Easton Cowan takes responsibility for scoring woes after overtime loss to Blue Jackets

“I thought we had some good moments that we showed,” he said. “When we play well, we are connected. We play together as a team and we are pushing hard, so we just have to keep doing that.”

Despite the loss, Cowan played a solid game. The rookie forward played more than 20 minutes for the first time in his NHL career and earned a nice assist on John Tavares’ tying goal in the third period.

Earning significant time on the ice and lining up alongside Tavares and William Nylander, including in overtime, it is clear that Craig Berube is confident in the young player’s game at the moment. But Cowan is no longer just content with getting those opportunities, and he took responsibility Thursday for not making the most of them.

“Yes, it’s good that I’m going out, but I have to capitalize,” he said. “I get opportunities, I just have to bury them. I have to bury one of them because I’m there a lot, I take responsibility.”

After thirteen games played, Cowan now has one goal and four assists, certainly an adjustment for a player who was used to tearing up the scoresheet in the juniors. When asked if he feels frustrated about not finding the back of the net, the 20-year-old wasn’t too enthusiastic about that wording, but it’s clear he’s taking Thursday’s loss in heart.

“I wouldn’t say frustrated, no,” he said. “But if I had buried one, we could have won the game, so that’s the unfortunate part.”

The Maple Leafs have now dropped six of their last seven games, with Cowan on the roster for two of those losses. Although he is new to the NHL, he is no stranger to weathering the storm of a tough stretch, and he shared the attitude he is working on as the team looks to get back into the win column consistently.

“I guess I just have to stay positive,” Cowan said. “It’s obviously difficult. Like I said, if you bury one you could have won the match. But you have to do your best to stay positive. It’s a tight competition, so you have to keep going.”

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