Craig Berube and his staff deserve a lot of credit for helping eradicate many of the same old issues that have plagued this Leafs team year after year, but Saturday night&#8217;s defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings resembled countless losses from recent seasons.
The Leafs have been nearly unbeatable this season when scoring first, but they were playing from behind for most of this contest, and several untimely mistakes negated any chance for a comeback. The first one came with the Leafs&#8217; first line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies pushing for a tying goal late in the first period.
As they did for much of the night, Toronto&#8217;s top trio had sustained control in the offensive zone, with Marner eventually taking a pass from Knies and firing it through Wings netminder Ville Husso. Unfortunately, Matthews had entered the zone ever so slightly ahead of the puck nearly a minute earlier, and the goal was called back after the Red Wings challenged for offside. It was a bang-bang play, sure, but with the way the Leafs have struggled to score goals this season, even the most minuscule of errors can be tough to overcome.
The Leafs managed to score one that counted and pulled even midway through the second period after Marner put one on a tee for Matthews with the man advantage. Toronto looked to be taking control of the game at that point, overtaking Detroit on the shot clock and generating plenty of sustained pressure in the offensive zone, but they were unable to convert and take the lead on the scoreboard. Then, in the dying moments of the period, a giveaway in the neutral zone and some poor defensive tracking by Matthews and Knies allowed the Red Wings to retake the lead heading into the final frame.
Undeterred, the Leafs&#8217; top line came out flying again to begin the third period and Knies tied the game once again on a slick deflection of a Marner point shot. But once again, the Leafs had an untimely breakdown that led to multiple chances before a trailing Jeff Petry banged in a loose puck in the slot to give Detroit a 3-2 lead less than a minute after Knies had tied the game.
With the Leafs pushing for yet another tying marker, they got into penalty trouble. First, Conor Timmins was sent off for taking down Petry behind the Leafs net, and it looked like Marner might save the Leafs again but he was stopped by Husso on a breakaway attempt at the end of the penalty kill. If that weren&#8217;t frustrating enough for Marner, he immediately took a tripping penalty of his own on the back check, halting any momentum the Leafs might have gained from killing off the Timmins minor.
Poorly timed breakdowns leading to goals against in the final minute of periods or immediately after the Leafs score have been fewer and further between this year than in years past, but the Leafs also haven&#8217;t shown the ability to outscore those problems this season the way they have done on several occasions over the years.
Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz have provided excellent goaltending, and Berube has instilled a system that has led to the Leafs limiting quality chances for most of the season, helping to mitigate some of their scoring woes. But breakdowns are bound to happen, and the team can&#8217;t be perfect every night. Until the Leafs find a way to generate offence more consistently, it&#8217;s going to be tough to win on nights like Saturday when things get loose, and the team isn&#8217;t as dialled in as they need to be.

Craig Berube and his staff deserve a lot of credit for helping eradicate many of the same old issues that have plagued this Leafs team year after year, but Saturday night's defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings resembled countless losses from recent seasons.

The Leafs have been nearly unbeatable this season when scoring first, but they were playing from behind for most of this contest, and several untimely mistakes negated any chance for a comeback. The first one came with the Leafs' first line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies pushing for a tying goal late in the first period.

As they did for much of the night, Toronto's top trio had sustained control in the offensive zone, with Marner eventually taking a pass from Knies and firing it through Wings netminder Ville Husso. Unfortunately, Matthews had entered the zone ever so slightly ahead of the puck nearly a minute earlier, and the goal was called back after the Red Wings challenged for offside. It was a bang-bang play, sure, but with the way the Leafs have struggled to score goals this season, even the most minuscule of errors can be tough to overcome.

The Leafs managed to score one that counted and pulled even midway through the second period after Marner put one on a tee for Matthews with the man advantage. Toronto looked to be taking control of the game at that point, overtaking Detroit on the shot clock and generating plenty of sustained pressure in the offensive zone, but they were unable to convert and take the lead on the scoreboard. Then, in the dying moments of the period, a giveaway in the neutral zone and some poor defensive tracking by Matthews and Knies allowed the Red Wings to retake the lead heading into the final frame.

Undeterred, the Leafs' top line came out flying again to begin the third period and Knies tied the game once again on a slick deflection of a Marner point shot. But once again, the Leafs had an untimely breakdown that led to multiple chances before a trailing Jeff Petry banged in a loose puck in the slot to give Detroit a 3-2 lead less than a minute after Knies had tied the game.

With the Leafs pushing for yet another tying marker, they got into penalty trouble. First, Conor Timmins was sent off for taking down Petry behind the Leafs net, and it looked like Marner might save the Leafs again but he was stopped by Husso on a breakaway attempt at the end of the penalty kill. If that weren't frustrating enough for Marner, he immediately took a tripping penalty of his own on the back check, halting any momentum the Leafs might have gained from killing off the Timmins minor.

Poorly timed breakdowns leading to goals against in the final minute of periods or immediately after the Leafs score have been fewer and further between this year than in years past, but the Leafs also haven't shown the ability to outscore those problems this season the way they have done on several occasions over the years.

Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz have provided excellent goaltending, and Berube has instilled a system that has led to the Leafs limiting quality chances for most of the season, helping to mitigate some of their scoring woes. But breakdowns are bound to happen, and the team can't be perfect every night. Until the Leafs find a way to generate offence more consistently, it's going to be tough to win on nights like Saturday when things get loose, and the team isn't as dialled in as they need to be.

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