<p>The Toronto Maple Leafs will head into the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a sour taste in their mouth.</p>
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<p>The Leafs had their three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, as the Vancouver Canucks managed to squeeze out a 2-1 victory at home. For the most part, it was a reasonably uneventful game, as the Canucks were able to fend off a late flurry from the Maple Leafs.</p>
<p>Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube wasn&#8217;t loving what he was seeing through two periods of the game, as the two teams entered the third tied at one. After Morgan Rielly tied the game at one with just six seconds left in the second period, Berube put the lines in a blender for the final frame, but unfortunately it didn&#8217;t spark a thing.</p>
<p>There wasn&#8217;t a lot to love against the Canucks, but there were certainly some players who stood out. On a positive note, Pontus Holmberg drew another penalty on Saturday, extending his team lead, and he was promoted to the third line. It&#8217;s become obvious Holmberg has a fan in Berube, but let&#8217;s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. Holmberg is best suited as the fourth-line left-winger, and in spot duty down the middle if David Kampf is unavailable. Toronto&#8217;s third line should have a giant spotlight on it entering the trade deadline.</p>
<p>Nick Robertson couldn&#8217;t catch a break against the Canucks. The shifty winger was tripped up on numerous occasions, but never drew a penalty. He played most of the game on the fourth line, seeing just 10:14 of ice-time in Vancouver. The upcoming break will hopefully serve Robertson well, and give him a chance to hit the reset button. We&#8217;ll see if anything materializes on the trade front including the former second-round pick. His effort level should never be questioned, but his inconsistent production is something GM Brad Treliving could choose to rid himself of.</p>
<p>On the back end, Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev are turning into quite the duo. They work off each other so well and their chemistry was on display against the Canucks. While they&#8217;re both better suited to be on the second pair, right now, there&#8217;s no question they are the Leafs&#8217; top pair.</p>
<p>Bobby McMann continues to be a bright spot for the Leafs, and his speed and smarts were on display Saturday night. He had a really good chance early on in the game and almost scored on a wrist shot to extend his scoring streak, but actually, his best play of the night was when he saved an empty-net goal to keep the Leafs alive late:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bobby McMann saved an empty-net goal <a href="https://t.co/FbXzBxJU3p">pic.twitter.com/FbXzBxJU3p</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Omar (@TicTacTOmar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1888417096448557457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>In net, Joseph Woll was solid, stopping 23 of 25 shots. The Leafs don&#8217;t play again until Feb.22, and that&#8217;s great news for both Woll and Anthony Stolarz. For Woll, he&#8217;s already played more this season than he did all of last season, and considering he started the year banged up, the rest will serve him well. Stolarz, on the other hand, wanted to get a game in before the break, and looks like he&#8217;s right back to where he was before he got hurt. Toronto&#8217;s goaltending situation is one of the best in the league, one of the many reasons <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-should-go-all-in-ahead-nhl-trade-deadline">Treliving should be going all-in</a> ahead of the trade deadline March 7.</p>
<p>Despite the loss, the vibes should still remain high entering the Maple Leafs two-week break. Toronto is second in the Atlantic Division with a 33-20-2 record, their lineup only has a couple of holes, and with some savvy work from Treliving before the deadline, there&#8217;s no doubt the Maple Leafs are a Stanley Cup contender this season.</p>
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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The Toronto Maple Leafs will head into the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a sour taste in their mouth.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
The Leafs had their three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, as the Vancouver Canucks managed to squeeze out a 2-1 victory at home. For the most part, it was a reasonably uneventful game, as the Canucks were able to fend off a late flurry from the Maple Leafs.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube wasn't loving what he was seeing through two periods of the game, as the two teams entered the third tied at one. After Morgan Rielly tied the game at one with just six seconds left in the second period, Berube put the lines in a blender for the final frame, but unfortunately it didn't spark a thing.

There wasn't a lot to love against the Canucks, but there were certainly some players who stood out. On a positive note, Pontus Holmberg drew another penalty on Saturday, extending his team lead, and he was promoted to the third line. It's become obvious Holmberg has a fan in Berube, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here. Holmberg is best suited as the fourth-line left-winger, and in spot duty down the middle if David Kampf is unavailable. Toronto's third line should have a giant spotlight on it entering the trade deadline.

Nick Robertson couldn't catch a break against the Canucks. The shifty winger was tripped up on numerous occasions, but never drew a penalty. He played most of the game on the fourth line, seeing just 10:14 of ice-time in Vancouver. The upcoming break will hopefully serve Robertson well, and give him a chance to hit the reset button. We'll see if anything materializes on the trade front including the former second-round pick. His effort level should never be questioned, but his inconsistent production is something GM Brad Treliving could choose to rid himself of.

On the back end, Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev are turning into quite the duo. They work off each other so well and their chemistry was on display against the Canucks. While they're both better suited to be on the second pair, right now, there's no question they are the Leafs' top pair.

Bobby McMann continues to be a bright spot for the Leafs, and his speed and smarts were on display Saturday night. He had a really good chance early on in the game and almost scored on a wrist shot to extend his scoring streak, but actually, his best play of the night was when he saved an empty-net goal to keep the Leafs alive late:

https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1888417096448557457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In net, Joseph Woll was solid, stopping 23 of 25 shots. The Leafs don't play again until Feb.22, and that's great news for both Woll and Anthony Stolarz. For Woll, he's already played more this season than he did all of last season, and considering he started the year banged up, the rest will serve him well. Stolarz, on the other hand, wanted to get a game in before the break, and looks like he's right back to where he was before he got hurt. Toronto's goaltending situation is one of the best in the league, one of the many reasons <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-should-go-all-in-ahead-nhl-trade-deadline">Treliving should be going all-in</a> ahead of the trade deadline March 7.

Despite the loss, the vibes should still remain high entering the Maple Leafs two-week break. Toronto is second in the Atlantic Division with a 33-20-2 record, their lineup only has a couple of holes, and with some savvy work from Treliving before the deadline, there's no doubt the Maple Leafs are a Stanley Cup contender this season.
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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