‘We should be pissed off’: Mental errors collapse Maple Leafs in Nashville

NASHVILLE — A switch flipped.

A golden opportunity got squandered.

And a rare post-loss emotion could be felt permeating in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ dressing area Saturday night: Anger.

“We should be pissed off,” John Tavares said in the bowels of Bridgestone Arena, following his team’s 5-2 defeat to the 30th-place Nashville Predators. 

“I mean, it’s a great opportunity to end a really good week, the way we bounced back from a stretch that wasn’t going our way. We weren’t playing the way that we talked about — our standard and the level of play we expect a nightly basis.”

The team with something tangible to battle for — top seed in the Atlantic Division — mounted a 2-0 lead, controlled play for 20 minutes, then let it all slip away to a down-and-out lottery team with a string of careless penalties, poor puck management and ghastly defensive coverage.

After outshooting the home side 12-6 in Period 1, the Leafs got outshot 26-14 over the final 40. The Leafs served up more odd-man rushes than Tootsies does Jack shots at last call. And the Predators had more fun cycling around Joseph Woll’s net than bachelorettes do on a pedal tavern. 

“That’s mental,” an unusually harsh Craig Berube assessed, after watching his team give up five unanswered to the NHL’s weakest offence. 

“I haven’t seen mental mistakes like we made tonight in a while.”

Thing is, the Predators — previously losers of four straight and missing their captain and best player, Roman Josi — came into this one with all the markings of a broken team.

Toronto’s dominant first frame ended with an overturned Scott Laughton goal due to a high stick (the man can’t catch a break) and a bad Matthew Knies interference penalty at the 20-minute mark.

“They looked more hungry than us in the second period. They didn’t give us a lot of room, but we didn’t fight for it either,” Berube said.

“It was a total flip they did. What we did to them in the first, they did to us in the second. And we had breakdowns that cost goals. And there was no reason for it. 

“It’s 2-2 late in the (second) period. And we get caught in a 3-on-1 (that results in Filip Forsberg’s game-winner). So that really explains it, right there.”

What’s concerning here is that Toronto summoned little in the way of pushback once Nashville checked into the game. A dozen Leafs finished with a dash beside their name.

“Even when it doesn’t go your way, and they get one on the board, we got to respond with our game and grab momentum back and work through whatever push they may have,” Tavares said.

“The second, we started giving them odd-man rushes, and they took advantage of our mistakes, and we didn’t do a good job of regrouping, staying patient with our game and doing the right thing,” added Chris Tanev, a minus-2.

“Last two periods were not how we want to play hockey. So, we need to get better, learn from our mistakes and move forward. But remember what happened here.”

Sure, maybe Woll could’ve come up with a save on Kieffer Bellows’ game-tying short-side snipe, but the goalie had to respect the pass option on a 2-on-1. 

More pointedly, the goalie shouldn’t be facing a bunch of 2-on-1s after a supposed lockdown contender builds a multi-goal lead in the first place.

“We definitely let up a bit,” captain Auston Matthews admitted. “We could’ve done a better job in a lot of different areas — offensively, defensively. Just seemed like there was too many hope plays. Didn’t seem like we had that physicality or urgency like we had in the first period.”

With both the Panthers and Lightning losing in regulation, the Maple Leafs whiffed on a chance to snatch pole position in the Atlantic, finish the road trip on a high and complete a perfect 4-0 week.

“The inconsistency is obviously not ideal, especially this time of year. We have a bad outing, and we string together a couple good games and kind of another letdown like this,” Matthews lamented. “That’s on us to make sure that we’re consistent every night, no matter what the situation, no matter what the game presents.”

The Maple Leafs fly home and will face another bottom feeder, Laughton’s old Philadelphia Flyers, Tuesday before heading back on the road to California. Every point matters.

“This was a really good opportunity to go home and finish this trip and this week off really well,” Tavares said. 

“So, it should piss us off and get us ready for another big week next week.”

Fox’s Fast Five

• The Predators — the lowest-scoring team in the NHL — have been a general disaster, and Andrew Brunette’s press conferences sound like eulogies.

But credit the veteran core for skating with pride on this night and snuffing their latest four-game losing skid.

“We’re in a hard spot,” the player-turned-coach says. “I’ve been in this spot, and it sucks. And I think it’s important to handle yourself the right way.”

Brunette is trying to glean positives and summon urgency and pride as his players skate out the final 13 games of a disappointing season.

“You go through these things, it reveals a lot about the individual. I still believe this is the greatest game on Earth because it reveals your character,” he says.

“It’s not where we want to be right now. But it is what it is; we are where we are. You try to individually find a little love in your own game. And usually when that happens, it’s contagious.”

• Michael Bunting hasn’t been gone from Toronto for two years yet, and he’s already scored against the Leafs as a Hurricane, Penguin, and Predator.

• Tavares is now up to seven 30-goal seasons, already eclipsing last season’s total of 29.

Some star forwards with fewer goals than the former captain: Matthews, Nikita Kucherov, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Brady Tkachuk, Sidney Crosby, Sebastian Aho, to name a few.

• Sadly, Saturday’s “Star-Spangled Banner” was not played on the bongos…

On the bright side, it is cute that the locals scream, “O, say can JUUSE by the dawn’s early light…” to honour their starting goaltender during the anthem.

• Matthews designed this one-timer O-zone faceoff scoring play to Mitch Marner to counter Ryan O’Reilly’s faceoff prowess:  

“It just depends on the personnel you’re going against,” Matthews explains. “He’s good in the dot. He’s strong. So, I had to draw inside. I just tried to time it quick and make sure that (Marner) knew that I was trying to come to him and ended up working out. In the end, we lost. So, who cares?”

More from Sportsnet

Quick Shifts: Maple Leafs must make Scott Laughton trade work

What factors have contributed to Laughton’s slow start with Maple Leafs?