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Maple Leafs suffer their first loss in franchise history to the Predators when leading by multiple goals

1:45 AM · Mar 23, 2025

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Here are five takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ loss to the Predators:

• Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are in many ways representative of the Maple Leafs’ effort overall. Toronto’s top line was in great form during the first period, as Marner and Matthews generated assists on John Tavares’ opening goal and were in complete control of the game through the opening frame. Marner and Matthews drew up a play off a faceoff, where Toronto’s captain won the puck back directly to his star winger, who one-timed it for a 2-0 lead. Knies was winning puck battles early, but took an unnecessary penalty with the clock expiring in the first period. And this mistake compounded, as Michael Bunting scored on the ensuing power play, as Joseph Woll and Chris Tanev made poor plays on the puck, allowing Bunting to slip behind Marner for the 2-1 goal. Toronto’s stars weren’t the main culprits, but their form took a major dip during the final two periods, with Matthews and Marner on the ice for three of the Predators’ five goals.
• Jake McCabe was awful, while Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly weren’t much better. Tanev made a mistake on the first goal, but McCabe got burned off the rush on Kiefer Bellows’ game-tying marker, while David Kampf slowed the team’s attempt to get back into the frame. McCabe was also caught way too far up the ice on a poor pinch, where Filip Forsberg walked in and jammed away an ugly goal. McCabe and Tanev have drawn routine praise in this space for operating as an excellent shutdown tandem, but they weren’t anywhere close to their usual standards throughout Saturday’s game. Rielly continues to surrender too way much space for opponents and while Brandon Carlo has had a stabilizing effect, you have to wonder if the Leafs may need to shelter some of his minutes going into the playoffs.
• John Tavares was great in the first period, scoring once again on the power play. And then like the rest of the Maple Leafs, his performance also tailed off. William Nylander barely made a dent on the game, and Bobby McMann was the line’s most impactful player by some distance over the course of 40 minutes. McMann-Tavares-Nylander should remain intact as the team’s second line, but they can’t be pleased with their overall effort. “We should be pissed off,” Tavares said post-game via Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.
• Scott Laughton’s potential first goal with the Maple Leafs was waived off for a high-stick. It may have been the turning point — although I still surmise Knies’ penalty to end the first period was the truly ominous moment — and Laughton’s game tailed off from there onwards. It was a better effort when it came to the shot differential for the fourth line, and there’s still lots to build from, but we’re still waiting for Laughton to contribute on the score board.
• Joseph Woll wasn’t spectacular, but he had a couple of key saves, including an amazing stop off a rebound that trickled out to Filip Forsberg with the game tied at 2-2. Woll has been in top form lately, and it would be unfair to pin the loss on him this time around, when the Maple Leafs appeared to capitulate during the final two periods off the rush. Anthony Stolarz could be in line to start Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, as part of the regular rotation, rather than an indictment of Woll’s game.

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