Maple Leafs News & Rumours: Matthews, Holinka & Cowan’s Enigma

At least Monday night’s game was different. There was a lot more zone time, more pucks on net, but not quite enough finish when it mattered. The Philadelphia Flyers stretched their winning streak to three with a 3-2 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Toronto’s losing skid reached four games despite a late push that probably deserved a better fate.

The Maple Leafs started well. Dakota Joshua opened the scoring midway through the first, knocking in a pass from Matias Maccelli for his first goal since returning from that scary kidney injury that kept him out for two months. It should have been a feel-good spark. Instead, the Flyers settled in.

Christian Dvorak tied it on the power play, and after Noah Cates gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead late in the third, William Nylander tied the game, also on the power play, hammering home a nice John Tavares feed with 2:30 left to force overtime. Head coach Craig Berube shuffled his lines again, most notably loading up Auston Matthews alongside Nylander, clearly searching for a jolt.

The shootout didn’t bring it. Nylander scored on Toronto’s first attempt, but Matthews and Max Domi were turned aside by Dan Vladar. At the other end, Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras made no mistake. The Maple Leafs outshot the Flyers 31-25 and got 23 saves from Anthony Stolarz, while Vladar stopped 29. The numbers suggest one thing. The result tells a different story. Right now, it’s the same old frustrating story.

Item One: Matthews’ Drought Is Lingering

It started as a couple of games, but it’s reached eight straight games without a goal for Matthews. His longest dry spell of the season is hovering over every game the team plays. When your captain isn’t finishing, it changes the feel of the whole group. You can see him trying to shoot his way through it, trying to will one in. It just hasn’t happened.

This stretch dates back to before the Olympic break and hasn’t corrected itself. The coaching staff has tried different looks, including pairing him with Nylander to see if a loaded line might kick-start something. So far, no breakthrough.

The reality is players of Matthews’ calibre usually snap out of it in a hurry. The concern is timing. The Maple Leafs don’t have room to maneuver in the standings. The tight games are slipping away. The team needs its difference-maker to be exactly that and soon.

Item Two: Cowan’s Ice Time a Matter of Fit

Easton Cowan logged just 8:23, the lowest total among Toronto forwards. That immediately raises questions. If he’s not going to get more than eight minutes at this level, you have to wonder what the best path is for his development.

Still, Berube didn’t frame it as a trust issue. It was about usage. Right now, Cowan is slotted into a role that doesn’t always guarantee steady minutes, especially when special teams time gets chopped up.

He’s working on the second power-play unit, and that group didn’t see much action. When those reps disappear, so do the minutes. That’s the reality for young players finding their footing. By all accounts, his effort was there. He made some smart puck plays, competed, and didn’t look out of place. At least, that’s what Berube noted.

The bottom line seems to be that Cowan isn’t trusted enough by the coaching staff to play more minutes, when he could be getting them in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Toronto Marlies. It’s a confusing way to develop a young player who’s shown so much as a junior.

Item Three: Holinka Making Noise in Junior

While Cowan adjusts to life in the NHL, another Maple Leafs prospect is tearing it up at the junior level. Miroslav Holinka is putting together a season that demands attention.

Holinka scored twice and added an assist in the Western Hockey League (WHL) Edmonton Oil Kings’ 3-2 overtime win over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday. It was his third three-point performance in the last eight games, and during that stretch, he’s scored five goals and added six assists. He’s not just collecting points — he’s driving play.

He now has 35 goals and 76 points in 53 games this season, with 162 shots and a plus-26 rating. Step back and the bigger sample is just as strong: 121 points in 100 regular-season junior contests. The Maple Leafs have to like that trajectory. If Cowan was last year’s breakout star in junior, Holinka is building a case to be the next one.

What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?

The Maple Leafs’ schedule doesn’t get easier, and neither does the mood around the team. Four straight losses, even if a couple came in extra time, start to weigh on a room. Last night against the Flyers, the effort was there. But results are what matter this time of year.

The way Berube described it, this is the way the team needs to play. But it all depends on not making mistakes when the games are close. And that’s something they haven’t been able to do consistently during this stretch.