The Canadian Press
Stephen Whyno
TORONTO—As the Toronto Maple Leafs returned from a winless Western Conference road trip, they found the friendly confines of Air Canada Centre to be not so welcoming.
A few fans threw jerseys onto the ice, a couple wore bags over their heads, and many more voiced their displeasure by booing.
In the game itself, it was much more of the same as the Leafs were thoroughly outclassed by the lowly Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-1 loss last night.
It was Toronto’s fifth loss in a row, with just two goals to show for 300 minutes of hockey.
“It’s a similar answer that we’ve been saying for now the past five games: we haven’t found a way to put pucks in the net,” said captain Dion Phaneuf.
“The bottom line is that we had our chances and we’re having a tough time putting the puck in the net,” he reiterated.
“That’s very evident.”
The only thing that kept the Leafs (22-22-3) from being shut out for the fourth time in five games was a power-play goal by Nazem Kadri in the third period.
That ended a goal drought of 162 minutes, 14 seconds.
Before that point, they fell behind by three thanks to goals by Brad Malone, Elias Lindholm, and Eric Staal.
Interim Leafs’ coach Peter Horachek tried to convince his players to get back at it after falling behind, but it was hard to shake the feeling.
“I get the sense like there’s a big letdown,” Horachek said.
Carolina (16-25-5) capitalized—chasing goalie Jonathan Bernier with three goals on 13 shots.
Anton Khudobin stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced as the Hurricanes improved to 6-2-1 since the calendar flipped to 2015.
“We weren’t perfect, though we played hard and we competed,” said first-year coach Bill Peters.
“Back-to-back wins on the road for the first time for us this year so things are going in the right direction.”
Things appear to be going in the wrong direction for the Leafs, who are 1-6-0 under Horachek and have lost 13-of-16 dating to the inconsistencies that cost Randy Carlyle his job.
Horachek has tried to instill a tough, defensive mentality but his team has been outscored 24-9 since he took over.
And though the Leafs’ overall defensive play may have improved, the results aren’t there.
“When you give up that many chances and you win hockey games [earlier in the season], sometimes that comes back to haunt you,” said Phaneuf, who fought Eric Staal in the second period.
“And right now we’re just having a tough time on the other side of the puck because we’ve cut down our chances against but we haven’t been able to put the puck in the net.”
Unable to find a happy medium between defensive responsibility and offensive power, the Leafs again fell into the trap of trying to sacrifice one for the other.
Horachek said his team “cheated” too often after falling behind.
By the time the Leafs were down 3-0 in the second period, one fan threw a jersey onto the ice.
“We don’t appreciate that, obviously,” said winger Phil Kessel.
“We’re trying. I don’t know if people see that,” he noted. “We are trying.
“I don’t know. We can’t find it right now.”
Frustration was evident throughout the game—even from the Hurricanes.
Staal, who got into only his second career NHL fight with Phaneuf after the Leafs’ captain hit brother, Jordan, wound up and fired a slapshot from close range into an empty net to seal it.
Staal seemed intent to either let the puck drill Phaneuf or the net.
Elsewhere in the NHL, Calgary nipped L.A. 2-1 (OT), Vancouver edged Florida 2-1, Columbus beat Minnesota 3-1, the N.Y. Islanders dumped Philadelphia 7-4, St. Louis downed Colorado 3-1, and New Jersey upended San Jose 5-2.
