TORONTO \u2014 If a good team loses to a bad team, the players drill down on their mistakes or rip their own effort. They blame puck luck or credit a locked-in goaltender at the other end.<\/p>\n
They find the result either unacceptable or an\u00a0anomaly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When a bad team drops a hard-fought battle to another bad team, the tone is much different. They focus on the positives; they highlight improvements and talk about building blocks.<\/p>\n
This \u2014 after nine straight post-season berths and 61 games in a campaign that will not see an 83rd \u2014 is now where we find the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s a frightening place to live, the standards for urgency and excellence having dipped so low.<\/p>\n A bad hockey team finding the bright spots on a night where it could\u2019ve defeated another bad hockey team, but instead lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers, who also plan to shed veteran talent by Friday\u2019s trade deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cOur game was good all around,\u201d head coach Craig Berube said. \u201cThat\u2019s kinda like our blueprint. That\u2019s the way we need to play.\u201d<\/p>\n This assessment came after the defending Atlantic Division regular-season champs\u2019 fourth consecutive loss and seventh consecutive loss at Scotiabank Arena, a building now packing all the atmosphere of a dentist\u2019s waiting room.<\/p>\n To be fair, Berube isn\u2019t wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n After having their heart publicly questioned after Saturday\u2019s listless effort against rival Ottawa, the Leafs did submit their most consistent effort since the Olympic break.\u00a0<\/p>\n They scored first and dominated the second period and outshot their visitors 31-25. They didn\u2019t roll over down 2-1 late, and they salvaged a standings point thanks to William Nylander\u2019s power-play blast with just 2:30 on the clock.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was a better effort,\u201d Nylander said. \u201cToday was a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n But we\u2019re accustomed to discussing playoff positioning and the ideal depth defenceman to add at this time of year in Toronto. Not clinging to moral victories.<\/p>\n Alas, this is the new reality in Leafland.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, good on the skaters for doing a better job limiting odd-man rushes and easy looks around Anthony Stolarz<\/a>\u2019s net. The Flyers managed just three high-danger chances five-on-five. (The Leafs had two, per\u00a0NaturalStatTrick.com.)<\/p>\n And good on Dakota Joshua for sniping one past Dan Vladar off a nice backhand feed from Matias Maccelli. That goal marked the power forward\u2019s first since missing nearly two months of action as he recovered from a lacerated kidney.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was nice. It\u2019s been a while,\u201d Joshua said. \u201cBut it makes the hard days of recovery and coming back worth it when you can get one.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I\u2019m getting better every game.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2025-26 Maple Leafs as a whole, unfortunately, have run out of time to get better and have it matter. The league is passing them by, and they know it.<\/p>\n Which explains why resignation has replaced frustration.<\/p>\n