Happy trade deadline day to those who celebrate! Based on what we saw from the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden last night, I’m sure fans would love to see something to cheer about from general manager Brad Treliving and company ahead of Friday’s deadline.
The Maple Leafs lost 6-2 to the New York Rangers on Thursday night, in a game that was tied 2-2 heading into the third period. It was Toronto’s sixth straight loss, and New York’s first win at home in regulation since Nov. 24.
Related: Maple Leafs Set Expectation For Deadline With Nicolas Roy Trade
Matias Maccelli and Easton Cowan scored for the Maple Leafs, while Joseph Woll made 18 saves. Will Cuylle, Vladislav Gavrikov, Alexis Lafreniere, Jaroslav Chmelar, and Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves.
Easton Cowan the Lone Bright Spot on Thursday
We’ll get to the positive before dwelling on the negative. There has been a clamouring by the fan base to see more of Cowan, who has been scratched night after night.
Despite perhaps hitting a “rookie wall”, Cowan needed simply to play more and gain experience, and it paid off on Thursday with his eighth goal of the season on a nifty wrist shot from the top of the left circle. The goal was assisted by Matthew Knies, and if there’s one positive thing to look forward to, it’s hearing those two names on goal calls for years to come.
It wasn’t just that he scored the goal, but he was working hard and fighting for his ice time all night. Even if you want the Maple Leafs to sell the farm and tank the season, we all still want to see the team’s best effort night in and night out. I know it’s frowned upon to question an athlete’s effort or if they have quit or not, but watching these past few games, it does feel like they have packed it in, which makes it even more refreshing to see Cowan work hard the way he did last night.
Is It Officially Time to Move On From Berube?
This has been a topic of conversation for much of the season, and it’s my opinion that it was never the time to fire head coach Craig Berube.
Even before Toronto’s struggles, this season was always going to be different from what we’ve watched for the last decade. From Mitch Marner’s departure to new players coming in, there was always going to be a learning curve. Then came the injuries, and this team just never truly gelled.
Berube is a good coach. That didn’t change overnight. But all season, we’ve heard the same rhetoric, the same message, and nothing has been able to click with this hockey team. If he wasn’t getting sick of the results before, he certainly is now.
“Definitely frustrated and p***ed off,” Berube said after the game. “The game is right there and we don’t push as a team hard enough to win.”
That is the most confounding part of Thursday night. The game was tied 2-2 heading into the third, and while no one was dominating, it was right there for the taking. Instead, they give up three goals, plus an empty netter, and leave New York with their sixth straight loss.
“It happened quick tonight,” Berube said of the third-period collapse. “Yeah, they scored a goal. Well, we need a big shift the next shift and we need to go do something, and just put some pressure on them. They get another one. You know, we did dumb things. We didn’t sacrifice enough in the third period to win a hockey game.”
It seems clear as day that Berube’s message just isn’t getting through. Whether it’s before the season is over or in the summer, it feels like the writing is on the wall for Berube’s time in Toronto.
Tough Stretch Continues For Auston Matthews
After another scoreless night, Auston Matthews has not scored in 10 straight games and has one goal in his last 14.
“I think these last three games, I’ve had a lot of good chances,” Matthews said. “Sometimes you go through these stretches and you have to grind your way out of them.”
Maybe it’s health, maybe it’s Berube’s system, or maybe it’s just one of those seasons. Whatever the reason, Matthews has not been the impact player that the Maple Leafs have needed him to be.
When it comes to talking about his team, Matthews is having a hard time coming up with new material, much like his coach.
“I thought the first 40 minutes was pretty solid and we’re right there,” Matthews said on Thursday. “On the second leg of a back-to-back I thought we had some good jump. They’ve got some skill on that side. They play a really good transition game. I just thought we had kind of five minutes of bad breaks, bad decisions, bad reads and the puck ends up in the back of your net a couple times.”
At first glance, that sounds like a bunch of excuses, specifically bringing up the back-to-back. Then, he mentioned the Rangers’ skill and transition game. The roster the Rangers put on the ice was a borderline American Hockey League (AHL) team, the likes of which Matthews and William Nylander are far, far better than.
However, with further thought, what else is he going to say at this point? There are plenty of moments throughout the season in which Matthews may not have said the right thing at the right time, or been as honest about his team’s play as he should have been. But at this point in the season, everyone knows what they’re watching, and there’s nothing else left to say.
Up Next
Up next, the Maple Leafs host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, before playing in Montreal against the Canadiens on Tuesday.
