The Leafs have been a middling five-on-five team so far this season. Tonight, they played a high-end team and it did not go well.
Toronto has yet to find a proper rhythm rolling their lines, and the top line of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner has been less than impressive. The Leafs‘ special teams have helped them on many nights, but in this game, they actively hurt them across the board. Add in the 5v5 struggles, and it’s not exactly a recipe for success.
The end result was a 4-1 loss really lacking in energy.