It was bad enough the Maple Leafs had slipped to a league-worst 8.8 per cent power play before Saturday’s game, but equally concerning was the proliferation of penalties.
With 44 minors the Leafs were near to taking the most in the league, despite their strong penalty killing.
“Turn your brain on a little bit more,” was defenceman Jake McCabe’s advice to incarcerated teammates, while acknowledging he’s been guilty of a couple, too, when he spoke to media in St. Louis on Saturday morning, McCabe says he knows why coach Craig Berube is very cross with so many calls, especially those occurring deep in opposition territory.
“To me, it’s understanding situations,” Berube said. “You’re in the offensive zone, there’s no reason to take a penalty there, 200 feet from your net. It’s (better to get called for) desperation around your net, saving a goal.
“At times, we’re careless with our sticks and things like that. We have to be more disciplined. That’s the big thing for me. You’re going to get penalties in a game for different reasons, I get it. But when you’re using the stick, when the guy takes the puck from you in the offensive zone and you want to give him a tug, that’s a penalty. You have to be disciplined. It’s a mindset.”
A NIGHT OFF
A leaner Leaf lineup had no room for winger Nick Robertson on Saturday in St. Louis, but it should be a short wait for redemption.
With Connor Dewar on the Marlies for the next week on a conditioning stint leaving just one extra forward, it was likely Roberston will draw back in Sunday in Minnesota. Rough-and-tumble Ryan Reaves, who sat against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, was back in against the Blues, but won’t likely play back-to-back.
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While all the Leafs are getting better at grasping Berube’s defensive concepts, Robertson can’t seem to get his bread and butter on the scoring table. He has managed one goal in 10 games and other than a five-shot night a week ago in a home loss to St. Louis, has no more than two cracks at the net in any game.
WILD THINGS
It will be a quick turnaround for the Leafs on Sunday when they take on the rested Wild in a 5 p.m. local start.
Minnesota has lost just one of nine games in regulation so far and before Saturday’s game, had the league’s leading scorer in 21-point left winger Kirill Kaprizov. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson has a .919 save percentage, good for seventh in the league before Saturday.
SHOTS IN THE DARK
Blues coach Drew Bannister, who replaced Berube last December when the latter was fired after a brief losing streak, is having the same challenges as the Leafs, trying to get shots through stingy systems and adroit shot blockers. Bannister’s team went into the Toronto game with just four goals in three losses that had followed their 5-1 win at Scotiabank Arena.
“It’s recognizing nothing has to be perfect and getting by that first layer quick,” he said Saturday morning. “Missed shots are more of a concern to me. I think we had 17 last game (a 2-1 loss in Philadelphia). If we hit the net with half those, what comes out of that?
“When things don’t go well, players tend to look for the cute play.”
That was straight from the Berube quote book.
STREAKING COWAN SHADOWS GILMOUR
There were some questions about what would motivate Easton Cowan in another season of junior hockey in London after he didn’t make the Leafs out of training camp.
But one headline grabber is the 19-year-old’s ongoing points streak, now at 45 games tracing back to the ‘23-24 season. The 19-year-old forward had an assist on the Knights’ game-winner Friday versus the Soo Greyhounds and is now within 10 of former Toronto captain Doug Gilmour’s record of 55 straight with a point with the 1982-83 Cornwall Royals.
Cowan, who has six goals and five assists in 11 starts this year, needs a point in the next five games to match Alexander Radulov’s Canadian Hockey League mark from this century, a 50-game run, accomplished with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts in ‘05-06.
KURRI WINS SALMING AWARD
At the Global series in Finland where Florida and Dallas were featured this weekend, Jari Kurri was presented with the second annual Borje Salming Courage Award by the NHL Alumni.
It’s given in honour of the late Leafs’ defenceman to the European player who is deemed to have a positive influence in their community “and best embodies Borje’s lasting legacy of bravery, courage, and dedication on and off the ice.” Kurri was one of the first prominent Finns to come over to the NHL in the 1980s, had four seasons with 50 goals for Edmonton and was on five Oiler Stanley Cups.
LOOSE LEAFS
The Flyers unveiled the Jay Greenberg Press Row before their home game Saturday at Wells Fargo Center. The late Greenberg’s wit and wisdom was famous in Philly, New York and as a valued member of the Toronto Sun’s sports staff in the late 1990s.
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