The Maple Leafs' Biggest Problem May Be That They're Almost

There is something particularly frustrating about watching a hockey team that looks capable of winning but keeps finding ways to lose. That's where Toronto Maple Leafs fans seem to be right now. The 5-2 loss to Minnesota wasn't a complete disaster from beginning to end. Toronto had stretches of good hockey, won the faceoff battle convincingly, and outshot the Wild. Auston Matthews and MacEwen scored early in the second period, and for a while, the game was winnable.

But that's becoming the problem. The Maple Leafs keep getting close enough to give fans hope, only for something to go wrong. Head coach Jim Hiller seems to understand the frustration. He acknowledged that Toronto has played well enough to compete in several recent games, but made it clear that competing isn't enough.

"We can't take moral victories," he said.

The Small Mistakes Are Becoming Big Problems for the Maple Leafs.

Look at Matt Boldy's winning goal. William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson got their wires crossed on a play that should have been handled earlier. Instead, Minnesota found an opening and took advantage. It wasn't necessarily a spectacular play by the Wild. It was an opportunity Toronto gave them.

Good teams don't need many invitations to score. They wait for mistakes, recognize them and make opponents pay. The numbers suggest this isn't an isolated problem. Toronto is allowing 3.16 goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five, with only Chicago and Vancouver doing worse.

The Maple Leafs can win faceoffs and trade shots with opponents, but that means little when defensive mistakes keep finding their way onto the scoreboard.

Hope Is There for the Maple Leafs, But It Needs Some Help.

Hiller said he sees lots of hope in this team. I'd like to believe him. Players can still make a difference, and there have been stretches when Toronto looks much better than its recent record suggests. But there's another concern. How long can a team keep telling itself that it's close?

Young players like Gavin McKenna need room to learn, and veterans like Tavares and Nylander need to provide some stability. That's a difficult combination when the team is losing, and every mistake seems to carry extra weight. Hiller's challenge is to help the group find consistency without letting frustration take over.

For fans, the question is becoming pretty simple. Are these losses signs the team is slowly finding its way, or do they show us what this group really is?

The Maple Leafs Get Another Chance on Saturday Night.

Saturday's game against Edmonton won't answer everything. But it might tell us whether the Maple Leafs can turn some of that almost-good-enough hockey into something more valuable.

At this point, a moral victory won't satisfy many people in Toronto. It should be an interesting game. Whether it will be a happy night for Maple Leafs fans is another question.