For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for answers as to why they continue to struggle after a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday. The club is a disappointing 9-7-4 after 20 games, with six regulation victories against the NHL's bottom dwellers in Los Angeles, Detroit, San Jose, Ottawa, Columbus, and Minnesota. “We’ve had some stretches where we haven’t done what we wanted to do. We’ve had stretches where we’ve dominated games — even stretches last night in New York, where we showed ourselves and everybody else what we’re fully capable of.… Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said at the club’s practice facility on Thursday. “It is just trying to continue to carve out a way that we can do that more often. I don’t think we are too far off of doing that by any stretch.… While the Leafs have benefited from some good individual performances (Auston Matthews, Frederik Andersen, rookie Ilya Mikheyev), others like newcomer Tyson Barrie and backup Michael Hutchinson have disappointed. The biggest issue for the club has been their lack of improvement defensively. Toronto is second in the NHL with 68 goals scored, but has squandered that by allowing 67 goals (tied for 27th).
The Leafs GM exuded patience and confidence that his club will turn things around in the second quarter, which starts with a difficult back-to-back against Boston on Friday and in Pittsburgh on Saturday. *******
The Latest @TheLeafsConvo #Leafs https://t.co/6OVPnlS78i
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) November 10, 2019