The Toronto Maple Leafs have opened the season with a 1-2 record , including back-to-back losses to the Detroit Red Wings, a franchise that has missed the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons.
Following Toronto’s 3-2 loss to Detroit on Monday , Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies delivered an honest assessment of their first week of games.
“I still think we need to play a full 60 minutes. We can't let it break down, especially in the last few minutes of a period, of a game,” Knies said. “That's unacceptable by us and I think we just need to play simpler at those times of the game, manage the clock a little bit better.”
The Leafs opened their season with a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in a game that saw the Leafs look sluggish against a fast Montreal club and were arguably fortunate to earn the two points. Toronto then fell 6-3 to Detroit at Little Caesar’s Arena, and they thoroughly deserved the loss. Most recently, the Leafs erased a 2-0 deficit to Detroit on Monday only to see Mason Appleton score the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation time.
The Leafs perhaps deserved a better fate on Monday. All-in-all their 1-2 record is reflective of where the team is right now.
Perhaps it’s just the growing pains associated with integrating newcomers like Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, and Matias Maccelli.
“I think we're just finding our rhythm here,” Knies said.
“I think we're going to clean everything up, watch some video and just stick to our structure and hopefully it'll figure itself out here. We have an unbelievable leadership group and a lot of veterans on the team so I think we can find our rhythm like I said and get back on track.”
The Leafs host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday with a quick turnaround, hoping to get their game back on track.
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