TORONTO — If you wanted to crack wise, you might say the outdoor practice that the Toronto Maple Leafs scheduled on a day when temperatures dipped to minus-11 — it actually felt much, much colder with the wind — was appropriate for a team that had played some of its worst hockey in the last week.
Certainly, that is what it looked like.
Players, who wore balaclavas underneath their helmets, shivered and puffed out plumes of smoke from their mouths as they skated around the newly minted Harry Gairey rink in front of brave fans. It was, according to Cody Franson, “a light practice” and a chance to “joke around.” But Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was more serious about how things have been unfolding for the 4th-place Atlantic Division team.
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“There’s a sense of urgency,” he said after the practice, his cheeks glowing red and a toque nestled on his head. “I said in Winnipeg that we did not play near well enough on a trip that was very important to our team. In saying that, we have to move forward and use tomorrow’s practice to get ready for a couple of big games at home before we go back on the road.
“We’re by no means happy about how we played.”
The losses are one thing. Every team loses. Every team goes through stretches of highs and lows. But what was frustrating, Phaneuf said, was how the Leafs have been losing.
Toronto had a 4-2 lead in the third period against Florida, before allowing four straight goals; the Leafs coughed up a two-goal lead the following night to the Tampa Bay Lightning; even the 4-3 shootout win against the Boston Bruins was a game the Leafs should have won in regulation.
“We left points. The thing that’s very frustrating is we left points that we’re available to us,” said Phaneuf. “We left them on the trip. We had parts of the trip where we played the way we felt we’re capable of and the way that we have to play, but we didn’t play near the level we’re capable of for enough minutes of the trip. When you don’t play in this league for a full 60 minutes, you’re not going to get points.”
The main problem for the Leafs is a familiar one. The team, which was outshot in four of the five games, has allowed 40 or more shots in 12 games this season. You cannot win like that.
“The main thing for our team is we’ve given up too many real good opportunities and we’ve had too many breakdowns and it’s not always in the defensive zone,” said Phaneuf. “I think even in our neutral zone we’ve allowed teams to come in. When you have that you see the shot clock. That’s really been our downfall on that trip and when we haven’t had success this year is when we’ve been outshot. We have to cut down on the key chances.”
The Leafs are home this week for games against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday and Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, before going back on the road for a three-game road trip to California followed by a trip to St. Louis.
Toronto is 14-8-0 at home. But with Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri and Peter Holland all hurt, the Leafs will require an improved team effort to get back to how they were playing before the holiday break.
“It’s the middle of the season and it’s 82 games,” assistant coach Peter Horachek said when asked if there was a sense of urgency to turn things around. “We just played five games in seven nights with a four-day break right after Christmas. Those things are going to happen.
“We’re looking for consistency in our game.”
Source:: National Post
