Brophy on Leafs: Buds bit by injury bug

The bad news is the Toronto Maple Leafs have lost three straight games. Make it five losses in the past six games, including four in a row at home.

The worse news is the club’s injury list continues to grow.

Oh, by the way, there is no good news.

In a game when the Maple Leafs put forth a solid effort despite their deteriorating roster, they not only lost a game — 4-1 to the Nashville Predators — they also were deprived of two more players. Forward Matthew Lombardi and defenceman Mike Komisarek were both injured — upper-body injuries for the two of them, according to coach Ron Wilson. Lombardi seemed to be favouring his shoulder following a faceoff and was seen leaving the arena with his left arm in a sling, while Komisarek seemed to have a hand injury.

Lombardi and Komisarek join No. 1 goalie James Reimer, Colby Armstrong, Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur on the injury list while Colton Orr, who probably wouldn’t have played against Nashville anyway, has been sick for a few days.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Wilson said after the game. “You just play on with whoever we bring up or with the guys who aren’t playing that now get in the lineup. We’ll do our best.”

Doing their best hasn’t added up to much for the Leafs the past few weeks.

Toronto is moving in the wrong direction, downward in the standings in an all too familiar scenario. After a second consecutive hopeful start to the season, the Leafs are in what could be the beginning of a freefall. The sad part is, it wasn’t a bad game for the Leafs and nor have they played that poorly in all of their losses.

Time to press the panic button?

One could easily make the case the Maple Leafs out-played their hosts Thursday night, but were stymied by the opposition’s goalie — Pekka Rinne. Then again, you could argue the Leafs don’t have sufficient scoring to beat most teams, never mind one of the stingiest defensive clubs in the league.

“He came up huge,” Wilson said of Rinne. “I thought we played really well and dominated most parts of the game. I thought the whole group played well…the group that got to the end of the game. They all contributed in some way, shape or form. We came as advertised with speed and we created opportunities. It was just one of those games.”

Should anyone be surprised by Rinne? Wilson sure wasn’t.

“He’s one of the highest paid goalies; one of the best goalies and we knew that,” Wilson said. “We did our best. He was up to task tonight.”

Despite Toronto’s goaltending concerns with Reimer out, Ben Scrivens gave them another good effort. He was simply out-dueled by a guy who was just rewarded with a seven-year, $49-million contract extension. Would a more experienced stopper in goal for Toronto have given Rinne a better 1-on-1 battle? That is the question Leafs GM Brian Burke must be wrestling with.

Regardless of Scrivens’ performance and where he fits into their future, there is little doubt the Maple Leafs will continue in their search for an upgrade. They have acknowledged as much, admitting they touched base with Marty Turco’s people this week, before stating they had no further interest in perusing the 36-year-old stopper.

Scrivens is in an unenviable position. He is trying to establish himself as an NHLer, but his team’s injury situation is making it awfully difficult for him.

He appears to be a decent puck-handling goaltender, but in two games in a row Scrivens has gotten himself — and his team — into trouble by being a little too over exuberant when deciding to play third defenceman.

On Tuesday against Phoenix, he made a nice play by cutting quickly behind his net to retrieve a puck that had been snapped in around the boards. His swiftness paid dividends as he halted a puck that would have whipped past many other stoppers.

Unfortunately for the Leafs, Scrivens quickly fired it around the boards in the same direction and it was intercepted by a Coyotes defender. A few seconds later, Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored.

Against the Predators, Scrivens once again demonstrated great initiative by going behind the net to corral a dump-in, but his pass to Carl Gunnarsson was mishandled and, again, wound up in the Leafs net; this time courtesy of Martin Erat.

With the Washington Capitals in Toronto to play the Leafs Saturday night, some quick decisions have to be made as to the club’s personnel. Depending on how bad the injuries to Lombardi and Komisarek are, the Leafs seem desperate for help.

Another good start slipping away. It will be interesting to see what Burke does about it.

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