The Toronto Maple Leafs have been pretty consistent in regards to their overall play to start the 2024-25 season. With a lot of new players and personnel on the team, many wondered how they would play under head coach Craig Berube’s new style of being intense and strong on the puck. Through seven games, you could say that it has been a success so far.
While there were some moments that slipped away, they found their game quickly. Though, their recent 6-2 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets is a story that is all too familiar with the team and its fan base. The Maple Leafs have been known to play down to their opponent in the past and that was again the case in that loss where nothing went right. They were outplayed, outworked and outmuscled. Despite showing a lot of positives to this point, the Maple Leafs still have some work to do in the consistency department, but their play as late of could help them out.
Can’t Keep Losing Crucial Points
In the past, the Maple Leafs have got off to slow starts and played games where their effort and compete against teams that many don’t have making the playoffs wasn’t evident.
Last season, regardless of the outcome, there were questionable outings, especially against lower competition. For example, two loses to the Chicago Blackhawks. Two weeks into this season, plenty of top tier teams have already had their disappointing outing or even multiple ones. The Maple Leafs didn’t have their last game.
It’s definitely a different story now as the intensity and work ethic is there, it just needs to be consistent. They have lost three games this season; one being against a powerhouse New York Rangers team the others against the Montreal Canadiens and Blue Jackets, two teams where making the playoffs is a long shot. They did have a strong outing against the Pittsburgh Penguins who look to be having some struggles themselves and the Maple Leafs took advantage of that. Why they can’t do it consistently, remains the big question.
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It was a tale of two games in their losses to non-playoff teams. They clearly were the better team against the Canadiens, but it was a complete 180 against the Blue Jackets– full credit to them as they came ready to play and made life miserable for the Maple Leafs from the start. Here’s a breakdown of the offensive stats from both games at five-on-five:
| Opponent | CF% | SCF% | HDCF% |
| vs. MTL | 72.03% | 68.42% | 85.71% |
| vs. CBJ | 44.12% | 50.98% | 55% |
There’s a glaring difference in terms of production between the two games. Performances aside, the results are still the same with a loss. With one not being as bad as the other, getting zero of a possible four points is disappointing given how they’re not capitalizing and winning games like these. In a very tight and competitive Atlantic Division, every point matters and you shouldn’t take any opponent lightly. Those points are what could be the difference between first place or a wild card spot.
The Maple Leafs didn’t come out flying, they weren’t prepared and it cost them two points. The margin of error is slim right now. While they’ve played well so far, it’s something they can use to their advantage when dealing with this storyline.
Can New Mentality Right the Wrong?
While it was a disappointing effort and result against the Blue Jackets, the Maple Leafs know there’s nothing to be happy about. The postgame comments showed it.
“No one’s happy about that game. No one’s sitting there with a smile on their face. So, it’s just holding in anger and frustration,” said forward Mitch Marner according to The Hockey News’ David Alter. “Flush it down the toilet. Game’s over with. Can’t do anything now about it. Be ready for Thursday.”
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews alluded that this was a game they got to learn from and be better the next time to avoid lopsided loses like this. Especially to an opponent lower than them in the standings.
Nothing is wrong with what Marner or Matthews said. They’re both right. However, the problem with this is that the Maple Leafs have said comments like this time and time again and really never learned their lesson as we’ve seen in the past. There may have been times where they clawed back and won or got a point, but the effort was lacklustre. That really needs to change and it needs to happen quick.
It was on a back-to-back night after defeating a divisional rival. Fatigue definitely looked to have set in with their third game in four nights. They clearly weren’t at their best like against the Tampa Bay Lightning or New Jersey Devils. Then again, the Maple Leafs lost to Canadiens on opening night and won against the Devils on the second half of a back-to-back where they were great in both games.
It’s definitely a learning experience with a new coach, but the excuses are becoming tiresome. With a new tougher, simpler approach to the game and playing with an edge, this is something that they possibly could use to their advantage. Every game may not be perfect, but they can at least hope to get the desired results in games like these.
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You can notice a difference in the team’s mentality to start the season. It’s a chance for them to quickly right the wrong and be ready for not just the next game, but be the better team and show up in a game where playoffs may not be a possibility for their opponent. Hopefully the change in attitude could be a difference maker where this doesn’t happen as frequent. How they respond after this is going to be a big step forward for this team.
The Maple Leafs’ overall play and structure is definitely miles ahead from what it was last season. However, poor outings against teams lower than them in the standings still remains. While this could be a one-off situation, they really need to turn the tide and start winning winnable games and create separation in the standings.
Statistics from Natural Stat Trick.
