Nick Robertson said the team possibly could've tightened up following Chicago's game-tying goal in the third period.
Heading into the third period of Saturday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Toronto Maple Leafs were the better team.
Despite a slow start, Toronto out-chanced and out-shot Chicago by a decent margin in the first half of the game. It appeared as though the Maple Leafs were wiping the slate clean after a shaky start to November, a month where they're usually successful.
The Blackhawks, however, had other plans, scoring two unanswered goals in the third period, eventually handing the Maple Leafs their fifth straight loss (and 11th through 19 games this year).
Toronto hasn't lost that many games in a row since April 2021, nearly four and a half years ago.
There were positives in the game for the Maple Leafs, for sure. They were shooting more. They had plenty of time in the offensive zone. At five-on-five, Toronto had 16 high-danger scoring chances while Chicago had just six, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
But, as Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube starkly put it after the game, "two mistakes in the third period. That's about it."
So, where do they go from here?
Well, first things first, they need to find their confidence. Berube said his group looked "a little bit unconfident" during the loss to Chicago. They've looked that way for a while now.
"I mean, I got to motivate them the best way I can," the head coach continued. "Maybe it's a kick in the ass, but maybe it's positive reinforcement too."
It's challenging because when Toronto was up in the game, they were likely feeling good about their play. But then, when Teuvo Teravainen scored his highlight-reel goal — dipsy doodling around Phillipe Myers and then beating Joseph Woll — there was a shift on the bench.
Omar (@TicTacTOmar) on X
Teuvo Teravainen ties it at 2
Nick Robertson, who scored Toronto's first goal, felt the Maple Leafs might've tightened up.
"I don't know. It's like you kind of have to regroup and get back at it," he said. "I mean, obviously, it's no secret. We haven't won a game a little bit, so maybe a little bit tense, but that comes with knowing that we really want to win a game."
Last season, the Maple Leafs thrived in closing out games. Toronto won 35 games when leading after the second period, which was the fifth-best in the NHL. Through 19 games this year, the Maple Leafs have won three games when leading after two periods, the second-worst in the league.
"Yeah [it's surprising]," said Berube, "because last year we were excellent at it.
"But (we've) got to get through that because we've got the leads and we have an opportunity to close this game out and win it. And we get a power play in the third, and we don't do anything with it either."
‘Things Aren’t Good Right Now’: Craig Berube Focuses on Staying Positive As Maple Leafs Face Intense Scrutiny During 4-Game Losing Streak
Amidst a four-game skid, Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube admits "things aren't good right now," while urging his team to tune out the intense media noise and focus on the small adjustments needed to avoid market panic.
Toronto had four shots on that power play, but none could find their way past Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight. They had three opportunities in the game and couldn't cash in on any of them.
"I mean, I think there's there's just little things right now. We're having a hard time, obviously, closing games out, and when you're going through a stretch like that, it's almost self-fulfilling, like, it's just little mistakes that are costing us," added Morgan Rielly, who also scored on Saturday night.
"I think overall the game tonight, the way we played, we had some good things going on, and we put ourselves in a position to be in a close game and to have the lead, and so that's good. But we have to kind of get over the hump here and start closing games out."
Another positive from the game was having Joseph Woll back in the Maple Leafs' crease. The 27-year-old made his season debut against the Blackhawks after missing the beginning of the season due to personal family reasons. He stopped 29 of 32 shots against in the loss.
Maple Leafs Parting Ways With David Kampf Helped With Their Salary Cap Flexibility, Easily Activating Joseph Woll
While the Leafs received temporary relief with Kampf's suspension, moving on from the center allowed them to make moves with clarity.
"I thought the positive for me tonight was seeing 60 back in there," Jake McCabe said.
"I thought he did a phenomenal job. I just told him that. Super good seeing him back in there and grinding and battling. He was composed all night. He played great with the puck. So that gives me a lot of joy, you know, just seeing him doing his thing in there. It was awesome."
This is no doubt a tough stretch for the Maple Leafs. Amidst trying times like these, teams will attempt to do things that could give a jolt to the dressing room. In some cases, firing the head coach can provide a spark, and in others, it's trading a player.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday night that Toronto is interested in making a "roster-for-roster" trade that could shake up the group a little.
The players shouldn't — and likely won't — concentrate on that. What they should focus on is playing for each other and getting out of this difficult start, which currently has them second last in the Eastern Conference.
"Right now, I think we're being tested. And it's important that the leaders step up and we keep this thing on track. I mean, we have a lot of guys in that room that are high-character people," Rielly added.
"Challenges like this, if you're able to deal with them appropriately and handle them, they can end up being positive down the road. But you've got to do the right things now. You've got to address the right things and move forward together."
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