The Toronto Maple Leafs left Scotiabank Arena without a lot to be thankful for on Monday after dropping a second consecutive game to the Detroit Red Wings. After rallying two goals to tie things up in the third period, the Leafs conceded one with 45 seconds left in the game, giving Detroit the 3-2 victory.

Matthew Knies scored his first of the year and added an assist in the loss. Speaking to media after the game, he said the team needs to work on playing their game from start to finish.

“I still think we need to play a full 60 minutes,” Knies said. “We can’t let it break down, especially in the last few minutes of a period of a game. That’s unacceptable by us. I think we just need to play simpler at those times of the games and manage the clock a little bit better.”

Cowan made his Maple Leafs debut on Monday on the first line (with Knies calling him “phenomenal”), but looking for an offensive spark, Craig Berube began to mix things up in the third period. When Knies opened the scoring for Toronto in the final frame, it was off an assist from usual second-liner Bobby McMann, playing on the top line alongside Knies and Auston Matthews. Knies said that ability to make changes on the fly and see results speaks to how deep their roster is.

“There’s obviously a ton of guys that deserve to play in that role,” he said. “I think we have a lot of talented players here that work hard, it’s a privilege for me to play up there. So there’s a lot of guys that are going to earn their way there, a lot of guys that can step up and play those roles. It just shows the depth of our team and how strong we are.”

After taking back-to-back losses against Detroit, the Maple Leafs are now 1-2-0 on the year, hardly the start they were hoping for with that stacked roster. Still, with lots of buy-in to Berube’s system, Knies said they’re ready to take their lessons and get back to work.

“I think we’re finding our rhythm here,” Knies said. “Taking a too many men penalty, you don’t really wanna see that stuff early in the season. So I think we’re gonna clean everything up, watch some video, stick to out structure, and hopefully it will figure itself out here. Obviously we have an unbelievable leadership group and a lot of veterans on this team, so I think we can find our rhythm and get back on track.”

The Maple Leafs are right back at it Tuesday night, set to host the Nashville Predators. Puck drops from Scotiabank Arena at 7 pm.