Report: Babcock blames his young stars for last night's loss!

Head coach Mike Babcock addressed the media after the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night that snapped the team’s six-game winning streak, and he did not hold back. 

The Coyotes were the NHL’s worst team through the opening quarter of the season, but have now won three consecutive games against the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Leafs. 

Young stars like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander have been seizing more control of the team, and therefore Babcock expected way more from them. 

"You get ready to play for the game today. That’s what a good pro does. That’s what you do. Each and every day. A lot of the guys that are driving us — the young skilled guys — weren’t here today. Not today. We weren’t good enough with those guys today. There wasn’t enough of us."

Babcock believes his young stars should be scrutinized more closely. 

"This was what I was concerned about today. It’s one thing when the other team, because of their record, makes you respect them. When your record is like what their record is… even though we tried to tell the players how good they’ve been playing lately and how they’ve come from behind all of that, we weren’t prepared. We got what we deserved. That’s just it. Congratulations to them. They were better than us."

You can be sure the young forwards will want to answer and be better in the next game!