The Toronto Maple Leafs squandered a two-goal lead en route to a 4-3 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, but none of the team's rookies could be faulted for the defeat.
Head coach Mike Babcock addressed the media after yet another one-goal loss, where he pointed out that it was the team's experienced players and not the youngsters who had contributed to the loss.
"It wasn't our kids that made mistakes tonight," said Babcock. "It was two guys we count on big time there in the third period that cost us."
Babcock praises Soshnikov, Hyman; notes learning curve steeper for Nylander bc he plays C; points out vets made mistakes that cost TOR game
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 8, 2016
On the flip side, Babcock was pleased with his rookies and showed particular appreciation for the strong play of Nikita Soshnikov and Zach Hyman, the former of which collected his first NHL goal in the loss.
Babcock presser
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 8, 2016
on Soshnikov: "Every team is mad at him every night. I like that a lot"
on Hyman: "Really good player. He just keeps going."
The Maple Leafs have now dropped five straight one-goal games and six games overall with just one point out of a possible 12.
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