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TORONTO - Whatever momentum they built up before the 18-day Olympic break is suddenly gone. Three straight losses have quieted the Maple Leafs - winners of 11 of 14 before the stoppage - who dropped a 2-1 decision to Columbus at the ACC on Monday night, their third loss in as many games to the Blue Jackets this season. Alongside overtime defeats in Long Island and Montreal, the interim trends in Toronto are subtly veering in the wrong direction, though they still have ownership of the first wild card position in the East. "The three losses hurt because we had points available to us on the road," head coach Randy Carlyle said, referring to overtime defeats against the Islanders and Canadiens. "Thats the hard part is when you lose two overtime games on the road and we had a one-goal lead in both games. That kicks you. That doesnt feel very good." The most recent case saw his team start strong, stall midway through and eventually push back with a charge that was ultimately too late. "I think part of it is somewhat of an Olympic hangover," said James Reimer, making a rare start in place of Jonathan Bernier. "The last three games its been anyones game, its been a one-goal game and two of them have gone into overtime. I think were right there; were just missing it by a little bit. All three games couldve been Ws for us so I dont think its anything to worry about." The Leafs started the evening strongly with a flurry of opportunities and pair of power-plays, but failed to get anything beyond the reach of Sergei Bobrovsky, nor the multiple bodies that stood at his defence. Phil Kessel snuck one shot through the pads, but it spun just above the goal-line before Bobrovsky rushed it to cover. The home foot came off the gas in the middle period with Columbus scoring twice in less than three minutes. The Leafs turned pucks over, lost battles and wandered around hopelessly in the defensive zone. They failed to even record a shot before Dalton Prout scored the games first goal. Cody Franson labeled it a "mediocre" 20 minutes. "We tried to get cute with the puck and turned it over too many times," he said. "When you play a team that has that type of forechecking style and transition ability its not what you want to do ideally." "I think that was more of a mental lapse than anything because we just started wandering around," Carlyle said. "For the first period we had lots of life, we were on our toes and jumping to pucks and we were winning our battles. In the second we just started to stall in the neutral ice." A late third period rally yielded a goal from Mason Raymond, but nothing more as the Blue Jackets swept the season series from their new Eastern Conference counterpart, outscoring them 13-3 in the process. The Toronto dressing room was hardly in a state of panic afterward. Though dismayed with their performance against a mediocre Islanders squad last week, they were generally pleased with their effort in Montreal over the weekend - outside of penalty trouble and another lost third period lead - and pointed to the loss to Columbus as an incomplete effort, but not one that should cause alarm. They cant hide from points left on the table, however, especially against those theyre either chasing (Canadiens) or those chasing them (Blue Jackets) and a difficult schedule ahead. Just behind the Leafs (72 points) in the standings are the likes of Detroit (68), Washington (68) and these very Blue Jackets (67), all with games in hand and opportunity to narrow the gap further. The alarm should not be sounded with three straight losses, but some degree of caution should be taken by those wearing the blue and white. "Were fine," said Joffrey Lupul afterward. "Were certainly not losing perspective, but were not happy about losing two points to a team below us in the standings." Five Points 1. Rare Start James Reimer hadnt made a start for the Leafs since Jan. 25, a long stretch of 37 days that saw Jonathan Bernier gripping tight on the starting job right into the 18-day Olympic break. "Besides an injury I dont know if Ive ever had this much time in between starts," Reimer said. In spite of the long layoff, the 25-year-old looked sharp, stopping 31 of the 33 shots peppered by Columbus, including a Nick Foligno breakaway in the opening five minutes. "There was a little rust there," said Reimer, "but honestly I felt pretty good. I felt like I battled as hard as I could and tried to fight to see the puck and its unfortunate we came up a little short tonight." The two that passed could hardly be pinned his way. The first from Prout sailed through a maze of traffic from the point, the latter from Artem Anisimov coming by way of a laser back-door point pass from Nikita Nikitin. "I dont think you can point to the goaltending as a deficiency, thats for sure," said Carlyle. "He did his part to give us a chance." 