TORONTO — The number nine has different meanings in different cultures. In Japan, nine is said to be unlucky and is associated with suffering. In ancient China, nine was the symbol of the Emperor and viewed as the ultimate numeric representation of masculinity.

For the present-day Toronto Maple Leafs, nine could be viewed as a symbol of suffering, too. It could also signify humiliation, a goalie named Ryan Miller, and a nine-game losing streak the Leafs are currently mired in with the Buffalo Sabres.

The ninth defeat to Buffalo was particularly cruel. It came in overtime at the Air Canada Centre when a wide-open Derek Roy converted a pass from Jochen Hecht, sealing the Leafs fate, 3-2, in a game they were leading 2-1 with seven minutes to go.

“The second goal, we turned the puck over, an elementary — I’ll call it a pee wee mistake,” Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. “And then the goal in overtime was also a pee wee mistake. The two defencemen go into the corner and leave the front of the net, the weak-side forward is not paying attention, we have nobody there and it is an easy goal.”

Breakdowns ultimately killed the Leafs Monday night. But the bugaboo in this Sabres tale of woe, the one they cannot seem to shake, has been Buffalo’s Miller. The rail-thin goalie with the big puffy shoulder pads had stopped 111 of the 115 shots Toronto fired his way in teams’ three previous meetings this season. Miller stopped 34 more in win No. 9.

“We have to keep shooting and find a hole,” Wilson said in the hours before the game. “You don’t sit before a game and design plays and say this is going to be beat Ryan Miller.

“Get to rebounds, win some battles; you can’t be intimidated by a goaltender.”

Viktor Stalberg was apparently listening to his coach. After Buffalo opened the scoring in the first, the Swedish rookie evened things up by banking a pass off the skate of a Buffalo backchecker who was busy trying to corral a hard-charging Colton Orr.

The go-to-the-net routine clicked again before the end of the second. This time, Ian White was the Leaf charging in Miller’s direction, where Lee Stempniak found him.

Traffic, then, meant trouble for Miller. Since the shots — or bank passes — the Sabres goalie could see, he stopped. Miller, the NHL leader in goals-against average and save percentage, is a luxury item. When the Sabres break down, their goaltender almost always bails them out. Buffalo gave up a couple clear two-on-ones — one where Toronto sniper Phil Kessel was the shooter — and a shorthanded breakaway. But Miller did not flinch.

“He is definitely one of the most consistent goalies out there,” Stalberg said. “Miller played great again tonight.”

At the Toronto end of the goaltending spectrum is Jonas Gustavsson, the Swedish rookie with the bright upside. And the twice operated-upon heart.

Gustavsson notched his first career shutout against the Bruins on Saturday, and made 27 saves against the Sabres. Still, it was the stop he did not make on a weak, bad-angle shot from Buffalo’s Nathan Paetsch in the first period that tends to hurt. And it came back to haunt the Leafs when Gustavsson’s teammates broke down and Hecht broke free, tying the game with seven minutes to go and setting up overtime.

In the days leading up to the game, Wilson advanced several theories as to how the Leafs might be able to knock Miller from his present state of near perfection. He suggested taking a run at the Sabres goaltender, a tactic offered up in jest, that Leafs forward Jason Blake embraced on the opening shift.

But Miller bounced right up, kept making saves, kept the Leafs guessing, and pushed the streak to nine.

“They are tops in our division and they have already taken a lot of points from us. This is big for our team. When you want to climb the standings you got to beat these teams,” Matt Stajan said before the game. “They have had our number the last few years.”

And that number is now nine ... and counting.

National Post

joconnor@nationalpost.com