Less-than-full effort costs Maple Leafs in shootout loss

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Fewer than 60 minutes of good hockey usually doesn’t result in victory.

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It’s a lesson the Maple Leafs are taking a long time to learn in 2025-26.

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The Leafs lost 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena, their three-game winning streak done after the club had yet another poor second period.

Alexandre Texier scored the deciding goal, slipping the puck between the legs of Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby.

The Leafs are three points out of a playoff spot — both for third place in the Atlantic Division and for the second wildcard in the Eastern Conference.

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Three takeaways from the Leafs’ first home game after six in a row on the road:

SECONDARY STRUGGLES

Perhaps the Leafs won’t find a way to fully get out of their own way as the season progresses.

The three wins to finish their trip, against Pittsburgh, Florida and Carolina, all were impressive. For the most part, the Leafs were in sync.
Not so in the second period, when they were outshot 14-3 and gave up a power-play goal to Cole Caufield.

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“We tried to do too much,” centre Scott Laughton said. “Playing against Carolina and Florida, they force you to play quick and simple and these guys kind of sit back and we weren’t able to get through it, trying to make too many plays, not go north.

“We need to clean that up. Thought we had a pretty good first and then the third, we found a way to get a point. But we definitely didn’t have our best stuff.”

Said Nicolas Roy: “Battles, the breakouts were not as good. It wasn’t as clean as in the first and third periods. It could have went both ways. You have to play a full 60 minutes. It’s a lesson in this league.”

Question is, can the Leafs learn from it to the point they can play consistently smart, night in and night out? That’s the challenge with this group. Through 28 games and a record of 13-11-4, that has not yet been evident.

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The second period has been an issue for the Leafs for much of the season to this point. Saturday marked another step in the wrong direction.

POWER-PLAY PERPLEXES

The Leafs’ failure to score on three power plays made a difference.

Score once and it’s a win in regulation.

The Leafs had fallen to 30th overall on the power play before games were finished on Saturday night. In their past 11 games, they’re 2-for-25 with a man advantage.

That’s inexcusable, given the talent that goes over the boards with each man advantage. The No. 1 unit of captain Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, Easton Cowan and Oliver Ekman-Larsson again failed to click.

“They’re unsure of themselves a little bit,” coach Craig Berube said. “In particular, the power play in the second period, we moved it well. We don’t take a shot. Shots are there. We’re not taking them. Then when we do take a shot, it’s probably the wrong time.

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“They’re not feeling too good about themselves out there. They’re not seeing it. Got to work through it. That’s all you can do.”

With the game tied 1-1 late in the third, the Leafs got a great chance to go ahead when Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj was called for hooking.

Yet the Leafs didn’t register a shot on goalie Jakub Dobes on the power play.

“The game is on the line,” Ekman-Larsson said. “We have to step up.”

No argument there.

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TWO BRIGHT LIGHTS

Importantly, Hildeby stood out.

With Joseph Woll placed on injured reserve earlier in the day, Hildeby assumes the starting position and has no choice but to be sharp.

He finished with 33 saves and was excellent throughout the game. Hildeby made a point-blank save on Texier early in the third period; in the second, a glove save on a breakaway by Zachary Bolduc resulted in a brief standing ovation.

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In overtime, Hildeby stoned Mike Matheson with a pad save.

“He has been great,” Laughton said. “Kept us in it. Huge saves, huge saves in overtime. He has been solid from camp, right from Day 1.
“We’re going to need that going forward here. It’s good to see.”

Hildeby looked comfortable. The Leafs could make life easier for him, but we’re talking about a team that is fighting for a playoff spot. We can’t expect them to be consistently on point, so Hildeby, like Woll before him, will have to pass tests.

“I felt good,” Hildeby said. “Thought I started off with some shaky decisions, couple rebounds.”

Is Hildeby feeling more confident with each appearance in the Leafs net?

“100%,” he said without hesitation. “More games I play, better it feels. It certainly helps.”

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Then there was Laughton, who scored for the third game in a row.

Toronto didn’t have a slew of scoring chances before Laughton blasted a shot past Dobes at 10:28 of the third period. The goal was shorthanded and came off a slapshot on a breakaway.

It’s the first time since March 2023, when he was with the Philadelphia Flyers, that Laughton has scored in three consecutive games.

“A little fired up,” Laughton said of his reaction after scoring. “I’ve done it before a couple of times and thought that was the play.

“Wasn’t too happy when they scored on their power play. I let a seam pass go through and they found the next seam. Tried to get one back.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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