2. Rare Night off the Scoresheet Kessel missed his 34th goal of the year by mere inches. The 26-year-old had a rare night off the scoresheet, finishing with two shots in just over 23 minutes of ice. It was just the third time in the past 18 games that the scorching Kessel failed to register a point. Indicative of his value, the Leafs dropped to 4-17-2 this season on such nights, a rarity these days for sure. 3. Power-play Life Unhappy with the state of his clubs special teams, Carlyle directed that the near-entirety of Sundays practice be spent on the matter. Much of the focus a day before the game against Columbus centered on a power-play that was suddenly missing much of its pep. "We stood around," he said of the man advantage in losses to New York and Montreal. "And other teams have made adjustments to our break-out and we havent reacted to what we normally would do in situations. Obviously other coaches in the league do pre-scout. They do work to devise plans against what you do." Though they failed to score in two attempts on this night - now 0-13 in the past six games - they did manage some signs of life, including a good opportunity for Morgan Rielly in the first frame. "At least today our power-play created some momentum for us whereas in the past couple games it seemed like itd been a bit of a momentum killer," said Lupul. The Leafs own the leagues fifth-best power-play this season with much of that success coming on home ice – they sit second in the NHL at 26.5 per cent. Considering their ineffectiveness on the penalty kill its an area theyll want to right soon. 4. Trade Deadline Dave Nonis made a minor move at the trade deadline last season, adding Ryan OByrne from Colorado for a fourth round draft pick. The Leafs general manager and his management team have essentially shunned the idea of adding another such rental this time around. Unlike in years past theres not much in the way of frenzy surrounding the club heading into the Mar. 5 deadline, but in Carlyles eyes - traded himself once at the deadline - it remains a distraction for players. "The trade deadlines always a factor in any hockey players life," said Carlyle, traded to Winnipeg from Pittsburgh for a first round pick on Mar. 5th, 1984. "Having played for a number of years and lived and died in one. It was one of those situations that you remember. Its not a lot of fun being a player at this time of year. In todays Twitter world and blogging and that, theres a lot more rumours floating around so its obviously a lot more to it than when I was moved in 84. I dont think they had Twitter then did they?" 5. Rare Home Ice Defeat Before falling Monday to the Blue Jackets the Leafs hadnt lost in Toronto since Jan. 7, a 5-3 defeat that night to the pesky New York Islanders. They had reeled off seven consecutive wins at home for the first time since the 2006-07 season, Stats-Pack 13-3 - Goal differential between Leafs and Blue Jackets this season, favouring Columbus. 4-17-2 - Leafs record this season when Phil Kessel fails to record a point. 0-13 - Toronto power-play in the past six games. 24:46 - Ice-time for James van Riemsdyk versus Columbus, leading the team. 21-11-1 - Leafs record at home this season. 2:54 - Amount of time it took the Blue Jackets to score twice in the second period on Monday. 37 - Days between starts for James Reimer. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2Season: 21.2% (5th) PK: 1-1Season: 77.6% (28th) Quote of the Night "In todays Twitter world and blogging and that, theres a lot more rumours floating around so [theres] obviously a lot more to it than when I was moved in 84. I dont think they had Twitter then did they?" -Randy Carlyle, speaking about Wednesdays trade deadline. Up Next The Leafs head to the Big Apple for a trade deadline day clash with the Rangers. Dave Cash Jersey . Ozuna hit Reeds 2-2 pitch off the batters eye far above the 407-foot sign in straightaway centre. It was the fifth blown save in 25 tries for Reed (1-5) and the ninth home run the closer has allowed in 38 appearances. Nuno, acquired in the deal that sent Brandon McCarthy to the New York Yankees, gave up three hits, struck out a career-high seven and walked one in seven innings. Edgar Garcia Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. https://www.cheapphilliesjerseys.us/2547...y-phillies.html. Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Jean Segura Jersey . -- Chad Labelle scored the winner 17:36 into the third period to give Medicine Hat a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday and lift the Tigers into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs. Jake Arrieta Jersey . Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, president of the EOM (Municipal Olympic Company), will be leaving her post but will remain as an advisor, a city hall statement said Tuesday.There were only 14 games remaining in the regular season when the trade was made. The then-Pat Quinn-led Maple Leafs were jostling for top spot in the Eastern Conference and wanted to add some Hall of Fame punch to their lineup. So on Mar. 3, 2004 - with John Ferguson Jr. installed as general manager - Toronto swung a deal with New York for Brian Leetch; a swap that would cost them two prospects, (and of much more significance to the future) a first round pick in 2004 and a second round pick in 05. Six days later they would fire another draft selection - a fourth round pick in 05 - to Carolina for Ron Francis. It was only one year earlier that they surrendered their first round pick in 03 and two young players - Alyn McCauley and Brad Boyes - to San Jose for Owen Nolan. Theyd sacrifice another second round pick (04) for Glen Wesley less than a week after that. Later was constantly being sacrificed for now in an era when draft futures held little of their current premium for a big spender like the Leafs. But it was that strategy of now for later - two firsts, two seconds in a string of three drafts - that helped damage the club in the years that followed the second lockout; useful (and inexpensive) prospects in a cap era were nowhere to be found. Sending out another first (07) in the Vesa Toskala trade and two more (10, 11) in the Phil Kessel swap, the Leafs had, over the course of nine drafts (03-11), traded five of their first round selections. The result was a prospect cupboard continually lacking in NHL-caliber talent and an organization short on internal depth. That prospect could be changing with a collection of youthful talent - the likes of Petter Granberg, Josh Leivo, Jerry DAmigo, Stuart Percy, and Andrew MacWilliam among others - edging closer to potential jobs with the Leafs and others - such as Matt Finn, Connor Brown, Tom Nilsson, and Carter Verhaeghe - in line to follow. With the eighth overall selection (at the time of this writing) in the 2014 draft, the club will add another asset to that mix. Fronting the charge for that selection is Dave Morrison, the teams director of amateur scouting, who spoke with TSN.ca about the Leafs draft history, Brendan Shanahan and his role in the draft process, high-risk, high-reward picks, a burgeoning group of blueline prospects and an unpredictable draft in Philly. SIEGEL: Youve talked to me in the past about looking for indicators as far as prospects go, indicators that will tell you that a prospect can play in the NHL - whether thats speed, size, or a shot. In terms of that personality, how would you say its progressed from when Brian Burke was in charge to now that you have Brendan Shanahan at the helm? MORRISON: Well, those things never really change because I think some of those core indicators really do need to stay the same. They have to be able to get to a certain proficiency in skating, if theyre not already elite skaters. Some kids just are naturally very gifted on their feet; other kids have to really work at it. Does their brain function fast enough to be able to play at the next level? And if theyre not a good skater does it function fast enough to compensate for their lack of foot speed? Do they have enough courage? The game has changed a lot and courage, probably the definition of it and how it pertains to the player being able to play in the game has changed too a little bit. Its a little different than it was 10, 15 years ago. But a lot of those things havent changed in the sense that you have to be able to put a value on them and make sure that down the road theyre going to have those things that are going to enable them to play or give themselves a chance to play. SIEGEL: Is foot speed more important now than maybe 10 years ago? MORRISON: Absolutely. I think pre-original lockout there was a lot more hooking and holding. I think strength, size, the ability to battle through things was really, really important. Its still important. As you can see in the playoffs, teams that are big and strong and have those bodies can be really effective at this time of year. But it has changed in the sense that the smaller player is maybe getting a little bit more of an opportunity. I think speed, you can really see speed and what it can do in a game. So it has changed a little bit in that sense. I think all things being equal you would like a big player with great speed, with great hands and with great hockey sense (laughs). SIEGEL: Perfect player. MORRISON: Yeah, its always been that way, but unfortunately its never as clear-cut as that. SIEGEL: We got a pretty good understanding when Brian was here; he liked that North American player, black and blue style. His first draft in 2009 you picked seven North American players. So now that youve had one draft under Dave Nonis and obviously Dave Nonis and Brendan Shanahan are now at the top [together], what does a Brendan Shanahan player look like now? What kind of player has he passed along to you that he would like in the system? MORRISON: You know Brendan himself was a black and blue, skilled player. He was a very competitive, skilled player. I think he himself likes those kind of players as well. We as an organization, weve always sort of wanted those kind of guys. Yes, along the way weve maybe tried to get a different type of player at different times and sometimes thats difficult to do. But I think anybody in our organization would tell you that competitiveness is really important and obviously you need to have skill on your team. Those are important ingredients. But you also have to have a certain number of physical players that play hard and can play the game two ways; preferably everybody plays hard and two ways. You do have different types on your team. Competitiveness is really important to us. Certainly you want to be a big, strong, skilled team if you can be. SIEGEL: When you look at the current group that you have, youve got some prospects that look like they could be ready to take that next step...but when they project right now you can see them more as role players at the NHL level. Do you feel like youve got to keep injecting more skill into the prospect cupboard? MORRISON: I think you always want to inject everything into your prospect cupboard every year. If you look at the past it always sounds like our cupboard is bare of skilled players - what I read and what I hear - but if you look at a kid like Andreas Johnson, who was just the Swedish Elite League rookie of the year with 15 or 16 goals as a 19-year-old in that league, I see a skilled player. I see a Connor Brown, who won the scoring [title] in the CHL. Does he need some development time? Yes. But hes a very skilled player. Fabrice Herzog [scored] over 30 goals in his first year with Quebec last year. Do we have some skill in the pipeline? Yes. Do we have role players? Yes. Do you need to inject skill players? Yes. You always need to do that. Kids like Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly, I think those kinds of players you do have to draft and weve drafted them in the past and well draft them again. SIEGEL: Well and I think you could probably add Carter Verhaeghe to that list as well - you look at what he did last year in Niagara. But whether its Andreas Johnson, Fabrice Herzog, can you look at those guys and say theyll be high impact players at the NHL level? MORRISON: I think they have a chance to be [high] impact players, Jonas. I think any prospecct has a chance and an opportunity to do that.dddddddddddd The blue-chip type, those franchise-type guys, theres not many of those available every year. And I think you can throw a lot of other players in as they develop, the closer they get they get closer maybe to being a blue-chip [prospect]. But its always an opportunity and a chance for these kids to become those players and thats part of the development process that weve been putting a lot more work and effort into the last few years. Were hopeful that were going to see the fruits of that labour at some point here. And I know theres an impatience in Toronto and I understand it totally and its incumbent upon us to change things and put a winning team on the ice - thats just the bottom line. SIEGEL: Whats the balance when youre putting together your list, and its obviously a really rigourous process, but whats the balance between ranking a player who is maybe a safer bet to make the NHL as opposed to a player whos higher risk, but potentially offers higher rewards? MORRISON: Thats a million dollar question. Sometimes if you think you can get a third line player, big centre like Fred Gauthier well use an example. Is he going to be an impact player in his own way? Well, we believe he is. Is it going to be as an offensive player? No. Is he going to be an integral part of a winning team at some point? We certainly hope so and we think so. So theres a lot of these different things that you think about. And it takes a lot of different pieces to make a winning team and some people get focused on the idea that you have to get 150 points in junior to be a good NHL player and that certainly is a good indicator, but its not everything. Weighing everything out, yes, youd love to get that high-impact offensive, first-line player with every pick. The reality is thats very tough to do. So when were doing that youre weighing well what are the odds of this guy getting there versus this guy? And what will he bring to your lineup? And is it going to be valuable? And is it going to be tough to find when you need that? Thats another question. Teams will give up first round picks for players because they dont have [that specific skill] at some point. SIEGEL: But couldnt you make case that its more difficult to find skill than it is a role player? If youre going to get that player dont you have to draft him? MORRISON: Yeah, I dont disagree with you in that sense. Yes. Skill, a guy that will be a top-line player, is definitely harder to find and we are trying to do that at all times. Certainly at some points youre looking at that guy