No excuses as Maple Leafs again lose in ugly fashion

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If this isn't rock bottom for the Maple Leafs, we'd hate to see what lies below.

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The Leafs lacked structure and spirit last season when they lost 5-2 to the Canadiens at the Bell Center in Montreal on Saturday night.

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It's a killer combination that has propelled the Leafs to a one-point lead over the Buffalo Sabers in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26.

The Leafs have one win in their last eight games and one win in seven road games. They'll take a couple of practices home and then head out on a five-game road trip that begins Wednesday in Columbus.

Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe did not return to the game after being hit in the face by a puck midway through the second period.

The Leafs, already plagued by multiple injuries, wouldn't call it an upper-body injury. After the game, coach Craig Berube told the media in Montreal that he had no timeline regarding McCabe.

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Three takeaways from the loss:

CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT

Last Tuesday, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving took what he called “full responsibility” for the Leafs' rough start to the season.

At the same time, Treliving gave Berube a vote of confidence, which as we all know is often the kiss of death for the coach of a team that isn't playing anywhere near expectations.

Treliving refused to use injuries as an excuse for the Leafs' failures. And it's a long list. McCabe became captain Auston MatthewsMatthew Nice, Nicholas Roy, defensemen Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, and goalie Anthony Stolarz on the sideline.

In-form players can't look at their injuries and say that's why they're playing with little to no connection or less than 100% effort. That's what the Leafs get regardless of who's on the roster. A composition covered in Treliving's fingerprints.

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It was even worse on Saturday as the faster Canadiens exposed the slower Leafs on seemingly every shift and took a 4-0 lead before Berube mercifully pulled goaltender Joseph Wall.

This had to be done, if only because Berube did not have the ability to place 18 players on the bench at the same time.

“He was great,” Berube said. “We just gave them freebies. That was enough for me.”

The Canadiens' first three goals came from defensemen Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson, who each scored two.

Josh Anderson's goal into an empty net late in the third period after Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander scored for the Leafs haunted Wall.

“Getting some guys back in the lineup will definitely help,” Berube said after the game, “but until we decide to dig in and play the right way for 60 minutes on a consistent basis, it's going to be hard for us to come away with anything.

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“When we score a couple of goals, we don't play with any urgency or confidence. This is a veteran hockey team. That's unforgivable. That's on me, too. That shouldn't happen to a veteran team.”

WILL COACHING CHANGE THE MEANING?

Just over six years ago, on November 20, 2019, Mike Babcock was fired after the Leafs began the 2019-20 season with a 9-10-4 record.

The Leafs are currently 9-10-3, but if Treliving were to make a bench change now, even if it was, say, Peter DeBoer, how much would that change things? This doesn't take anything away from DeBoer or whoever could theoretically be his replacement.

These are the same players and they will be the same players as Treliving reminded us last week that making trades is difficult.

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A trade won't solve the Leafs' problems.

These players are who they are. Morgan Rielly, who did nothing to get Oliver Kapanen out of the net after Dobson's first goal, won't suddenly become a top defenseman.

Max Domi isn't going to figure it out offensively after posting six points in 22 games.

McCabe is not the same player without Tanev as his partner.

Two newcomers acquired by Treliving, Dakota Joshua and Matthias Maccelli did not change the situation.

Berube brought in Sammy Blais, who had been waived in October, and benched Jacob Quillan because the coach wanted more physicality in the lineup as he expected the game to play out that way. Blais had no impact, recording one of the Leafs' 20 hits. The Canadiens had 25.

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If Treliving changes his mind and decides to tie the can to Berube, he'll first have to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, at 34, is more irritable than any of his teammates.

“I wish I knew,” Ekman-Larsson said of the Leafs’ inability to put together three or four good games. “We're working on it, working on getting a full 60-minute game. Things have been better lately, but not good enough.”

SAVE COWEN

If it's true that the Leafs consider Matthews, Nylander, Nice and John Tavares untouchable in a trade, then 20-year-old forward Easton Cowan should be added to the list.

Cowan recorded an assist in Montreal, giving him one goal and five assists in 14 games. Like many high-scoring juniors adjusting to the National Hockey League, Cowan is getting used to not seeing his name on the scoresheet as often.

However, he can't be upset about it. His instincts allow him to be confident and we saw that again early in the game when he held the puck and passed it to McCabe for a scoring opportunity.

There is no other forward like him among the Leafs' prospects. Using Cowan as a trade chip would be a blow to the team's future. Again, we don't think any trade will really change the Leafs' fortunes. The Cowan deal would be detrimental to the club at this time.

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