The Toronto Maple Leafs have been lacking depth and quality at the defense position for a couple of seasons Roman Josi Jersey , but now it's really starting to cost them important games.This past Thursday night, the Leafs were defeated by the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. The final score was 4 to 1 in favor of the Lightning, thanks to their three goals in the second period.Two of those three goals coming in the last 40 seconds of that period and the Leafs' defense is what lost them this game. Their offense did all it could by outshooting the Lightning by 49 to 21. But, the Lightning's goaltender,聽Andrei Vasilevskiy, made a number of fantastic saves to keep the Leafs off of the score-sheet for the majority of the game.advertisingThe goaltending advantage part did not age well pic.twitter.com/8eqLtzaZ0k— Jake (@goaltending3131) December 14, 2018Those two goals in the last 40 seconds of the second period show how dysfunctional the Leafs' defense is. Even though they have one of the best offense's in the league, their defense is the thing that is holding them back from complete success.Their top-two defensemen are without a doubt Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, but that duo isn't performing well enough, especially to get them past the first round in the playoffs this season. They will need to acquire more defensive defensemen to improve their defensive game.advertisingOther than Travis Dermott, the Leafs don't have much quality behind their two top defensemen. What would really solve their problems http://www.officialpredators.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-hartman-jersey , would be to acquire the much sought after number one defenseman.The Leafs general manager, Kyle Dubas, had trade discussions about trading for a defenseman like that, before William Nylander ended his holdout. But now with him signed, the likelihood of that happening is very low. NarcityStill, the Leafs need to make an upgrade on the defensive end, so they won't be giving up comfortable leads or allowing multiple goals late in periods anymore. This game against the Lightning isn't the only time the Leafs have struggled defensively either.advertisingThe last example was last Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. It was the lack of skill they have on their defense that cost them the game again. The Bruins scored in every period of the game and ultimately won by a score of 6 to 3.Just because you have one of the best offenses in the league, doesn't mean you don't also need quality players on defense. Which, following this loss, the Leafs are starting to believe. They will need to find a way to fix this problem, or they may find themselves losing too many games to keep them in the playoff race.What This Means This loss should come as a wake-up call to everyone in the Leafs organization. For the past couple of seasons Ryan Johansen Jersey , they have focused on outscoring their opponents, rather than out defending them.advertisingBut, this Leafs team is good enough to be capable to do both of those, if they just add a top-defensemen. If the Leafs were able to do this, then they would be able to pair Rielly with a partner to match his style of play. All of this would likely lead to the Leafs actually becoming a championship contending team. NEW YORK (AP) John Tavares heard the New York Islanders fans chanting his name in the closing minutes of the team’s final home game of the season.The captain, set to be a free agent this summer, was thankful for the support and reiterated he hopes to be back next season.”It was really nice from the fans,” Tavares said after the Islanders continued their recent mastery of the Rangers with a 2-1 victory over their crosstown rivals Thursday night.”I’ve always been treated since Day 1 very well,” he said. ”They’ve always stuck by me and been really proud to have me here and made it a lot easier for me to just kind of grow into the player and person that I am. I’m just appreciative of that. I’m not trying to look at it as it’s the end because obviously that hasn’t been determined. I’ve always wanted it to work out and stay, so that’s still what I hope transpires.”Thomas Hickey and Anthony Beauvillier scored 2:32 apart in the second period and Jaroslav Halak stopped 34 shots as the Islanders beat the Rangers for the 11th time in the past 12 meetings.They swept the four-game season series for the second time in the past three seasons, after never previously doing it since joining the NHL in 1972. The Islanders are also 6-0-0 at home against the Rangers since moving to Barclays Center in 2015.”We just want to beat them no matter what the game is Viktor Arvidsson Jersey ,” Halak said. ”Obviously tonight, for both teams we are out of the playoffs and it doesn’t really mean anything but we still have to finish the season strong. … It’s always a good feeling after these games when we beat them.”Halak improved to 18-7-0 in his career against the Rangers, including 10-2-0 since joining the Islanders before the 2014-15 season. This season, he went 4-0-0 with a shutout and a 1.47 goals-against average against them.”The numbers are eye-opening,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. ”It’s not just a good roll, he gets up for those games. He competes and finds a way to beat them.”Kevin Hayes scored and Ondrej Pavelec finished with 20 saves for the Rangers, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games (2-6-2).”We got quite a few pucks at the net but against a goaltender that’s got our number the way their guy has right now, you need to get on the inside,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. ”You need to get more traffic and you need to create second opportunities and we didn’t do that well enough.”This is the first time since 2010 – and just the second since 2001 – that neither team will be in the postseason.The Rangers will miss out for the first time since that 2009-10 season, and second since the lockout wiped out the 2004-05 campaign.The Islanders, who won for the fourth time in the past nine overall but just the fifth in 21 (5-12-4) Robin Lehner Jersey Womens , are missing the playoffs for the second straight year, and eighth in the past 11.”We’re a skilled team, were a good team. We should be a playoff team,” Weight said. ”We have to find a way to be more consistent because we don’t belong where we are right now.”The Islanders trailed 1-0 after one period and were outshot 13-5 in the second, but scored twice to take the lead.Hickey tied it on a one-timer off a pass from Mathew Barzal as his shot from the left point deflected off a Rangers player and past Pavelec at 4:55.Beauvillier put the Islanders ahead on a give-and-go with Andrew Ladd for his 21st at 7:27. It gave the second-year forward a goal in five straight games.The Rangers got on the scoreboard on a power play 4 1/2 minutes into the game. Brady Skjei’s one-timer went over the net, bounced off the glass to Hayes on the left side and he quickly put it in for his 25th. It gave Hayes a point (four goals, one assist) in five straight games.NOTES: Barzal got his 61st assist, moving one away from tying Sergei Makarov (62 for Calgary in 1989-90) for third-most by a rookie since the 1983-84 season. Barzal is also two away from tying Bryan Trottier for the Islanders’ rookie mark set in 1975-76. … Anders Lee was initially given credit for Hickey’s goal, but it was later changed. That kept Lee one away from becoming the first Islanders player to have 40 since Jason Blake in 2006-07. ”He came off the ice and said `I didn’t touch it,”’ Weight said. … Barzal has 10 goals and 14 points in his past 12 games. … Beauvillier has seven goals and 11 points in his past eight games. … Hayes has 15 goals and 26 points in 32 games since returning from an injury Jan. 25. … Vigneault remained tied with Ron Wilson for 10th place on the career wins list at 648.UP NEXTRangers: At Philadelphia on Saturday in the season finale.Islanders: At Detroit on Saturday night in the season finale.—Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP—