‘Immature’ Maple Leafs prove offence is not enough

TORONTO — Immature.

An unusual word to describe the play of one of the NHLâ€s oldest rosters.

And yet, itâ€s an adjective that could not be more appropriate after the Toronto Maple Leafs blew another lead, gave up another five-spot, and wasted another decent offensive performance.

John Tavares, 35, used the word immature after his team fumbled a 4-2 lead into a 5-4 regulation loss at home to a depleted Carolina Hurricanes squad.

“We have a lot of very good hockey players. We have a very veteran team, so itâ€s just a decision to do it shift after shift,†Tavares said.

“We gain some traction, and then we shoot ourselves in the foot again.â€

Remember when the grave concern in Leafland was how in the world could they possibly make up the offence lost by a 102-point player?

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The Maple Leafs, so coach-pleasingly low-event last season, have been a highwire act through the first 16 games in this one.

And that means goals. Gobs of them. Flooding in at both ends, like a menâ€s room at intermission.

When the dust settled on Sundayâ€s Hall of Fame game, the Leafs had both scored (59) and surrendered (60) more goals than any team in the conference.

Crazy thing is, that tally that should have been gaudier were it not for all the pinged posts and unsuccessful breakaways by the Hurricanes, who outshot the Leafs 47-20, out-chanced them 43-21, and out-attempted them 89-36, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

“Same stuff. Just details and execution. We were fortunate to have a lead after two,†captain Auston Matthews said. “Repetitive stuff that we just canâ€t seem to get right.â€

Both sides, which consider themselves contenders, were missing their best pure defender for this one, Carolina down Jaccob Slavin and Toronto down Chris Tanev.

So, it should have come as no shock when five more pucks found their way through a couple of low-pedigree goaltenders, Carolina callup Brandon Bussi and Toronto third-stringer Dennis Hildeby, before the contest was 20 minutes old.

No question, the Leafs must tighten the reins defensively reins, and mixing in a few more saves wonâ€t hurt either. (Tanev, who is already healthy enough to attend games, eventually subbing out Philippe Myers will help some.)

“Turnover after turnover cost us the game,†coach Craig Berube said. “We didnâ€t check anybody tonight. We didnâ€t win any battles tonight. For me, itâ€s just a mindset.â€

The players†mindset seems to be something along the lines of this: Yeah, we need to be more consistent, but itâ€s fixable. And when we really try, weâ€ll be fine.

“Iâ€m not really worried,†William Nyalnder said. “I mean, we can score. Without the puck, we need to be better.â€

A power play in disarray cashed in thrice this weekend, and the Leafs remain atop the Eastern Conference heap in 5-on-5 goals (43).Â

In what is often referred to as a 3-2 league, run-and-gun Toronto has reached three in nine consecutive contests and has only been held to two on three occasions — never lower. (Theyâ€ve kept their opponent under two just thrice as well.)

Ten Leafs are averaging at least a half point per game, and three of them — Nylander, Tavares, and Matthew Knies, all of whom splashed the scoresheet again Sunday — are soaring at well over a point-per-game. Matthews is just a hair off.

Nylanderâ€s current 10-game point streak is tops in the NHL. Heâ€s hanging around the Art Ross race, despite missing three games to a lower-body injury.

Veteran defencemen Morgan Rielly (13 points) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (10) are both on pace to crush last seasonâ€s totals.

And the tenacious Nick Robertson, who is loving the top-six life, should have no issue producing a career year if his minutes maintain.

The disjointed Maple Leafs have 99 problems to iron out — but a goal ainâ€t one.

Berube wanted his squad to build off its first win streak this weekend. Instead, his Leafs slid “right off the rails defensively.â€

With Tanev out, too many skaters coughing up pucks or neglecting assignments, and the goalies not coming to the rescue, how exactly can the high-scoring Leafs keep the puck out of their own net?Â

“My job as a coach is to get them back on track, and thatâ€s what Iâ€m gonna keep trying to do. Keep banging away at it,†Berube said.

“Weâ€re scoring enough goals every game to win games, but weâ€re letting in too many goals. Pretty much the season is, we donâ€t value the defensive side of the puck enough.â€

Foxâ€s Fast Five: Hall of Fame Edition

• Turns out, Joe Thornton invited rookie (and fellow Californian) Nick Robertson to live with him at the outset of the 2020-21 season. An opportunity of a lifetime.

A book full of unlived stories that, sadly, will never be written, because Robertson got sent down to the Marlies.

“Well, the schedules would have been off, right? It was kind of weird,†Robertson recalls. “I donâ€t think Joeâ€s family was there yet. But he asked me to live with him, and I was all packed up. Then I got sent down. That wouldâ€ve been cool.â€

• That COVID All or Nothing season in Toronto was Thorntonâ€s penultimate. He played one more as a Florida Panther. But that didnâ€t stop him from popping into the Leafs†dressing room whenever the Atlantic rivals played each other.

“He was one of those guys who could get away with that stuff,†Morgan Rielly smiles. “We welcomed him. He was just a great guy and a great teammate, and he just cared a lot about everyone and treated everyone with a lot of respect.

“When you think about where he was in his career when he was here, and all the things that he had accomplished, you wouldnâ€t have known that when you spent time with him. He had time for everyone.â€

• Brandon Carloâ€s Leafs teammates have noted how loud he is on the penalty kill, directing traffic and bellowing instructions.

Thatâ€s because the lanky defenceman is applying a lesson drilled into him early in Boston by Zdeno Chara.

“I wasnâ€t talking enough in practice. And he turned toward me and heâ€s basically like, ‘If you donâ€t start talking to me, youâ€re not going to be here on this penalty kill,â€â€ Carlo recalls.

“That was a great lesson for me. He wanted me to be his eyes in that situation. He was very competitive from Day 1, even in practice. Those habits have carried over for me.â€

• Fun fact: Berube was teammates for half a season with a young Chara on Long Island. He knew in 2000 that the unpolished Slovakian was something special.

“Just watching him daily, how he went about things on the ice, in the gym, how dedicated he was, how hard he worked, and that size and strength he had,†Berube remembers.

“As a forward, he just smothered you with his reach, strength, size. He could fight. He had the ability to shoot a puck and score a goal from the point. He could control a game as a defenceman. You think about all the great defencemen who played in the National Hockey League, most of them could control a game. Nick Lidstrom controls in a different way than Chara, but they all had the ability to control the game. And he could definitely do that.â€

• Hereâ€s Rielly, a fellow lefty Western Canadian defenceman, on what he most appreciated about Duncan Keith:

“When I was a young player watching him, it was his skating. Not because of the reasons why (another lefty westerner Scott) Niedermayer stood out because of that, but just because of the way he was able to move around the ice. Played lots of minutes. And he was a competitor, and then obviously being able to up his game in the playoffs those years where (the Blackhawks) were winning Cups. He was just the epitome of a Number 1 D-man.â€

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