The Maple Leafs lost again last night, and Jim Hiller's team is still searching for its first divisional win.
Saturday's 4-2 loss to Montreal dropped Toronto to 0-3-1 inside the Atlantic. The overall record sits at 8-8-2, good for 7th in the division, and the Leafs host New Jersey tonight.
The defensive game is a mess. Toronto has allowed 60 goals in 18 games, and the puck management that leads to so many of them has not improved.
Against the Canadiens, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 of 28 shots. Alex Newhook scored twice for Montreal, and the Leafs never looked like a team in control of the night. The goaltending isn't helping, and the roster has real flaws, but neither explains all of this.
Luke Fox pointed out that Toronto is still looking for a divisional win and that its record is the same as this time last season. Lots of change, in his words, but no movement in the standings.
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That matters because the division is where the points are won and lost, and Toronto has taken one of them in four games against it.
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | DIFF | |
| 1. Boston Bruins | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 25 | +24 |
| 2. Montreal Canadiens | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 25 | +8 |
| 3. Tampa Bay Lightning | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 24 | +11 |
| 4. Ottawa Senators | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 23 | +4 |
| 5. Florida Panthers | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 20 | +4 |
| 6. Buffalo Sabres | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 19 | -4 |
| 7. Toronto Maple Leafs | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 18 | +4 |
| 8. Detroit Red Wings | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 17 | -7 |
Is Jim Hiller the wrong hire for the Maple Leafs?
The early evidence says yes. The problems are about detail: undisciplined penalties, careless turnovers and lineup decisions that are hard to explain. Those fall on the head coach, not on the personnel.
Look at the ice time from Saturday. Darren Raddysh logged 29:43 and finished a -2, while Dakota Joshua played 9:35. A coach is allowed to lean on a defenseman, but the results should justify it.
The offense isn't the issue. Gavin McKenna scored and fired four shots on goal, William Nylander scored on the power play, and Auston Matthews added an assist. Toronto has scored 64 goals, so the talent is producing. The structure behind it is not.
With John Chayka as general manager, the roster can only be reshaped so much in November. That leaves the bench as the quickest thing to fix, and right now it looks like a hire that has missed badly.
Toronto gets a chance to answer tonight against New Jersey, with the Leafs riding a two-game losing streak.
Quick hits
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: The Blackhawks held a players-only meeting after last night's 9-2 loss in Carolina, per a fresh report. A score like that will do it.
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PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Sidney Crosby moved past Marcel Dionne into sixth on the NHL's all-time points list as the Penguins beat the Kings 5-2 last night.
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PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Matvei Michkov and the Flyers try to snap a two-game losing streak tonight in Calgary. The road has been the problem all season.
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NEW YORK ISLANDERS: RMNB reports that Matthew Schaefer and Luke Hughes threw punches in the Islanders-Devils scrum. Expect this one to carry over the next time the teams meet.
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TRADE BUZZ: A rumor column says the Senators are among the clubs eyeing Ivan Miroshnichenko. Nothing is confirmed.
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Is Jim Hiller already a failed hire for the Maple Leafs?
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