Three straight regulation losses aren't a good sign. Exactly how much of a problem are the various underlying trends?

Logan Stankoven had two goals and an assist to lead the Dallas Stars to a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Tuesday night. Matt Duchene added a goal and two assists, and Mavrik Bourque also scored for Dallas,

Injuries usually pile up as a season progresses, which has been the case for the Maple Leafs — especially on the backend. Veteran defensemen Jake McCabe (upper body) and Jani Hakanpaa (knee) are currently on injured reserve, meaning it wouldn't be shocking if general manager Brad Treliving wanted to add another defender shortly.

My Leafs analysis The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off back-to-back losses to Carolina and Vancouver, two playoff-worthy opponents, and have another top team in their way tonight in the Dallas Stars, who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

It's hard to pick an aspect of the game where the Leafs played well, turning what could have been a coin-flip into a routine win for Dallas.

The Dallas Stars look to start a new winning streak when traveling for the last stop of their five-game road trip to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. The Stars are coming off their first loss in eight games when they were edged out 3-2 by the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head coach felt his players delivered. The result, however, was more of the same. And now a team that did well to grasp a new system in the first half of the NHL season is facing its first real bumps in the road.