Time to reverse course

The Maple Leafs have been trying to avoid a losing streak all season and after only one win in five, a homestand might be what they need.

All year the Toronto Maple Leafs have stressed that they cannot allow themselves to get into a prolonged losing streak if their desire to make the playoffs is to become a reality.

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After a wonderful start to the year, that at one point saw them atop the NHL, injuries and poor penalty killing have conspired to have them sliding in the standings. The Leafs have just one win in their last five games and have now dropped to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

With four of their next five games at the ACC, including a home game against the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night, the Leafs hope for more positive results.

So, are the Leafs in the midst of one of those losing streaks that will come back to haunt them at season's end? The Leafs lost a pair to the Boston Bruins - no real surprise there - then beat the Rangers in New York before losing 3-2 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils and 4-2 to the Capitals in Washington; a game in which Toronto allowed four power play goals.

"No, we're not happy with the results that we've been getting lately, but I think we've been playing relatively close to the level we want to play at," said captain Dion Phaneuf. "You look at the New Jersey game; we get a point there and could have had two. We put ourselves behind the eight ball early and couldn't claw back to get the two points. Then you go to Washington and we didn't help ourselves there with the penalties we took. Five-on-five I thought we played really well, but to be honest with you I don't think there's any panic or any worry. We're happy with the way we're playing and it comes down to staying out of the box and being a little bit smarter."

The Leafs are haunted by the memory of last season when they kicked off the year in style, winning four in a row only to lose 11 of their next 12 games.

"Every game in this league is so competitive now so if you have a tough week or drop a few in a row, you're right back in the middle of the pack," said defenceman Luke Schenn. "Obviously you want to separate yourself and string together a few wins. You realize you can't do that for the entire season and the thing is, every other team is winning around you so we definitely have to be better going forward and string together a few wins going into the Christmas break."

The Leafs did make a late run toward the playoffs last season sparked by the excellent goaltending of James Reimer. Reimer won four of his first five starts, just as he did at the start of this season, and stole enough games for the Leafs to be appointed the team's No. 1 starter this season.

A head injury that resulted in concussion-like symptoms kept him out from Oct. 22 to Dec. 3 and he is winless in his first three games back. Reimer has actually played okay, but hasn't received much help from his teammates.

"He's been unbelievable ever since he got called up last year," Schenn said. "He stole so many games for us and always made those huge, timely saves for us. It's always tough coming back from an injury; getting that mid-season timing and form back. I'm sure it's extra tough for a goalie because you can't make mistakes back there or everybody points the finger at you. If you are a defenceman or a forward you can get away with the odd mistake because you have your goalie to bail you out. If we're not sharp in front of him it's tough. He hasn't played bad at all. We haven't given him a ton of support. We have to help him out and get his confidence going."

At just 23 years of age, Reimer has a magical ability to put things in perspective.

"You know, when I didn't get the win after the first game back it annoyed me," Reimer said. "It can be a little annoying or frustrating, but at the end of the day, as a goalie, you're just trying to do the best you can; work as hard as you can and sometimes it just doesn't work out for you for whatever reason. All I can do is keep working hard in practice and working hard in the games and hope that we can get the result we're looking for. Until then, there's no reason for me to be lowering my head or sulking. You have to just put a smile on your face and keep working."

Reimer said he is not a guy who dwells on his statistics. He doesn't reach for the stats pack daily comparing his numbers to the other stoppers in the NHL. If he were to take a peak, he'd see that his save percentage sits at .896, which is worse than his .921 SP last season. And his goals-against average is 2.96; up from 2.60 last year.

"As soon as you start doing that you get in trouble because then you start worrying about things during the game," Reimer said. "Obviously you want to have good stats and you want to be up there, but things can change pretty quickly. They are what they are and I try not to worry about them."

Phaneuf said the Leafs are not worried about Reimer.

"I thought he has played fine since coming back," Phaneuf said. "He has made some big saves that have kept us in games, but no matter what goalie is in there we want to play well in front of him. I think Reims has been good. He'll get a win soon."

Added coach Ron Wilson: "We have to play a little better and score a few more goals in front of him; and probably score the goals early so we can get him the lead to play with. But it's only been three games he's been in and we just need to take a breath here and let him get acclimated to playing again."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.