5 Takeaways From Maple Leafs’ 5-4 Loss to Mammoth

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a late push against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday (Oct. 13) as they tried to fight back from behind in hopes of forcing overtime, but they weren’t able to do so, and they lost 5-4 in regulation, dropping their record to start the season to 3-3-1.

Final from Utah@LGCanada | #Leafs pic.twitter.com/tSCIWApKyn

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 14, 2026

Even though the Mammoth ran into some penalty issues late in the game and gave up some solid chances against, the Maple Leafs came away as losers.

In this article, we take a look at some takeaways from their third regulation loss of the 2026-27 season.

Gavin McKenna Scores Second Career Goal, Extends Point Streak

Midway through the third period, Gavin McKenna scored the second goal of his career, cutting the lead to just one.

On top of that, McKenna extended his point streak to four games, and in those games, he has five points.

Power Play Did Well Again

The Maple Leafs were able to score two power play goals, one from Auston Matthews to make it a 3-1 game, and one from John Tavares later on to make it a 5-3 game.

Auston gets us one back 🚨 pic.twitter.com/MXFfMvDayN

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 14, 2026

Unfortunately, late in the game when they had a power play and pulled their goaltender to make it a 6-on-4, they weren’t able to score, and couldn’t find a way to tie the game, with the Mammoth hanging on.

Anthony Stolarz & Easton Cowan Struggle

Goaltender Anthony Stolarz got the start, and he struggled in a big way, stopping 23 of 28, and finishing the evening with a 5.26 goals-against-average (GAA), an .821 save percentage (SV%), and a -2.56 goals-saved-above-expected (GSAX).

Another player who struggled was Easton Cowan, who couldn’t get anything going offensively and struggled when he was on the ice defensively, being on the ice for three against at 5-on-5.

Maple Leafs Couldn’t Find Goals Against Struggling Vejmelka

Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka struggled as well, but the Maple Leafs couldn’t find a way to produce even more production against him. They did score four goals, which is solid, but they were outshot and couldn’t find a way to create chances and bring themselves back in the game.

Vejmelka finished the night with just a 4.07 GAA, an .846 SV%, and a -0.99 GSAX, which was a bit better than Stolarz, but still not a night he will be looking back at proudly.

Only Other Positive: Game is Over, Focus on the Next One

The game is over, and the Maple Leafs have to move on and focus on their next matchup. They struggled, couldn’t score when they needed to, and ended up without even a single point in their regulation loss.

At this point, the best thing they can do is take the positives, forget about the rest, and focus on their next game.

The Maple Leafs are back in action on Thursday (Oct. 15) when they take on the Buffalo Sabres in Toronto. The Sabres are likely going to be without one of their key defensemen, Rasmus Dahlin, so picking up two points is a must.

The expectation is that Sergei Bobrovsky will be back between the pipes.

Both the Sabres and Maple Leafs are 3-3-1, so both teams are hoping to pick up their fourth win, rather than their fifth loss.

As the 2026-27 season moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.