Maple Leafs’ Steven Lorentz offers candid reflection on his game after breaking goal drought
Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz touched on the group’s recent stretch, post-game.
“It’s great to see. That goes back to the past few games. I think having each other’s backs has been a big part of the talks pre-game, just making sure we’re connected as a group,” Lorentz said. “A guy like Mo [Morgan Rielly] is not known to drop the gloves, for him to do something like that, to try and get some energy and life into the team, it says a lot about him.”
Lorentz was the Maple Leafs’ lone goal scorer on Tuesday night, picking up his fifth goal of the 2025-26 campaign, his first since December 23, spanning 29 games between goals.
“It helps tremendously, but at the same time, I think I need to do a better job of not relying on scoring a goal to be able to get that confidence back,” Lorentz said, when asked what the goal could do for his confidence. “I think a lot of my game isn’t based on scoring, and I think it’s a lot of being able to play physically consistently. “I think maybe why I’ve struggled a little bit at times is maybe the puck hasn’t gone in, and you do a little bit of overthinking. I’m not going to get too high; I haven’t been trying to get too low, even in the games I haven’t been performing at my best.”
Skating on a line with veteran Calle Järnkrok and rookie Jacob Quillan, Lorentz liked what he saw from the three against an Islanders team that currently finds themselves third place in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division.
“I think our line was very connected tonight. We had some chances in the offensive zone, Q [Quillan] almost had his first one off another good forecheck and a great play to put the puck on the net,” Lorentz said. “I think for us, the more simple, the better. So I think going forward, we just have to continue to build off a game like tonight and stick to the simple things. It’s cliché in hockey, but just getting pucks in deep, finishing their defence and trying to force turnovers, because at the end of the day, we’re out there trying to create some energy, and if we get on the scoresheet, it’s a bonus.”
New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer has emerged as the runaway favourite for the Calder Trophy. Schaefer controlled the game on Tuesday, and Lorentz raved about the 18-year-old defenceman.
“He’s unbelievable. He’s a heck of a player, and even the last game against us in Long Island, you saw what he did, and for him to be able to skate like that at such a young age, it’s not just that. It’s the poise he has when he’s carrying the puck, and when he plays without the puck, he plays like a 10-year veteran,” Lorentz said. “He’s a heck of a player, and he’s going to be in this league a long, long time.”
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