pats during Saturday night's tilt as the Auston Matthews initiated and capped off an excellent give and go play with William Nylander for his 32nd goal of the season, and Matthews gave the St. Pats a 1-0 lead on the evening. The rest of the first period would be an even played matchup, and Toronto would head into the break knotted up at 1:00.

The story of this game would be the play of the young guns, but not for Toronto however. The Blackhawks were the ones who saw the most production from their youth and it all started midway through the 2nd period as on a 2-on-1 Jonathan Toews would feed rookie John Hayden for his first career NHL goal and the game was knotted up at 1. For the remainder of the second period the Blackhawks edged the St. Pats in opportunities, but Frederik Andersen kept the game deadlocked heading into the 3rd.

The third period was tightly played, but neither team was able to best the other. To the delight of many St. Pats fan knowing their record in extra time, Toronto would enter OT with Chicago with the score 1-1.

In the extra frame, both teams had a flurry of scoring chances racing up and down the rink. James van Riemsdyk was able to sneak by the defense of the Blackhawks for a breakaway, but Corey Crawford challenged him and made an excellent save. Like I said earlier, it would be the youth of the Blackhawks shining through. Artemi Panarin came charging in on a 2-on-1 with Ryan Hartman who would accept the pass, fake a slap shot then tuck the puck in through Andersen's 5-hole for the win.

The win for Chicago extends their point lead in the Central Division to 5-points over the Minnesota Wild. Chicago's victory also came with the team missing a few key components of their lineup. Both Marian Hossa (Lower Body Injury) and Artem Anisimov (Lower body injuriy) were sidelined tonight, and recently with injuries.

The effort given by the St. Pats demonstrated that they are capable of playing with the class of the NHL in the Chicago Blackhawks. While the team was outshot in every period, and failed to come away with the 2-points, they still put themselves in a position to win throughout the entire contest.

The one point picked up by Toronto keeps them in the playoffs and ahold of the final Wild Card Spot. With the Islanders losing in OT to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Tampa Bay losing in regulation to the Washington Capitals, Toronto's 79-points has them 1-point up on New York, and 2-points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

*** Next Toronto Maple Leafs Game

vs. Boston Bruins, Monday, March 20th, 2017 (7:30PM)