Maple Leafs Repeat Defensive & Power Play Mistakes in Loss – The Hockey Writers Toronto Maple Leafs Latest News, Analysis & More

After dropping a 5-1 contest to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (Oct. 24) night, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost back-to-back games for the first time in the 2024-25 season.

Between bouncing back from a brutal performance in Tuesday’s (Oct. 22) 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, getting Joseph Woll back from an injury, and head coach Craig Berube’s first game against the team that fired him last December, the Leafs had plenty of motivation to bounce back. However, that wasn’t the case in another sloppy defeat. 

Woll’s Return Was a Mixed Bag

After missing seven consecutive games to begin the campaign, Woll returned to the lineup versus the Blues. The Missouri native got his first start against his hometown team in his season debut after recovering from groin tightness.

He was scored on through a double screen on the third shot he faced just past the four-minute mark of the first period. The Leafs were too passive defensively on the play while covering close to the sideboards, resulting in an easy pass and shot by Philip Broberg from the point. The second goal he permitted came on the fifth shot after his teammates let Dylan Holloway walk in uncontested and score on the power play. He had all the time in the world in front of the net to deke out Woll and put the Leafs in an early hole. Toronto’s penalty killers were caught puck-watching near the corner, leaving their goaltender on an island. 

The 25-year-old netminder appeared to settle down afterward, making excellent saves on a Brayden Schenn breakaway and a one-timer from Mathieu Joseph on a 2-on-1 rush to keep it 2-0. Unfortunately, those were his only highlights in a disappointing return. Still, it was fortunate and a sigh of relief when he stayed in the game after an early collision with Holloway.

The Leafs responded in the second stanza while cutting the lead in half. However, Alexandre Texier restored the Blues’ two-goal lead after Pavel Buchnevich outworked Jake McCabe and Auston Matthews to force a turnover. Carelessness with the puck was costly again in the third period when Jake Neighbours stripped William Nylander at the blue line and led what essentially became a 3-on-1 rush the other way before firing a shot over Woll’s glove. 

Woll didn’t get much help from his teammates in his first appearance of 2024-25 and probably will need time to shake off the rust. He still has work to do to shed the injury-prone label, but he will get plenty of chances to get back to game speed and possesses the ability to be a difference-maker. Woll is expected to share the crease with Anthony Stolarz moving forward, and the Maple Leafs expect both goalies to produce positive results. 

Change of Defense Pairings Provides Brief Spark

Toronto’s lone goal came from a one-timer by Oliver Ekman-Larsson after Morgan Rielly and John Tavares played catch at the blue line before Rielly put the puck on a tee for his new partner. The switch also resulted in Jake McCabe playing alongside Chris Tanev, who suited up in his 800th career regular-season game. 

Still, it was a struggle in the defensive zone for the Maple Leafs all night. The forwards and defensemen had problems with containment and couldn’t handle the speed of the Blues. 

Power Play Outage Continues 

The Maple Leafs went 0-for-4 on the power play in Thursday’s defeat to drop to 3-for-27 this season. The club’s inability to produce on the man advantage has been a glaring problem since the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs when Toronto lit the lamp once on 21 opportunities against the Boston Bruins.

Related: Marc Savard Could Be Solution to Maple Leafs Power Play

Toronto has too much talent on the top unit to be this inefficient. After all, the Maple Leafs rank fifth in the NHL in power-play goals (184) and own the third-best power-play percentage (25.7) from 2021-22 to 2023-24. The power play is bound to heat up eventually.

Additional Game Notes 

Max Pacioretty sat out Thursday’s contest versus the Blues because of a lower-body injury. He left Tuesday’s loss to the Blue Jackets and is considered day-to-day. Due to Pacioretty’s absence, David Kampf returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch. 

Berube guided the Blues to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship in 2018-19. The team concluded the regular season with a record of 38-19-6, benefiting from a franchise-record 11-game winning streak despite starting with a 7-9-3 record.

Troubling Trends During Rough Patch 

The Maple Leafs arguably deserved victories in losses to the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, but the last two outings were woeful performances. Toronto (4-4-0) has a difficult two-game road trip next, with games against the Bruins on Saturday (Oct. 26) and Winnipeg Jets on Monday (Oct. 28). The Leafs need a much better response as some bad habits have started to creep into their game. The attention to detail must improve, and power-play chances must create more goals. Once the execution improves, this rough patch will be a blip on the radar.