For the first time in 2024-25, the Maple Leafs have lost three consecutive games in regulation.
It’s certainly not how the Leafs wanted to start the second half, but after a 4-1 loss against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena, they will re-group on Wednesday and practice and try to put the skid to bed when Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils visit on Thursday.
Our takeaways from the loss to Dallas:
NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD
There had been no reason for the Leafs to utter the word “adversity” this season, but that crept into the post-game discussion on Tuesday.
The only other time the Leafs lost three games in a row came at the end of October, and one of those defeats included an overtime loss against the Boston Bruins.
“We’re going through adversity right now and as much as you prefer not to go through that, it’s necessary sometimes,” said captain Auston Matthews, who scored the only Toronto goal. “These are the kinds of moments where we have to come together even more and stick with each other and work our way out of it. That’s really all we can do, that’s the mindset going into it.”
How the Leafs navigate these uncharted waters will be intriguing. You can imagine that Keefe, in his first and only visit of the season after the Leafs fired him in May, will do all he can to ensure the Devils extend Toronto’s losing streak.
The game was there for the taking by either side on Tuesday. At the midway point of the second period, the score was 1-1 and shots on goal were 15-15.
From there, the Stars scored three goals despite being outshot 13-8. Two of their three shots in the third period beat goalie Joseph Woll, including a power-play goal.
If the game is tight at five-on-five, and this one was, you’re not expecting Steven Lorentz (whose stint on the top line with Matthews and Mitch Marner ended in the second period) or Nick Robertson or David Kampf to make the difference.
That falls on the big money-makers, whether it’s Matthews, Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, and that didn’t happen. None of them had more than two shots on goal in the game. The Leafs finished with 28, led by defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson with five.
Matthews talked about the lack of space at five-on-five. Well, it’s on him and the others noted to find some space in these kinds of games and break through.
TONIGHT’S SPECIAL
The Leafs’ penalty kill conspired with the power play to kill any chance at a Toronto victory.
A penalty kill that was third in the National Hockey League heading into the game allowed two power-play goals for only the fourth time in 2024-25 (and first at home). And it did so against a Stars power play that was 28th in the NHL before games on Tuesday.
The Leafs’ power play looked better, especially when the units hit the the post three times on the first advantage, but the difference between snapping the puck around and actually scoring helped result in the defeat.
“There’s a special teams battle,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “Five on five, pretty even game, pretty tight game, not much going on either way.
“We have to win that battle. We’re not getting the bounces, but we’re not executing good enough with the puck. I think we can execute better. Seemed a little off on the execution part of things.”
Again, here’s where Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares are supposed to tilt the game in the Leafs’ favour, and they did not.
“We want to continue to be better and be difference-makers,” Tavares said. “We have to find a way to put the puck in the net. Had some good looks, hit three posts, have to keep going. In the third, we didn’t execute as well (on one power play).
“The last 10 games, we were at about 23%. We still expect more. It’s not as poor as it’s been. We have to be more consistent.”
BOO THIS
The Leafs heard boos again in the third period when it was obvious there would be no comeback, something that occurred in the third period against the Canucks on Saturday on the way to being shut out.
The Leafs’ feathers weren’t ruffled. They get it.
“It’s frustrating losing, so I think we feel the same way,” defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said.
Berube shrugged.
“They do it in every rink, don’t they?” Berube said. “It’s part of the game. They pay good money and they come to see hockey and they want to see us win. That’s the way it goes.”
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