The Maple Leafs aren’t a train wreck quite yet, but engineer Craig Berube is bang-on saying his team “has gone off the rails” defensively the past two games.
A whopping 85 shots and 10 goals against resulted in home defeats to the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes, which have opened the schedule strong, though both foes were missing key players. Toronto (8-7-1) appeared to be on the right track after three straight wins, but after this weekend, there’s even more to clean up.
Our takeaways on Sunday’s error-filled 5-4 loss to the Canes:
TAVARES TELLS IT LIKE IT IS
While some Leafs are sounding too repetitive about what’s wrong — “details and execution,” understated Auston Matthews – alternate captain John Tavares was more succinct.
“At times we did really good things, give ourselves a (two-goal) lead, then our game — for whatever reason — becomes really immature. We don’t manage it well. We gain traction and shoot ourselves in the foot,” Tavares said.
A combination of sluggish breakouts, passes that go nowhere and the Canes and Bruins both out-working Toronto with active sticks from behind play led to the overdose of shots, shot attempts and a slew of Sunday breakaways on top of lost 50-50 board battles.
“We have a lot of very good hockey players, a very veteran team,” Tavares said of breaking this cycle of loose play. “It’s just the decision (for the Leafs to apply themselves) shift after shift.“
Berube didn’t dispute Tavares’s belief the team needs to wise up – and wake up.
“We didn’t check anybody tonight, we didn’t win any battles. To me it’s a mindset. You want to be a good defensive team, you gotta check, you need sticks, you gotta play hard, you have to win battles, you have to have good structure … we’re not doing any of that right now.
“My job as coach is to get them back on track.”
That task will be harder when the puck culprits are some of the usually reliable Leafs, such as defenceman Jake McCabe on a night when he blocked five shots and saved a goal before his part in Logan Stankoven’s winner. William Nylander was an offensive catalyst, just missing a hat trick when he slid it wide of an empty net, yet the winger was on the ice for the last three Carolina goals.
Blueliner Philippe Myers had a great chance to show he’s ready to get back as an NHL regular with Chris Tanev hurt, but was charged with three giveaways.
“We’ve been playing good and bad at certain points,” Nylander said. “We have to sharpen those up and we’ll be good. I’m not worried, because we can score (himself, Matthews and Tavares are indeed hot and all clicked against both the Canes and Bruins).”
But they’re getting out-scored and that’s a dangerous trend.
NO HELP AT SCOTIABANK ARENA
So much for the perceived advantage in the schedule of 12 home dates in the first 16 contests. This weekend’s results dropped them to 7-4-1 in that stretch, nine of those games allowing three goals or more and now they punch boarding passes for eight of the next 11 away without such perks as last line change.
Tavares knew they left some points on Bay Street and are 1-3 on the road so far.
“Absolutely you want to take advantage of the benefits of being at home, be a good home team. This is not the way you’d want it to go to this point in the season. All we can do is move forward (and realize) there’s a lot of hockey still to be played.”
It starts Tuesday in Boston, not the most hospitable rink for the Leafs to visit, especially now with the Bruins starting stronger under new coach Marco Sturm.
BAPTISM OF FIRE FOR HILDEBY
The Leafs turned to Dennis Hildeby in net the past five periods to give Anthony Stolarz a rest, but it has been a baptism of fire for the Swede since his call-up, with an insertion for Stolarz Saturday and Sunday’s start. He was good and lucky in keeping the Leafs in against the dogged Canes, who hit about three posts. Hildeby stared down far too many breakaways or unmarked forwards.
Stolarz likely gets back on the horse in Boston after having some workload and soft-goal issues. It remains to be seen how soon Joseph Woll will feel comfortable enough for an NHL return after he presumably plays Wednesday in Grand Rapids, but it was encouraging that Hildeby has not been overwhelmed in this latest NHL audition.
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