Instant Reaction: Maple Leafs lose fifth straight despite stellar performance from Anthony Stolarz
Unfortunately, these aren’t ordinary circumstances. It’s not like most years where the Leafs are sitting comfortably in the top-3 of the Atlantic Division and a loss like this is merely a bad break. The Leafs, although picking up a point in this game, have extended their losing streak to five games coming out of the Olympic break and only increased the need to sell at the trade deadline. It appears evident that they’re headed in that direction, with Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson all absent from the game due to roster management. Or, trade-related reasons, if you read between the lines.
While collecting two points in this game probably wouldn’t have done much for any of the fans, it would have been nice to see Anthony Stolarz get a win like this under his belt. The goaltender stopped 44 of 47 shots between the three periods and overtime, and came up with numerous clutch saves to keep the game within reach for the Maple Leafs in both the third period and extra frame. Matias Maccelli, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies were the ones to contribute to the win, but it wasn’t enough to get them past the finish line for the first time since the start of February.
Auston Matthews blocked an errant shot with his wrist and clearly favoured it going into the shootout, which, combined with a clearly exhausted Stolarz, isn’t a great recipe when you’re up against a skill-heavy team like the Devils. Stolarz let in the only two shots he faced and Matthews, still clearly bothered by his wrist, offered up a non-competitive shootout attempt to secure the Devils the win.
With the trade deadline now less than 48 hours away, it’s fair to start wondering what this roster will look like come Saturday and if depleting them would even make them worse than they’ve played since the return of NHL hockey. They’ve got one more game with the regular group on Thursday night.