The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost six of their past seven games, but one thing that they haven’t been able to say until the most recent game is that they deserved to win any of those games. It’s a moral victory, sure, but it’s also an indication that things might start to turn around soon.

Days after snapping their 5-game losing streak against the St. Louis Blues, the Leafs hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets and lost 3-2 in overtime despite creating chances all game and generally controlling pace of play for most of it. It was their last game ahead of a six-game road trip, and head coach Craig Berube believes the team built some positive momentum despite not getting the two points.

“I thought we played a pretty solid game all around,” Berube told reporters postgame on Thursday. “I thought guys worked and competed, you know, did a lot of good things. Overtime, you know. It’s the way it goes.”

While anybody in the room would have traded a solid individual performance for a win, there were several players who impressed. One of them was Easton Cowan, who set up John Tavares for the tying goal and earned several looks on the top line with Tavares and William Nylander when the team needed a boost offensively. Berube commented on Cowan’s progress and noted his improvement day by day.

“He’s taken some good steps from day one, and for me, it’s like a dog on a bone out there,” Berube said of Cowan. “Like, he just works and skates and sees the ice extremely well. He’s being a lot heavier on pucks and making good decisions with the puck. I thought he played a really good game tonight.”

Another player who didn’t appear on the scoresheet but re-established his importance to the team in his return to the lineup was Scott Laughton. The Maple Leafs’ deadline acquisition from last season missed the start of the year due to an injury after blocking a shot in preseason and then got injured on a high hit only two games into his return. He looked like he hadn’t skipped a beat on Thursday night, fearlessly throwing himself in front of shots and giving the penalty kill a huge boost, which Berube noted as well.

“I thought he was really good tonight,” Berube said. “Lot of energy, skated well, killed penalties, created some offence. He brings that tenacity every shift.”

The Maple Leafs will kick off their road trip with their first visit to the Bell Centre as they take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. They’re quickly moving out of the territory where they can count moral victories and are starting to feel the pressure to stack some points up, but Berube believes that the team is on the right track if they keep playing the way they did on Thursday.

“We’re defending a lot better. Tonight we needed to finish better. That’s really the story. But, you know, I think things are getting better and they’re going in a good direction now. We;ve just got to keep working on it, keep building, and get some healthy bodies back.”