In any hockey season, there’s going to be rough patches.

And even for the first-place Toronto Marlies, who rode a 16-game point streak from December 31st to February 16th, the same sentiment holds true, too.

“When you’re hot, everything goes your way,” said Keefe after Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Rochester Americans. “All the bounces go your way, goals go your way.” But over the course of their last 10 games, and with a 3-6-1 record to show for it, there hasn’t much that’s gone the Marlies way.

Over the past 10 games, the Marlies have endured some poor puck luck, and they’ve found themselves 3-6-1 through their last 10 games.

Mind you, they’re still putting up 30 shots per game, as they have all year, but as of late, they’ve struggled to put pucks in the back of the net (averaging 2.50 goals per game, much lower than their season-long average of 3.22). Even the Marlies goaltending, one of the many bright spots of their season, has struggled. Averaging 2.17 goals per game, the duo of Calvin Pickard and Garret Sparks has combined for a 2.50 GAA over their last 10 games.

“I feel like we’re a little stressed with the puck,” said Andreas Johnsson, the team’s leading scorer. “I feel like when were [in the midst of the 16-game streak], we played simple and we didn’t rush. We took what the game gave us and I feel like when you have such a streak, your pretty used to [everything working out] and I feel like this is a good lesson for us to figure out how to come back to that.”

So, what’s going on with the Marlies?

First things first, they’re missing a few key cogs from their lineup, and that’s signalled a passing of the torch, of sorts.

Kasperi Kapanen hasn’t been with the Marlies since January 27th, and it’s safe to say he won’t be heading back down to the minors, for good. Nikita Soshnikov was shipped out on February 14th, and more recently, Rinat Valiev and Kerby Rychel were sent to Montreal in the Tomas Plekanec deal. Not to mention Miro Aaltonen, the team’s number one centre, getting banged up on February 24th.

“We’re a good team and we’ve shown that all year,” said rookie forward Adam Brooks. “Obviously we’ve lost a couple guys. A couple key guys. The core of the team is still the same. We’ve got a lot of great leadership in [the locker room] that do what they need to do to get us going.”

Saying goodbye to some of the team’s high-impact players and promoting young-guns from within, such as Brooks, Jeremy Bracco and Mason Marchment, is a big change. You could make the case that Kapanen and Soshnikov, for example, were NHL-ready throughout the bulk of their Marlies careers. Now, as those two are out of the fold, the Marlies youngsters, are going to see expanded roles.

With such an ever-changing carousel of prospects running through the Marlies system, having strong veteran leadership is important, and the Marlies financial commitments this past summer to high-end AHL veterans shows their understanding of that.

“You can look through our lineup and there’s a lot of guys that’ve been around for a long time, that can give you a lending hand any day. You just try to take in what they’re telling you. It doesn’t matter who it is but it seems like guys have something every day for you.”

It’s been a tough year for Adam Brooks.

One-year removed from a 130-point campaign in the WHL, Brooks, the Leafs 2016 4th round pick, has played primarily on the team’s fourth line and he hasn’t scored a goal since January 6th.

“[I] haven’t really scored much this year but I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team,” said Brooks. “Obviously, I wish I could score goals. I wish I was out there scoring every night, but unfortunately that’s just not happening. I’m going to keep trying, and keep working and hopefully I can find the back of the net soon.”

But with Aaltonen on the shelf, Brooks has been getting more opportunities as of late, even seeing some time on the power play.

“You never like seeing a guy like that out, obviously you’d rather have him in the lineup, doing what he does [because] he’s a great player,” said Brooks. “But I’m going to try and do the best I can when I get out there on the power play.”

Since Kasperi Kapanen was last recalled by the Leafs on January 27th, Andreas Johnsson has been red-hot.

Call it a coincidence, if you please, but the numbers don’t lie. With 20 points in his last 13 games, and a player of the month honour for the month of February, Johnsson has evolved into a dominant player for the Marlies.

“[I’m trying to] take advantage of the ice when I have the puck,” said Johnsson. “Last year, I didn’t really recognize the situations and didn’t take advantage of when I got an opportunity and now I feel more comfortable to take the ice that I’m given.”

Johnsson, alike Kapanen over the last little while, is now the name shouted as a knee-jerk reaction to any injury that occurs;  he’s the next-man up, and he’s taking full-advantage of it.