Here are six takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ loss to the Sharks 

• A final-minute comeback would allow you to think that this game was more competitive than it actually was. Toronto made countless mistakes throughout the game, hindered by several bad penalties and was outplayed and outworked for large stretches by a young, rebuilding San Jose club. Mitch Marner was sensational in the final minute, setting up goals for John Tavares and William Nylander, but he was ineffective, along with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies at 5-on-5. And while it’s just one night, this is where it becomes worrisome, as the Maple Leafs don’t have the margin for error in the playoffs to take their opponent lightly. They played up to their true level for approximately five minutes, and almost stole the contest. That won’t happen against either Floridian team, or the upstart Ottawa Senators, for that matter.
• Toronto’s scorching power play is masking its woes at 5-on-5, which was truly evident Thursday night. The connectivity, the resets at the top and puck movement has been outstanding for the Maple Leafs’ Core Four — Core Five if you count Matthew Knies, and he ought to be included given his performance this season and his importance to the team down the line. Knies made a terrific defensive play to set up Nylander’s first goal, and drew a primary assist when his shot trickled through Alexandar Georgiev, where Matthews swooped in and tucked it home. They are finding great looks and have been the NHL’s best power play since February. It just isn’t translating well enough at 5-on-5. Knies-Matthews-Marner were outplayed by a rookie Macklin Celebrini, and generated just 30 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 via MoneyPuck. That’s simply not good enough against the NHL’s worst team this year.
• We’ve become accustomed to excellent goaltending all year, but Joseph Woll submitted an awful start. Woll was slow to react on rushes and while there are several culprits for Thursday’s loss, he didn’t provide the Maple Leafs with the quality starts he’s provided for the majority of the year. Woll fired a puck off William Eklund’s skate into his own net, a truly bizarre sequence, and he saved -2.31 goals above expected in all situations. We’ll see how the rest of the road trip goes, but Anthony Stolarz may be pulling further ahead in the competition for the playoff starter’s role.
• Nylander and Tavares were terrific on the power play, in the final minute with the extra skater again, and in overtime, but the star duo, along with Bobby McMann, couldn’t get much going at 5-on-5. McMann committed several unforced turnovers throughout the game, while the line was outshot 10-7 at 5-on-5. McMann and Tavares, along with Nick Robertson, were caught way too far up the ice on Wennberg’s second period, which provided the Sharks with a 3-1 lead. It was an unexpectedly poor performance from the Maple Leafs’ top-six, who ought to have feasted against a young, inexperienced Sharks team with nothing to play for.
• Scott Laughton finally scored for the Maple Leafs, his first goal with the team after being acquired at the trade deadline. We’re not ready to make a declarative statement just yet, but Laughton is beginning to find his game, although the next step is to show some fluency at third-line centre in Craig Berube’s system. It was a decent game from Laughton, against an inferior opponent, and he scored Toronto’s lone goal at 5-on-5. It will be compelling to see whether he’s going back to centre Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.
• It may be time for Philippe Myers to re-enter the lineup, as the Simon Benoit-Oliver Ekman-Larsson pairing isn’t working out. There’s been a spirit of open competition for the No. 6 spot, and with Ekman-Larsson firmly entrenched as the No. 5 defenceman, it may be time to give Myers another look again, with the playoffs on the horizon. Toronto hasn’t found a solution for a true third pairing, and while Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo, Morgan Rielly and Ekman-Larsson can play elevated minutes in the playoffs, this is still an area of concern.

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