The Toronto Maple Leafs were primed to make some sort of moves as a couple of players are ready to come off long-term injured reserve. ST. LOUIS — The Toronto Maple Leafs played the way their head coach wanted them to... until they didn’t. After an opening period in which the Leafs held a 1-0 lead, dominated at 5-on-5, and likely deserved a larger advantage, the team faltered in the second frame, allowing the next three goals on route to a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Saturday. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptSXYKEc1HM[/embed] Mitch Marner opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs by crashing the net to put in a rebound from defenseman Conor Timmins. He recorded four of his six shots on goal in that opening period. But the game script flipped early in the second period, and by the time the Leafs found their rhythm again in the third, it was already too late. “For me, it’s the mindset. We didn’t play the way we played in the first—direct, hard on things, pucks,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said. "We just didn't stay with it." Colton Parayko scored the first of his two third-period goals when no Leafs player covered Oskar Sundqvist, who screened goaltender Joseph Woll, obstructing his view of the shot. “I thought that we were late in the second period; we tried to make a couple of plays late in a shift, and it turns over, and that’s the result of the first goal they got. And now these guys are going back in their own zone, tired," Berube explained of how things unraveled. Jordan Kyrou scored when his centering attempt deflected off Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe’s skate and into the net. Parayko notched his second goal just as time expired on Marner’s high-sticking penalty against Kyrou midway through the second period. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO-Aj_baK1I[/embed] The Leafs were shorthanded four times, their average for the season through 12 games, and they’re tied for third in the league for the most penalty time with 48 minutes down a man. “A lot of calls in the hands. We’ve got to keep our sticks down,” Marner said. “You know, that’s a penalty you can’t take.” The power play has perhaps been the most disappointing aspect for a team that should excel with its wealth of talent. The Leafs reunited their core-four forwards—Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares—for their final chance of the game but couldn’t mount a comeback. “For me, it’s execution, to be honest with you,” Berube insisted. “But the other thing is there’s not a directness to it. We’re not getting pucks to the net enough. We’re on the power play; we need to shoot pucks more. We need to get pucks to the net and create opportunities around the net on broken plays. But we’re not. There’s not a shot mentality on the power play right now.
