Ottawa Senators right wing Alexandre Burrows, left, chases Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Andreas Borgman as he shoots the puck on Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.Marc DesRosiers
The way Mike Babcock sees it, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of a three-part exam, with a failing grade in the first part.
Playing into the Ottawa Senators' neutral-zone trap was the reason the Leafs lost the first test on Saturday night, but they can redeem themselves on Monday night when the Los Angeles Kings come to town. Part three of the exam is on Thursday night when the Leafs entertain the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Maple Leafs head coach may be presiding over a hot start by his young and speedy team, but he is still trying to get them to realize they cannot skate and stickhandle their way out of trouble, with Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Senators providing the proof. With the Leafs playing two more defensively stingy teams this week they have the opportunity to get back to the kind of game that can withstand the playoff grind.
"The message in these three games is the team is not going to give you much, so you have to be patient and you can't give them a lot," Babcock said on Sunday. "[Saturday] night, we fed [the Senators'] transition like we talked about prior to the game.
"Every shift we gave up the most scoring chances. We gave up 17 scoring chances, which is ridiculous and not fair to your goalie."
What bothered the coaches was the Leafs players were well aware what they were up against in the Senators. There was much discussion about not trying to carry the puck through the neutral zone, just dump it in and start fore-checking. Instead, there was a series of giveaways between the bluelines that led to all those Ottawa scoring chances. By the time the Leafs finally started doing things right, in the third period, it was too late.
The lesson needs to sink in fast. The Kings are the only team in the NHL that has not lost in regulation, sporting a 6-0-1 record for first place in the Pacific Division. They have also allowed the fewest goals this season, with just 14 in seven games. Thursday's visitors, the Hurricanes, have allowed 16 goals in six games.
While the Kings are missing an important player in centre Jeff Carter, the loss is mitigated by their defensive play. The anchor in that regard is defenceman Drew Doughty, who is off to a great start offensively as well with six points in seven games.
"They smacked us around," Babcock said of the Kings' sole visit to Toronto last season, when they pounded the Leafs 7-0 not quite one year ago. "But I also think you need lessons in your life. When everything goes good all the time that's not good for you. You need the good tightening every once in a while.
"We got it [Saturday] night. We've got the best team in the league coming in, they haven't lost yet, they've got a real good back end, good forwards, good goaltending. It's going to be a real challenge for us. I think that's what we need, I think we need a real challenge. We didn't handle it real well [against Ottawa] so we've got another opportunity."
Leafs winger Patrick Marleau spent his entire career until this season with the San Jose Sharks in the same division as the Kings. He knows just what to expect from Doughty, who has long been one of the best five defencemen in the NHL.
"He's got some great patience back there, being mobile," Marleau said. "He knows how to spin off guys, make that first pass and then jump into the play as well."
One of Doughty's best attributes is his hockey sense. He always knows when to jump into the rush. "Yeah, he definitely does," Marleau said. "He can sense when other teams are tired, so we've got to be aware."
Given the Leafs' need for goals on Saturday, forward Mitch Marner was relieved from fourth-line purgatory in the third period and placed with Marleau and centre Nazem Kadri. But he was back on the fourth line at Sunday's practice with centre Dominic Moore and Matt Martin.
Babcock was rotating Moore and Eric Fehr in the early going but based on Sunday's practice it looks as though Moore will get a second consecutive start on Monday night. On defence, Calle Rosen looks set to step in for Andreas Borgman.
The Leafs also brought defenceman Roman Polak back into the fold to help their defensive woes. He was signed to a one-year deal for $1.1-million (U.S.).
"It was a good learning lesson," Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said of the Ottawa loss. "We've had a good start, we've been able to put the puck in the net. To deal with a little frustration and play against a team that's doing a great job defensively, that's good.
"We've got to learn how to win those kinds of games. Months from now, down the road when we're trying to make the playoffs, that's a style all teams play. This is typically what happens. You come in and try to score off the rush and when it comes down to crunch time you've got to be able to play those kind of games and win those. We've got to get used to that."