Defeat not resting lightly with Nik

The impact of the ongoing rebuild is in full evidence with the Maple Leafs now: four consecutive losses, two wins in the last 10 games, 17 goals in those 10 games.

The illusion of competitiveness was only going to last so long.

But even if the downward spiral seemed inevitable, it doesn't mean a player can't rage against it.

"Even if you're rebuilding, it doesn't mean you have to lose every single game," Nik Antropov said yesterday. "We have a lot of pride on this team. It's the Toronto Maple Leafs. We can't just lose every game, you know."

In that spirit, coach Ron Wilson yesterday shuffled the resources he does have in an effort to kick-start the offence and his squad.

For starters, Antropov was dropped from the top line where he had been skating with centre Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky. He has been replaced by Lee Stempniak for tonight's game at Carolina. Antropov drops back to a line with John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman.

"Just trying some tweaks to get a couple guys going," Wilson said. "Maybe a different look is what they need."

The two principals in the underachieving department are Antropov and Stempniak, though modest expectations for the latter are based on a 27-goal season two years ago rather than anything he has achieved this campaign.

Antropov's scoring slump reached 11 games in Toronto's 2-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Stempniak has only three goals in 24 games since arriving in a trade from St. Louis.

Wilson also demoted defenceman Jaime Sifers, who has looked jittery in recent outings, and called up Anton Stralman from the Marlies. Stralman stuck with Toronto out of training camp and played 21 games as a semi-regular, picking up a goal and six assists, before he was demoted in mid-December.

"Hopefully (Stralman) will be able to move some pucks quick and help out on our power play," Wilson said.

While the situation has turned ugly for a Leafs team that saves its worst performances for home ice, an upside has been the emergence of Antropov as a team leader. The good-natured forward has repeatedly gone public with his desire to stay in Toronto, although his name is frequent fodder for the rumour mongers ("It's the centre of the hockey universe; why would I want to leave?") and his ease with the language now has made him a go-to spokesman for the team and a beacon of optimism in the dressing room.

But yesterday he conceded the weight of his scoring slump was getting to him.

"It's not as easy as you think to push it aside when you go 11 games without a goal," he said. "I'm always hard on myself. I don't think it's the right thing to do. The harder you're pushing yourself, the harder it gets to get scoring chances."

Stempniak figures the line shuffling is just a coach's attempt to "create a spark, to change things up." But to do that, Antropov has been pushed out of the comfort zone he had working - and working very well in the past - with Stajan and Ponikarovsky.

"The coach has to do what he has to do. It's not unusual," Antropov said. "Hopefully we can get some chemistry going."

Another mainstay on the team who will be a frequent source of trade speculation this season, defenceman Tomas Kaberle, didn't practise yesterday.

He said he had a "lower body" issue but expects to play tonight against the Hurricanes and tomorrow in Atlanta.

"I'm feeling good. It was just for precautionary reasons with two games coming back-to-back," he said. "I didn't want to make it worse. I'm expecting to play."