In what was arguably the biggest game of the year — with Mitch Marner returning to town for the first time — the Toronto Maple Leafs started and ended flat.
“Not good enough,” Scott Laughton bluntly put it following the 6-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
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Yup, he described the game to a T.
Now, going into this game, you’d expect every Maple Leafs player to be jacked up, for many reasons.
One: They’re playing against a former teammate in Marner, whose return couldn’t have been more anticipated. Two: Goaltender Anthony Stolarz, out for over two months with an injury, was returning to the lineup. Three: They lost to Vegas in overtime just over a week ago.
It had all the signs of being a big game from Toronto.
That was, until Vegas took over early and didn’t let up. Even with a late push in the second period with goals from John Tavares, Laughton, and then Bobby McMann to make it a one-goal game, the Maple Leafs couldn’t catch up to the Golden Knights.
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“They were on their toes, and we weren’t,” head coach Craig Berube said on Friday night following the loss.
“[We] made a push in the second period. Got us back in the game. I thought probably 10, 11 minutes of that period were really good and played the way we wanted to start the game.
“Third period, we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to make a bigger push than that.”
This isn’t something we haven’t seen before. For some reason, whenever the Maple Leafs need to go all in, they turn around and fold.
Why?
“I don’t have that answer for you. I wish I did,” Berube continued.
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“I mean, we’ve been a real good home team here for a long time this year. I remember the last road trip we went on, and we came back home, we were a little bit the same way, kind of like in and out in the games, not quite detailed, not playing with the urgency that is needed and the simplicity that’s needed.
“That’s something definitely I talk to the team about after the game. We’ve got to fix it.”
Beyond all the reasons listed of why Toronto should’ve come out firing, there’s still the playoff picture: if the Maple Leafs defeated Vegas on Friday, they would’ve moved one point behind the Boston Bruins for second in the wild-card race.
Every game matters right now, and the Maple Leafs lose yet another at home.
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“Yeah, it’s concerning,” said Laughton. “They come in off probably a late night. We know how that feels. Stolie’s first game in a month, two months, and that’s what we put up.”
It won’t get any easier either.
Toronto welcomes the NHL’s leader, the Colorado Avalanche, into the city on Sunday afternoon. They’ll then face the Buffalo Sabres, who are a few points ahead of them, currently in the first wild-card spot.
After that, the Maple Leafs set off on their Western Canada road trip before the Olympic break.
Six games left; a possible 12 points on the line.
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How they handle this next stretch will not only dictate their plans for the trade deadline in March, but likely their entire season.
“I think we understand where we’re at and the importance of every game,” said Tavares, who had Toronto’s first goal on Friday against Vegas, “but just the need to execute, to be sharp, to battle through whatever challenges there might be, whether you feel good, whether you don’t.
“Just the way we have to give ourselves the best possible chance to win hockey games, earn results. We just haven’t been as consistent for 60 minutes coming back home here.”
