Maple Leafs show they’re still a ‘work in progress’ midway through pre-season

TORONTO – Maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs were feeling a little too good about themselves midway through their pre-season schedule. One sloppy loss served notice that all is not well.

The Leafs coughed up the puck and struggled on special teams in a messy 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night at Air Canada Centre. For all the work players have put in learning from new coach Mike Babcock, this was evidence of just how much longer there is to go.

“We’re a work in progress,” Babcock said after his team’s first exhibition loss. “Everyone’s been real optimistic and everything’s great, and then a little reality therapy sets in.”

Babcock said the Leafs got in their own way a lot and weren’t responsible with the puck. That led to a handful of penalties, three Sabres power-play goals and one short-handed.

“We just had a 10-minute lapse and their special teams took momentum away from us,” said centre Nazem Kadri, who scored a goal in the third period. “That’s expected. We’re not even halfway through pre-season. That’s really all about chemistry, and that stuff is going to come.”

The penalty kill in particular struggled as Buffalo went 3 for 4 on the power play. The Sabres didn’t score three power-play goals in a game in any regular-season outing last year.

Ryan O’Reilly’s short-handed goal was the Sabres’ third in three games. Babcock gave them credit but also blamed his players, and specifically NHL players, for going off on their own pages instead of sticking to the team structure.

“You know when it’s a thing that’s going to benefit the team versus high risk and it’s going to end up going the other direction, and I thought we made poor decisions in that area,” Babcock said.

For stretches, this looked like the Leafs team that was among the worst in the league last season. By the time games start counting, Babcock won’t want to see performances like Friday night.

“The default mechanism for us tonight when you go back to who you are wasn’t what we want to be,” he said. “I don’t think that surprises anybody really. … We’re going to have to do a way better job with the puck than we did tonight.”

Defenceman Stuart Percy, who scored a goal, was one bright spot. No. 4 pick Mitch Marner was another, as the 18-year-old felt much more comfortable in his second pre-season game.

“I thought he was way better than he was the first night,” Babcock said. “He wanted the puck tonight, which was positive.”

Notes — Daniel Winnik and Matt Frattin also scored for the Leafs, while Jonathan Bernier allowed five goals on 32 shots. … Along with O’Reilly, Marcus Foligno, Brian Gionta, Nicolas Deslauriers and Mark Pysyk scored for Buffalo, and David Legwand added an empty netter. … The attendance was announced as 17,403 on the same night the Blue Jays played in front of 47,000 plus in the midst of a playoff race in baseball. … The Leafs’ game Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens will feature three-on-three overtime regardless of the score. The NHL wants teams to practise the new overtime format before the regular season starts.

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