Easton Cowan’s Rough Night in Utah: Well, That's a First

There's a funny thing about a young hockey player having a bad game. Sometimes, it reminds you just how well he's been playing. That's where I am with Easton Cowan after the Toronto Maple Leafs' 5-4 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night. Cowan had a difficult evening, finishing with no points and a minus-3 rating. It wasn't the sort of game he'll want to remember.

But I'm not particularly worried about it. In fact, there's a good reason to look at the bigger picture.

One bad game doesn't erase Cowan’s good start.

Before the Utah game, Cowan had scored in back-to-back contests. He found the net against Vegas and followed that up with another goal in Toronto's 6-3 win over Colorado. Through his first seven games, he had three goals and two assists. That's a pretty encouraging start for a young player finding his way in the NHL.

Cowan hasn't simply been hanging around waiting for something good to happen. He's been contributing offensively, and those consecutive goals gave the Maple Leafs another reason to feel good about what he's bringing to the lineup.

Then came Utah. No points. A minus-3. Two shots on goal. It's easy to look at those numbers and start wondering whether the kid is hitting a wall. But hockey doesn't work that way. Even established NHL players have nights when nothing seems to go right.

And that minus-3 rating doesn't mean Cowan personally caused three goals. Plus/minus tells us what happened while a player was on the ice. It doesn't tell us the whole story.

What matters is how Cowan responds to this game.

Here's what I find encouraging about Cowan's start. We've already seen him score in consecutive games and contribute to a strong offensive performance against Colorado. One difficult night doesn't erase that.

Of course, the Maple Leafs need to see more than a couple of good scoring games. Young players also have to learn how to contribute when they’re not finding the back of the net. They have to make smart decisions, stay engaged defensively, and learn how to handle nights when the game moves a little too quickly. That's all part of the learning process.

We shouldn't pretend Cowan had a good game against Utah. He didn't. But we also shouldn't let one poor performance define his season.

Cowan’s poor games are becoming less and less frequent.

For me, the more interesting question isn't whether Cowan will have another difficult night. He will. Every young player does. It's how he responds. So far, Cowan has given Maple Leafs fans some encouraging reasons to believe he's capable of helping this team. One rough night doesn't change that.

Sometimes, a bad game is just a bad game. And sometimes, it reminds us that the player has been doing a lot of things right this season.