The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 5-2 to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (Oct. 21). Following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday (Oct. 18), it was another uneven, at times listless, effort from the Maple Leafs. It also wasn’t a good look after being called out by No. 1 netminder Anthony Stolarz for not making life more difficult for opposing goaltenders. There was also no cross-sport carryover from the Toronto Blue Jays reaching the 2025 World Series, thanks to a thrilling Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday (Oct. 20).
Several Maple Leafs sported Jays’ jerseys upon their arrival at Scotiabank Arena, and members of the American League pennant winners were in attendance for the hockey game. However, the Maple Leafs didn’t respond with much of a spark on the ice. On the other hand, the Devils had plenty of momentum while entering Tuesday’s matchup with a four-game winning streak. They managed to seize hold of the swings, extend their win spree, and give head coach Sheldon Keefe his first victory against his former team.
Tavares Inching Closer to 500 Goals
John Tavares opened the scoring 6:36 into the contest after parking himself in front of the net and getting his stick on a point shot by Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Morgan Rielly made a great lunging play to keep the puck in at the blue line shortly before the goal occurred. It was close enough to being offside that the Devils examined the play on the bench before deciding not to challenge (unlike the Maple Leafs’ coaching staff, but more on that soon).
Tavares netted his fourth goal in the last four games, and the 498th of his career. He also has three assists during that span. His combination with Matias Maccelli won the majority of their minutes, whether they played with William Nylander (64.29 CF%) or Bobby McMann (71.43 CF%). Tavares and Maccelli created some much-needed traffic in front of the net when the former scored, which was part of what Stolarz hoped to see more of on a nightly basis from his teammates. The 35-year-old Tavares tied Glenn Anderson for 49th on the NHL all-time goal list after becoming the fourth player in league history to hit at least 500 points with two different teams in Saturday’s defeat.
Second-Period Struggles Continue
The Maple Leafs have struggled in second periods this season. It’s the lone frame where Toronto has surrendered significantly more goals than it has scored, sporting a minus-7 differential through seven games. The club is even with the Ottawa Senators for the league lead in goals against in period two with 12. The players and head coach Craig Berube lamented a failure to manage the game properly in the aftermath of Tuesday’s defeat. The Toronto bench boss said players aren’t reading the play well and are committing far too many turnovers. The Devils took full advantage of those miscues, scoring four times in the middle frame while utilizing their speed to create numerous odd-man rush chances.
Related: Jack Hughes’ Hat Trick Leads Devils to 5-2 Victory Over Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs got outworked early in the second period, leading to the game-tying goal by Jack Hughes. After an unsuccessful challenge for goaltender interference, Chris Tanev sustained an upper-body injury and left the game after banging heads with Dawson Mercer. The Devils scored on the ensuing power play that the Maple Leafs’ coaching staff received for delaying the game. There didn’t appear to be much of a reason for the decision to request a review in the first place. There was a New Jersey player in the crease, which may have prevented Stolarz from coming out of the crease further, but he didn’t make any contact with the Toronto goalie. The decision to challenge was ruinous due to an unfortunate series of events that followed.
The Maple Leafs went down 3-1 after blueliner Brenden Dillon found the back of the net on a 4-on-1(!) rush, which resulted in Berube using a timeout to try to settle things down. The move worked initially, as Toronto scored on a rush chance of its own to cut the lead to 3-2. Nylander faked a shot and sent a backhand feed to Maccelli, who scored into what essentially was a wide-open net for his first goal as a Maple Leaf. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop the poor defensive decision-making.
Jake McCabe’s backcheck took away a tap-in for Mercer after the Leafs got caught again for an odd-man rush. Domi awkwardly blocked a shot on another dangerous rush opportunity for the Devils late in the second period. However, he committed a costly turnover just inside the offensive blue line moments later, which resulted in a counterattack goal by Hughes, who completed his hat trick with a third-period empty-netter.
Line and Pairing Problems
Tanev’s exit left the Maple Leafs with Brandon Carlo as the lone right-handed rearguard. The team’s spare defender is the right-shooting Philippe Myers, who could make his season debut if Tanev misses time., Still, the lack of depth on the right side of the defence corps remains a concern. It has proven to be limiting at the beginning of the 2025-26 campaign and might be contributing to the coaching staff’s reluctance to tinker with the pairings. While being short-handed, the blueliners of the Maple Leafs got flat-footed on several occasions and gave up too many quality chances.
The forward lines that got caved in were the bottom six and the top line, when Max Domi skated alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. During the stretches when Nylander was with Matthews and Knies, the Corsi For percentage jumped to 88.89 from 23.81. Berube expressed frustration with the amount of experimentation that the top line has undergone early in the 2025-26 season. Matthews and Knies had been productive with matching four-game point streaks going into the contest, but finding the right fit with them has been an ongoing story. The majority of the line combinations are still a work in progress, and Tanev’s health is an added concern.
What Comes Next for the Maple Leafs?
Toronto’s failure to deliver a complete 60-minute effort, fuelled by some terrible second periods, needs to be addressed immediately. The team’s inability to properly handle opponents with speed is another concerning trend that started last season. They cannot keep getting burned off the rush like this. Exploring different pairings, varied line combinations, or new personnel may address these issues. However, more precise execution and better gap control could rectify most of the problems.
The Maple Leafs have a back-to-back set versus the Buffalo Sabres, starting with a road contest on Friday (Oct. 24). Those games typically have a lively atmosphere because of all the Toronto fans in attendance, which might help get the ball rolling. A home-and-home against a divisional opponent could finally ignite some proactiveness.
Hockey Analytics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
