The Toronto Maple Leafs came up just short of completing the comeback, falling 4-3 to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
The game marked the team's first without captain Dion Phaneuf in the lineup, after the veteran was shipped to the Ottawa Senators in a nine-player trade earlier in the day.
The Maple Leafs took on a short-handed Flames squad. Head coach Bob Hartley benched his top two scorers in Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, along with forward Lance Bouma, after the trio showed up late to the team's morning skate Monday.
The holes in Calgary's lineup did little to help the Maple Leafs. Toronto fell behind 4-1 before salvaging two goals and coming up just short of a comeback.
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The departure of Phaneuf opened the door for defenseman Frank Corrado to suit up for just his ninth game of the season. The 22-year-old collected two assists for the first multi-point game of his career.
With the Columbus Blue Jackets registering a point in a shootout loss to the New York Islanders, the Maple Leafs fall to last place in the Eastern Conference, and sit tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the worst record in the league.
