One club lost in dramatic fashion to the worst team in the league. The other got blown out of their own building by the same team that eliminated them from last spring's playoffs.
So on Friday, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames had quite a bit in common as they sifted through the rubble of a pair of difficult losses. On Thursday, Toronto took the lead in the final minute of the third period in Carolina, only to have the Hurricanes score the tying goal with less than three seconds left, and win 6-5 in a shootout. The Flames gave up five unanswered goals in the second period of a 7-1 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
"This is your job - it's embarrassing," said veteran Flames forward
Craig Conroy. "I took my kids to school in the morning, and the teacher feels bad for me. It's embarrassing. We're pissed. If you go around the room, it's not a happy group."
Flames head coach Brent Sutter laid his club's poor showing directly at the feet of his players.
"It's almost like we were afraid to make a mistake, and when you play that way, you make 'em," said Sutter. "There's too much inconsistency in their game, and the reason is there is too much inconsistency in the individuals who are willing to stay with it for 60 minutes.
"It's a lack of that strength - that has nothing to do with being physical or our conditioning - it's mental, dealing with adversity, and how to stay sharp. I've said all along - the game is 90% mental. This team has a lot of work to do," added Sutter.
"We didn't do much right at all," said Flames defenceman
Robyn Regehr. "We just have to go back and look in the mirror at ourselves as individuals, and make sure you're ready to play, and that we bring the things to the game that we're here for."
"It was a game that, from every single one of us, was pretty bad," agreed captain
Jarome Iginla.
In Toronto, the doghouse of Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson is rapidly filling up. The team has won just three times in 20 games this season, but Thursday's loss represented their biggest collapse of the year.
"We're in last place, and we need more commitment from a few people who are feeling sorry for themselves," said Wilson. "They don't get the puck, I sit them down for a minute, and they think it's not right. They have to be accountable - more to themselves than to anybody else and I don't think they're doing that right now.
"All the stuff is all irrelevent if you don't compete hard all night, and we didn't," added Wilson.
"It's completely unacceptable," said Toronto defenceman
Ian White. "We had a 3-0 lead, and to give that up...we're going to see what kind of character we have now."
The road for both teams will be just as challenging this weekend. The Maple Leafs, who are on a five-game losing streak, will face
Alex Ovechkin and the Eastern-Conference leading Washington Capitals on Saturday. Calgary begins a stretch where they will play eight of nine games on the road when they travel to Los Angeles to meet the rapidly-improving Kings.