Mike Babcock addressed the media after his team’s 5-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Leafs’ second straight home loss in which they conceded five or more goals.
On falling behind 4-0 in the first period:
We weren’t very good in the first period. We didn’t take care of the puck well enough or compete at a high enough level. Our second period was better, but still not good enough. Obviously, we crawled our way back in the third but came up short. Usually, when you are down like we were, it is tough to come back. I thought we made a good valiant push, but it wasn’t good enough.
On the defensive breakdowns in the opening 20 minutes:
We turned the puck over a little bit. We didn’t play hard enough. We weren’t quick enough in our own zone. We didn’t skate good enough or compete at a high enough level. In our preparation today for their team, we explained how well they’ve been playing and what the level was going to be, and we didn’t get to it. Bottom line is, we came back from the road and we thought we were playing real well. We haven’t gotten back to that level, so we need to get back to that level.
On what the team worked on defensively the morning of the game:
What we did is we lost face-offs the previous game and they bounced them off people and they went in our net. We just did sort outs. But that was our d-zone. Get some puck pressure in d-zone.
On whether it translated into the game:
It sure didn’t look like it in the first. It looked like it after that. The reality is you can all stand in the right spots, but you’ve got to compete at a high enough level. I just didn’t think we started good enough. I thought they scored on their chances and got us off kilter, and then it took us a while to get back going again.
On what he thought of the first and second goals on Frederik Andersen:
I didn’t go through them on video, so once I have gone through them on video, I will be able to tell you that tomorrow.
