TORONTO — Somewhere in the wreckage of two humiliating losses the Toronto Maple Leafs found a guiding light.
It can’t so much be seen in the points they’ve wracked up since those defeats — although that obviously helps — but more in how the group has come to view its performances.
Randy Carlyle has not only started to focus on process, but his players seem to be receiving the message. Following a 5-3 win over Dallas on Tuesday, a game that saw the Leafs improve to 4-0-1 since the dueling debacles, there was a rather understated tone to the winning locker-room.
Jonathan Bernier quickly labelled it the team’s “worst game” of the recent stretch. Tyler Bozak said “we gave up a few too many chances.”
Joffrey Lupul got right to the point.
“We talked after the second about playing a little tighter in the third period, which we didn’t really accomplish,” said Lupul. “Plenty for us to work on.”
While they were all rather obvious conclusions after Toronto allowed several odd-man rushes from a couple goals ahead, they aren’t the kind of thing we’re used to hearing in these parts.
However, the mood has been noticeably different since a 6-2 loss in Buffalo on Nov. 15 and a 9-2 thrashing by Nashville three nights later.
That was “rock bottom,” according to assistant coach Steve Spott, and spawned a new way of approaching games.
The coaching staff introduced the idea of “process goals” — keeping opponents to 25 shots, for example — and told players to focus on that rather than simply the score at the end of the night.
And to Carlyle’s credit, they have stuck with that plan even as the wins have come. He wasn’t pleased with some things he saw in a 6-2 win over Washington on Saturday and was even more troubled by Tuesday’s loose play against Dallas.
“To the players, I just said that ‘we’re going to take the two points, but we can’t be happy with the sloppiness in which we played,”‘ said Carlyle. “Simple as that. Let’s be realistic and let’s be honest with ourselves that we have to come to work tomorrow and improve on that because we cannot continue to play that style of game and think we’re going to have success.”
The next major challenge is bringing about meaningful change, but the apparent shift in attitude is certainly a start. What it represents is a commitment to not repeating the mistakes of the past — what last year’s Leafs were guilty of more than anything is ignoring some serious warning signs during early season victories.
As Tuesday’s win over the Stars showed, this remains a high-octane offensive team when things are going well. Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel each scored their 12th goals of the season, and they weren’t even the team’s best line.
That’s because the second unit of Joffrey Lupul (two goals), Nazem Kadri (goal and two assists) and Mike Santorelli (three assists) contributed the rest of the offence.
“We did some things really well,” said Lupul.
However, in the next breath, he noted that it was far from a perfect effort. The Leafs built a 3-0 lead and continued to trade chances. In the third period, they were one more Stars goal away from a white-knuckle finish.
Among Bernier’s 36 saves was a diving poke-check on an Antoine Roussel breakaway and two dangerous opportunities off the stick of Tyler Seguin, the NHL’s goals leader.
While the Leafs managed to keep Tampa, Detroit and Pittsburgh to fewer than 30 shots last week, they haven’t maintained the necessary defensive structure to ensure long-term success. The Leafs are currently 27th in the NHL with 33.1 shots allowed — and are openly admitting that it’s not good enough.
Carlyle, in particular, deserves some credit for the wave of honesty.
There was heavy speculation about his job security following the losses to the Sabres and Predators, but he hasn’t let it affect him in an outward manner.
Instead, it appears that he has found a way to get the players to focus on the details of the game. Even after a nice winning run he hasn’t wavered.
“I think tonight both coaches aren’t going to be happy with their teams,” said Carlyle. “It’s just that we’re going to be happy because we’ve got two points. We found a way to score some goals.
“We scored early, so we got feeling good about ourselves, and then our game kind of deteriorated.”
A little harsh? Maybe.
But also the right message to send at the end of a night like this one.
