The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost three of their last four games and the same problems appear to be hurting head coach Sheldon Keefe's team, which is without goaltender Joseph Woll.
While he remains sidelined with an ankle injury, the Leafs' other goaltenders are struggling. Ilya Samsonov has a goals average of 3.79 and an efficiency percentage of 0.871 this season. Martin Jones, for his part, is doing his best but doesn't seem to represent a viable long-term solution.
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In Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, he collapsed at the wrong time, allowing Drake Batherson a weak goal in the third period. The attacker surprised the veteran with a shot from a tight angle and gave the “Sens” the lead for good.
In their recent defeats, the players in blue and white have allowed a total of 24 goals, which is a concern for the organization. Pending a decision on whether or not to bring in an outside goaltender, players will have to examine their conscience, especially after missing a two-goal goal against the Senators.
“There's no doubt: our power play wasn't working and we gave them some life. Afterwards they took advantage of their chances, captain John Tavares commented to the Toronto Sun newspaper. When they got back into the game, the game was within everyone's reach. Given our good start to the game, that’s hard to accept.”
On a roller coaster
The inconsistency among the Leafs also appears to be problematic. Their performances in the first and second half of this year prove it: the club was superior in the first twenty years with 34 to 32 goals and only scored more than their opponents once in the second half (39 to 38). He will therefore have to learn to play for 60 minutes and sometimes longer.
“I’m well aware of that,” Keefe said. When things are going badly, we don't effectively move the puck from defense to our attackers on rushes and overkill attacks. If we fail to do this, time will go badly. It’s been a problem all season.”
The Leafs will look to bounce back by visiting the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. They earned a 4-1 win at Ohio on Saturday. They also overcame a five-goal third-period deficit on Dec. 14 before losing 6-5 to the Jackets in overtime at Scotiabank Arena.