Easton Cowan put Monday night's 5-2 loss in Calgary squarely on himself, and the Toronto Maple Leafs forward didn't soften a word of it.
“Dumb penalty by me. Those 2 goals are on me,” Cowan said.
He kept going: “I cost us the game, and I gotta be better.”
He also said he has to “control my emotions better.”
He finished the night with 4 penalty minutes and a -1 rating.
Lost in all that: he also scored, his sixth goal of the season, in 15:30 of ice time.
So is he right?
Easton Cowan takes responsibility for the Leafs' loss, blaming his “dumb penalty” and turnovers that led to 2 goals, but vows to be better
“Dumb penalty by me. Those 2 goals are on me. I cost us the game, and I gotta be better... Salfish of me to take that dumb penalty. Can't have that. Gotta be better and control my emotions better.”
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On the same subject, here is what Auston Matthews had to say :
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A blunt postgame admission puts Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan in the spotlight
Only partly. Cowan is being too hard on himself, because one penalty didn't hand Calgary five goals.
Matvei Gridin did most of the damage, with 2 goals and an assist.
One of those goals came on the power play, and he also owns the game-winner.
Devin Cooley made 26 saves for Calgary.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 32 at the other end, and Ryan Huska's Flames have now won four straight.
Owning it like that is like the new hire walking into the boss's office to admit he broke something before anyone finds out. Rare, and worth something.
Cowan has 13 points through 14 games.
Two of his goals have been game-winners, and another came shorthanded.
He's been even sharper lately, with 6 points over his last 5 games.
All of that comes on a $900,000 cap hit, which makes the 21-year-old one of the best bargains in Toronto.
He wasn't the only Leaf in the box, either. Auston Matthews and Zack MacEwen combined for 9 penalty minutes.
Kirill Marchenko also left the game, adding an injury worry to the trip.
The Leafs are 7-5-2 and sit third in the Atlantic, three points back of Boston.
The Kraken are 7-4-1 and coming off a 5-1 home loss to Minnesota.
Seattle is next on Wednesday. Cowan promised to control his emotions better, and Jim Hiller gets to find out right away whether he can.
Is Easton Cowan being too hard on himself for the Leafs' loss in Calgary?
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