Maple Leafs Lose Eight Straight For First Time Since 2015

If the goal of the Toronto Maple Leafs is to finish in the bottom five this season to retain their 2026 first-round pick from Boston, they’re on the right track. A 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night was their eighth straight, the first time they’ve lost that many consecutive games or more since the 2014-15 season.

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Toronto is now only four points away from the bottom five of the NHL standings. The last Maple Leafs win came before the Olympic break, a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on February 3rd. With no victory in over a month, fans can fully accept the tanking mentality heading into the tail end of the season.

Game Recap

Oliver Kapanen opened the scoring for Montreal off a nice slip move, burying the puck past Joseph Woll. Phillip Danault made it 2-0 in the first period when a freak bounce of the puck off the boards gave him a wide-open look in the crease. Toronto was outshot 18-5 in the period of complete domination for the Habs.

William Nylander made it 2-1 in the second, going upstairs on a half-empty net off a perfect feed from Easton Cowan. The energy increased substantially for the Maple Leafs in the period, keeping Montreal on their heels and outshooting them 11-6.

Jake Evans added an empty-netter in the dying seconds of the third to make it 3-1, after Toronto failed to get much going on offence. The Maple Leafs went 0-2 on the power play and were outshot 33-18 overall in the game.

Future Implications

Tuesday’s loss comes in the wake of concerning comments from Nylander and also marks the continuation of Auston Matthews’ cold streak, who has scored only two goals in the last fifteen games. While, of course, the silver lining of being one step closer to a high draft pick is relevant, streaks like these can damage team morale.

The game itself also lacked the electric rivalry feel that usually comes with a Maple Leafs/Canadiens matchup, as the latter seemed well in control for the majority of the sixty minutes. For the fans and players of the former who are used to a winning culture (that is, making the playoffs), it can be a tough bump in the road for a core who haven’t really been in that position before.

Next: The Maple Leafs Were Drowning, Then Matthews Dried Up