Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies left winger Easton Cowan was critical of himself regarding his costly turnover that led to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins winning Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final.
Easton Cowan was critical of himself after the Toronto Marlies dropped Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final at home to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Center Luke Haymes scored an important power-play goal for Toronto to tie the game at 3-3 with under seven minutes remaining in the third period. The Marlies were pushing hard in the late stages of the period, looking to extend their series lead over the Penguins.
However, with about three minutes to go in the third, Cowan gave up a costly turnover in his own zone, looking to find defenseman William Villeneuve.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took advantage of the error, with Rutger McGroarty picking up the pieces and making no mistake one-on-one with Toronto netminder Artur Akhtyamov. McGroarty gave the Penguins a 4-3 lead, and the game would finish that way, tying the series at 2-2.
After the game, when talking to reporters, Cowan did not hide behind the mistake he made and held himself accountable for his turnover in what ended up being the game-winning goal for the opposition.
"I got to be better, it starts with me," Cowan told reporters after the game. "I cost my team the game… I got to make a better play."
In his reflection of Wednesday's performance, he mentioned multiple times in the post-game scrum that he'll be better on Friday, which marks Game 5 of this series and takes place at Coca-Cola Coliseum. It will be Toronto's final home game of the series.
"I can’t do anything about it now… got to move on and be better," he said. "I know I got more, so I'll bring it Friday."
The 21-year-old left winger still contributed in what was his first game back since missing Games 2 and 3 with an upper-body injury. Cowan provided a primary assist on Toronto's second goal of the game, converted by Vinni Lettieri.
Cowan now has five goals and 10 points in 15 appearances in this AHL post-season.
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