The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost three straight games for the second time this season. Two of the defeats have come at the hands of the Boston Bruins, including a 5-3 loss at TD Garden on Tuesday (Nov. 11). The Bruins also earned a 5-3 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday (Nov. 8). Boston is riding a seven-game winning streak after losing six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have been moving in the opposite direction. Entering the game, the club needed to demonstrate a much stronger commitment to defence, even if it meant sacrificing some offence. Head coach Craig Berube has been vocal about making better reads, especially in the aftermath of an embarrassing loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday (Nov. 9). Toronto’s 5-4 loss on the scoresheet was flattering after being dominated in just about every aspect of the game.
Not Starting on Time
The Maple Leafs came out of the gate flat versus the Bruins. Toronto defenders and forwards continued to turn the puck over, surrendering quality scoring chances again and again. The team has been burned regularly by turnovers and odd-man rushes this season, and sloppiness in the defensive zone has become the norm in the majority of Toronto’s games. It has been particularly disappointing following an encouraging three-game winning streak to start November, but it has been an ongoing problem even in games where the team has won.
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The Maple Leafs were on their heels early and down 3-1 on the scoreboard after the first period. Brandon Carlo, in his return to Boston, made a poor clearing attempt up the boards, and the Maple Leafs never got the puck back. Former Toronto farmhand Alex Steeves, who led the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) with 36 goals last campaign, got the Bruins’ third goal. He scored on a dribbler of a shot that got through Anthony Stolarz. It was 4-1 in favour of the Bruins just 49 seconds into the second stanza. The Maple Leafs began the second period by giving up a 2-on-1 during an abbreviated power play, which was followed closely by a breakaway goal by David Pastrnak on Dennis Hildeby, who entered the game in relief.
Injuries Build, Compounding Concerns
Stolarz allowed three goals on 11 shots in 20 minutes of work. It would’ve been justifiable to give him the hook based on performance, especially after two weak goals against. He also surrendered a power-play marker on a wrist shot from the point to Hampus Lindholm that beat him high over the glove. For a goaltender who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 248 pounds, he has done a remarkable job of making himself look small in the crease in his last two outings. He has permitted seven goals on 30 shots. He has a 6-5-1 record with a 3.51 goals-against average and .884 save percentage through 13 starts.
His absence from the bench during the second period was noticeable. It was thought that he might be blowing off steam after getting pulled for a second straight time, but the longer it went on, the more an alternative issue became far more likely. At the start of the third period, the team announced he sustained an upper-body injury. Fortunately, Berube didn’t seem overly concerned during his postgame interview and is hopeful that Stolarz will be available for Toronto’s next game. However, it could be beneficial to give Hildeby additional playing time before Joseph Woll returns from his AHL conditioning loan.
Auston Matthews sustained his injury in the second period after taking a hit from behind near the side boards from Nikita Zadorov. He got up and went after Zadorov moments later. Whether Matthews sustained the injury from the hit or the attempted retaliation doesn’t matter. What is far more relevant is that Toronto could be without its captain and a key offensive player.
It’s especially concerning given his lingering injury woes from the 2024-25 season. However, the team called it a lower-body injury before the opening faceoff of the third period. He hasn’t bounced back the way many hoped he would, but he entered Tuesday’s contest tied for the team lead with nine goals and as the team leader with 65 shots on target. Replacing him for any stretch of time will be challenging, particularly with how much instability there has already been while trying to find line combinations that work this campaign.
Undisciplined Play Hurt the Maple Leafs
Early penalty troubles resulted in two goals against in the first frame. Boston moved the puck around effectively and benefited from a fortunate redirect off the skate of Pavel Zacha to open the scoring. Philippe Myers, who struggled mightily in nine appearances this campaign, took a hooking penalty only 4:13 into the match. He logged a season-low 10:31 of ice time and should be a healthy scratch.
Dakota Mermis is currently the team’s lone extra on the roster, but Henry Thrun or William Villeneuve are AHL call-up options. Myers and Simon Benoit, who took a high-sticking penalty that put the Maple Leafs down 2-1, haven’t provided any reason to keep them in the lineup, and the club desperately needs blueliners who can move the puck.
The Maple Leafs got a shorthanded goal from Steven Lorentz, which tied the game at 1-1 after blueliner Jake McCabe received a slashing infraction. Boston defender Charlie McAvoy made a careless play with the puck in his own end, and Jeremy Swayman wasn’t set to face a quick shot from the Toronto forward. Still, the Bruins went 3-for-6 on the power play in the contest, and it proved to be the difference in the game.
Max Domi took an ill-advised roughing penalty in the third period. He was trying to seek retribution on Zadorov for injuring Matthews (and Scott Laughton), but there is a time and a place for everything. In this case, his altercation came when Toronto was building momentum, and it resulted in the Bruins scoring to make it 5-3 after the Maple Leafs fought back to make it a one-goal game. Benoit didn’t clear the zone when he should’ve, and it ended up sinking the Maple Leafs’ comeback bid.
What Comes Next for the Maple Leafs?
Finding silver linings on nights like this is a difficult task. However, Morgan Rielly moved ahead of Tomas Kaberle into the sixth spot on the all-time franchise assist list (438) and now sits second in franchise history for assists by a defender. The 31-year-old Rielly picked up the secondary helper on Bobby McMann’s second-period power-play tally.
The team has been frustrating to watch amid a mediocre 8-8-1 start. Doom and gloom often run rampant in this market, and the fanbase has grown accustomed to expecting the worst. The players spoke fondly about sticking up for one another after a chippy third period and believe that facing some adversity, as the injury list grows, could be a galvanizing event. However, the Maple Leafs still have a long way to go to address widespread defensive issues and face another taxing opponent in the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (Nov. 13). The Kings capitalize on transition offence, and the Maple Leafs must be more responsible with the puck to avoid a fourth straight defeat.
