The Toronto Maple Leafs walked away with two points on Monday night, but few in their locker room see that win over the Pittsburgh Penguins as a solid win. Instead of feeling confident in their play, the team’s third-period slump was overshadowed by two bouts of lifeless, unacceptable play. Yes, the Leafs rallied from a 3-0 deficit, but the tone afterwards points to a bigger problem.
Auston Matthews led the charge with a goal, an assist and his best third period of the season, but he quickly steered the conversation away from heroics and toward hard truths.
“It was great to come back and get the two points,” Matthews said. “I think the focus should be more on the first two periods and why we lacked all those different things that got us into the game in the first place, so that’s something we’ll find out.”
Head coach Craig Berube made no secret of his confusion when asked about the team’s 60-minute effort. “I have no idea. I don’t have an answer to that right now,” he replied. He added: “They took the puck and did whatever they wanted with it. We didn’t check anybody. We didn’t knock anybody off the puck. And when we got it, we gave it back to them, and they just kept coming down our throats. It’s not good enough.”
When asked what happened in the third period, Berube said the team just got back to playing their game, and the line William Nylander and Matthew Knies were able to get back to doing what they are capable of.
It begs the question: why wait until third period?
Even Nylander, who is normally subdued, echoed the frustration: say about the team’s performance: “Two periods of terrible play… It’s unacceptable. There’s nothing more to say.” But he said more. “Our level of competition wasn’t high. Losing every fight. Losing every puck. So that’s what it comes down to.”
Matthews at least tried to describe where the Leafs went wrong. “Everything from effort to energy, the execution just wasn’t good enough in the first two periods. And I mean, it showed on the scoreboard, in the shots, in the chances, in everything.”
The Maple Leafs need to consistently find their game
For all the late-game fireworks, Toronto’s uneven effort raises familiar questions about consistency. The good news is that they got points even with the obvious problems. The Maple Leafs have now won four of their last five.
If Monday proved anything, it’s that this team has a high and a low problem. They can get themselves out of trouble, but fail to limit the times when they dig that hole in the first place.
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