The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the San Jose Sharks last night in a 10:30 p.m. late game. If you stayed up and watched it, you probably weren’t impressed until the last minute of the game and into overtime (OT). For almost 59 minutes, the team played one of their worst games of the season. They gave up sloppy goals, had terrible bounces, and for parts of the game looked lifeless. However, that was until they had the goalie pulled with 2+ minutes left and went to work. Finally, at the 58-second mark, Mitch Marner sent a shot through, and John Tavares was able to tip it in. About 40 seconds after that, Auston Matthews was stopped on a one-timer shot but stuck with the rebound and found William Nylander cross-ice for the game-tying goal. They were able to tie a game that they truly didn’t deserve to win and collect a point to keep them in first place.
With the game heading into OT, no one would have thought it would be one of the best OT periods of the entire season. But it was. It was non-stop action with both teams getting great chances, but no one could score, and it headed into the shootout. In the shootout, the Sharks managed to score on both their first two shots, and the Maple Leafs only scored once on three attempts, ultimately losing the game 6-5 in a shootout for the second time this season to the last-place Sharks.
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Although the game wasn’t the best effort of the season, there are still some key takeaways from it. So, let’s dive into some takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ shootout loss to the Sharks.
Core Players Showed Up
Despite a terrible result, throughout most of the game, the core players showed up. If you look over the scoresheet, you’ll see that Nylander scored two and set a new career high with goals number 41 and 42. Tavares scored his 33rd of the season to start the comeback. Matthews found the puck behind Alexander Georgiev and tapped it home for his 28th of the season. Further to that, Marner had three assists, collecting his 65th, 66th, and 67th on the season. Lastly, Matthew Knies, who has become a very important part of the Maple Leafs’ top six, had two assists, numbers 23 and 24.
Typically, if the core players on the team had that good of a night on the scoresheet, the game would be over. However, when playing the young, free-wheeling and pressure-free Sharks, whose playoff hopes were over in October, it can make these games a bit more of a challenge. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith showed their talent level and just how good they will be in the future, and at times, it looked like their speed was a bit too much for Toronto. Regardless, the best players on the Maple Leafs were the best players last night and helped secure a much-needed point to keep them in first place in the Atlantic. They also brought their best effort in OT and had multiple chances, but Georgiev stood tall and kept the game tied.
Joseph Woll Had Bad Second Period
Both the Maple Leafs organization and fans have been blessed with strong goaltending since the start of the season. Unfortunately, sometimes goalies are going to struggle, and last night looked to be one of those games for Joseph Woll. On what most thought to be an easier night against the Sharks, Woll faced 16 shots in the first period and gave up two goals. After the first, it was clear Woll had kept his team in the game after a poor first period. But in the second, he struggled—badly. While he didn’t face as many shots, he looked less confident, and it showed on both the Alexander Wennberg goal and then the unfortunate goal when he tried to pass it out, but it hit William Eklund and went into the net.
We think Joseph Woll might want this one back… 😅
— BarDown (@BarDown) March 28, 2025
(via @SanJoseSharks)pic.twitter.com/COsqos1kLb
After that, his confidence was very low, and his team was down 4-2. At that point, the commentators were talking about the Maple Leafs’ urgency to get one back for their goalie. After a great fourth-line shift, Scott Laughton jumped over the boards and buried a long-range slapshot to give his team life and finally got his first as a member of the Maple Leafs. That goal, plus the intermission, seemed to have helped Woll relax, and in the third, he played well—only giving up one goal but closing the door and helping force OT, where he played very well in the extra frame. Unfortunately, in the shootout, both Celebrini and Smith’s shootout skills were just too good, and Woll wasn’t able to make a save. Couple that with only one goal from his team, and it resulted in a loss in the skills competition.
Maple Leafs Collect Much-Needed Point
As mentioned above, the Maple Leafs rallied in the last minute of the third to tie the game 5-5 after being down 5-3. That effort to come back in the game and send it to OT may go down as the biggest point collected this season. As the game clock ticked down and the Sharks had a lead, it looked like Toronto was going to drop from first in the Atlantic Division to third. With the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their game against the Utah Hockey Club, the Lightning, Maple Leafs, and Florida Panthers were all tied at 89 points. However, because the game went into OT, Toronto was able to get the extra point and moved back into first place with 90 points.
Now, a one-point lead with 10 games left in the season isn’t secure. However, if all three teams were to win the same number of games in the last 10, the Maple Leafs would still be a point up. Ideally, they would have wanted to steal two points last night versus the Sharks. But, the one point could be big enough to hold them in top spot. That only matters if they can continue to win big games down the stretch. If they don’t, then last night’s effort to push the game into OT doesn’t matter.
What’s Next?
With only 10 games remaining, the Maple Leafs continue their west coast road trip with stops in Los Angeles to take on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, March 29, and then head to Orange County to play the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, March 30. Ideally, they will head home on Monday with five of a possible six points from the road trip and remain in first place.
After the road trip, the schedule gets a bit tougher. They play the Florida Panthers twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning once in the last eight games. Those games will likely determine the outcome of the Atlantic. Leafs Nation just has to hope they can find a way to win all three of those games and secure first place in their division.
