No beating the Dallas Stars this time.
After ruling over the Stars for years, the Maple Leafs took one on the chin on Tuesday night, losing 4-1 at Scotiabank Arena.
The Leafs had won seven in a row against the Stars, not having lost to Dallas since Feb. 13, 2020. It was the Leafs’ longest active winning streak against any opponent.
For the first time in 2024-25, the Leafs have lost three consecutive games in regulation, collectively being outscored 13-4 by Dallas, Vancouver and Carolina.
Similar to Saturday against the Canucks, some boos were heard during the third period.
The line of Auston Matthews between Steven Lorentz and Mitch Marner produced the only Toronto goal, but Lorentz was demoted to his usual regular fourth-line spot before the end of the second period.
Dallas scored two power-play goals, including one by Matt Duchene at 1:06 of third, on the way to victory. Less than two minutes later, a shot by Duchene went off teammate Logan Stankoven and past goaltender Joseph Woll. With that, the Leafs’ faint hopes at a rally were snuffed out.
The penalty-killing troubles marked just the fourth time this season that the Leafs allowed two power-play goals in one game, and the first time at home. It hadn’t happened since Dec. 7 in a 5-2 loss in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.
Whether the Leafs might not have liked some of the calls made by referees Carter Sandlak and Peter MacDougall didn’t matter. It’s still their responsibility to kill them off.
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And though the Leafs hit the post several times, those don’t count on the scoreboard, do they?
Dallas took a 2-1 lead into third period after it scored on the power play at 12:35 of the second as John Tavares served a slashing minor.
A point shot by defenceman Thomas Harley was deflected by Stankoven, and the puck hit Stars forward Mavrik Bourque before zipping past Woll.
The Leafs had 1-0 lead at 4:15 when Matthews picked the short side on Stars goalie Jake Oettinger after taking a pass from Marner.
The Stars tied the game at 8:33 when Stankoven, parked to the left of Woll, tapped a loose puck into the net
Both of Toronto’s power-play units had some flow and organization during a man advantage in the first, but had only posts hit by Marner and Morgan Rielly to show for it. The Leafs also failed to score on a power play in the third.
X: @koshtoro