and youre saying Well, how far away is he? Does he have a chance? And then youre ranking him versus another guy, whos maybe not a first-line player, but a second-line player, but you say Hey this guy has those intangibles, maybe we do that? We havent done that with every pick weve made. Again Jonas, were always trying to get that top guy with every pick and we feel like we can get a guy that can impact our lineup were going to take him. SIEGEL: Yeah, I guess its just easy to look at some of the teams that have advanced deep into the playoffs, Chicago, L.A., and theyve managed to find some steals later in the draft. I understand its a crap-shoot and picking Andrew Shaw in the fifth round, theres got to be some degree of luck to that, but when you look at the [Leafs] organizations drafting history, is there something youve identified and said You know what, we can do that better? MORRISON: Well, youre always trying to get better. In our group, our amateur scouting group here, we talk about it constantly throughout the whole year every year. What can we do better? With this particular pick what did we do wrong? What can we improve upon? What did we miss? Whats something we can make ourselves better at? We do that constantly. And I think most scouts would tell you theyre extremely proud of the players that theyve picked that have made it, but they also talk about the failures. We often compare it to a batter going up to the plate; youre going to fail more than youre going to succeed. And thats an unfortunate reality that we really dont want to come to grips with and we dont. We go into that draft thinking with seven picks were going to get seven players and we want to get seven players out of every draft. So were always, always trying to get better at. I believe in this scouting [staff]. I think if you look at a lot of scouting staffs, over time with experience, they all tend to get better. SIEGEL: When you look at the group that youve put into place, are you most excited about some of the prospects that youve been able to assemble on the back-end? You look at Petter Granberg, you look at Tom Nilsson, Matt Finn, the year that he had. Is that the area where you probably have the most strength right now? MORRISON: Thats the group right now thats further along in the cycle. Am I proud of that group at this particular point? Yes, I am. But they havent got there yet Jonas and until they get there Im not satisfied and neither are they. I see a group of forwards too that I think have a lot of potential and are trying to get to that ultimate goal as well. I just think that all the picks weve made weve put a lot of our heart and soul into and these kids we know are doing the best they can to get there. We just need them to take those extra steps and a lot of them seem to be doing it. And right now it appears some of these defencemen we have are getting very close so thats a good thing. SIEGEL: When you look at this years draft, does the unpredictability at the top make it difficult to project what youre going to be able to land at the eighth pick? MORRISON: I would say so. You look at a lot of these independent lists and things online and different publications and theres a real difference in the lists. Maybe, other than a few guys at the very top, there seems to be a real difference in who likes who. I would think that its probably the same with 29 teams. Its difficult, but at the end of the day we know what we like and we know what wed like to get and thats I think the most important thing going into the draft. SIEGEL: When you look at some of those publications, aside from the 2-3 guys at the top, it seems to be winger-heavy at the point where youre picking. If thats the case and obviously this organizations strength, one of its strengths is on the wing, are you okay with picking another winger or do you look and say weve got to find a way to keep addressing the need at centre? You added Gauthier last year. How do you balance that juggling act? MORRISON: I think we take the best player. I think we dont think about the position so much as the player and the talent. And thats the way were going to look at it. We want to get the best player we possibly can, the player with the most NHL potential and potential impact at the NHL level when they get there. So thats what were going to do. We wont be position-specific; its more about the player. SIEGEL: I dont want to go through all the different guys, but is there a type that youre looking at within that group, because you seem to have some power wingers, youve got a couple two-way centres; what about the group coming into this draft strikes you? MORRISON: This group, theres all different flavours there. Theres really a different bunch of styles and types in that group. We like quite a few of them. Weve got a framework now for our list obviously. We know who we like and were confident were going to get a good player. Its exciting going in. ' ' '