Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner submitted a historically awful performance against the Carolina Hurricanes, during a 6-3 loss Thursday.

How bad was it? Matthews and Marner became the first Maple Leafs with a -6 rating in a single game since Daniel Marois and Mike Bullard reached the dubious feat on December 26, 1991 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh defeated Toronto 12-1 in that contest, as Mario Lemieux finished the game with two goals and seven points, while Joe Mullen went off for four goals and six points.

It’s also worth noting that the 1992 Penguins went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup. Perhaps it’s a good omen for the Hurricanes! And if you want some more interesting factoids: current Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was a member of the Maple Leafs, finishing with a plus-1 rating and two shots during the 12-1 rout.

“Just a couple breakdowns. I mean, they capitalized on some of their chances and just gained momentum on their side. And obviously, didn’t do a very good job of keeping the puck out of our net and key time to the game,” Matthews said post-game. “So, you know, sometimes that’s the way the game goes. You’ve just got to learn from it and do better the next one.”

Matthews scored a power play goal during Thursday’s game, tying the game at 3-3, but the Hurricanes stormed back into the contest, as Jordan Staal recorded a hat-trick, and Seth Jarvis sealed the game with an empty-netter. It was an unusual one-off performance for Marner and Matthews, as both players were named as Selke finalists recently — Marner earned the designation during the 2022-23 campaign, while Matthews was a finalist last season.

We don’t want to belabour the point, as Matthews has generally looked great in his return to action (three goals, eight points in four games) while Marner has been fighting for Hart Trophy contention, but it was a historically awful night for Toronto’s resident superstars, and they will be looking to quickly turn the page on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.