The latest submission by the Toronto Maple Leafs is a Rorschach test, a glass filled halfway to the brim.
Depending on your level of optimism/pessimism, read whatever you like into the team’s hard-fought 3-2 overtime loss to the Atlantic Division’s first-place(!) Detroit Red Wings.
Is the glass half full or half empty?
“A lot of good things, but we fell short by one point,” Craig Berube told reporters at Little Caesars Arena.
The head coach wasn’t happy or angry.
He just was.
Much like the entertaining but unconvincing back-and-forth tilt that unfolded Sunday.
On one hand, the Leafs have lost all three games this season to these resurgent Wings, who have supplanted Toronto as the team to catch in the Atlantic.
On the other hand, the Leafs have rebounded nicely from their disastrous 0-4 pre-holiday road trip and have now collected points in three straight — and have looked engaged and dynamic doing so.
“Our intensity is picking up,” said John Tavares, whose diligent forecheck set up a vicious Nick Robertson strike. “That element of the game is so important.”
The good: Toronto started on time, scoring first, and didn’t appear to suffer any emotional letdown from Saturday’s wild home victory over Ottawa.
The bad: The Leafs blew another early lead, which is a disturbing trend.
How’s this for a wild stat? The Maple Leafs have lost as many games as they’ve won when scoring first (9-6-3).
A bunch more good: The Christmas break seems to have served Auston Matthews well. The captain led all skaters in shots Saturday (nine) and Sunday (five). He’s blasting away and would’ve won the game for the road team had it not been for that pesky red piece of iron behind Cam Talbot.
Toronto’s league-worst power play has awoken; its blueline is inching toward full health (Chris Tanev is back to 20 minutes, and Brandon Carlo is skating again); and third-string goaltender Dennis Hildeby looks like the real deal.
Granted, the towering Swede gave the puck away in the extra frame when he attempted to one-hand swat a loose puck in the slot to Matthews, and it instead landed on the tape of hero Simon Edvinsson. (“Should’ve used both hands,” the goalie admitted.)
But Hildeby stopped 33 of 36 shots, was stellar on the penalty kill and was a major reason why the Leafs reached a fourth period in the first place.
Fun fact: Hildeby has made more saves this season (351) than Joseph Woll (325) and Anthony Stolarz (312) despite starting at least two fewer games than both.
He’ll give Woll ample time to rest between starts during a hectic January schedule.
“He’s showed he can be a long-time NHL goalie,” Matthew Knies said.
The biggest bad: Despite their recent run of strong play, the Leafs still sit last in the Atlantic (40 points), and considering the conference’s rampant parity, every point matters.
That Detroit improved to 5-1 in overtime and Toronto fell to 4-5, for example, is significant.
Still, the vibes are positive in Leafland. There are more glass-half-fullers in the room than there were a week ago.
“They’re a good team over there, but we held our own,” Knies said, sounding encouraged. “I think we’ve found our identity. There’s a lot of chemistry between lines now.”
That chemistry must continue to translate to points, however.
Starting Tuesday at home versus the New Jersey Devils (42 points), another competitive but catchable foe ahead of the Leafs in the standings.
“Our game looks good right now,” Berube said.
“We just gotta keep going.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Bobby McMann is a streaky player, and we’re seeing the best version of the winger right now.
Making the most of his promotion to the top line, McMann scored twice last week and was impactful again Sunday. He has posted 10 shots during the Leafs’ three-game point streak and has been driving the net hard, unafraid of physicality or aggressive puck retrievals.
In Detroit, McMann’s four hits matched a game high, and he drew the ire of goalie Cam Talbot, taking a debatable penalty in the process.
“Making it really hard on the opponent,” Tavares said.
Because of McMann’s speed, we would’ve liked to see Berube reward him with a shift during three-on-three OT.
Play the hot hand.
• William Nylander registered perfect regular-season attendance in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. He missed his fifth game of 2025-26 on Sunday due to the lower-body injury suffered in Saturday’s home win and is listed as day-to-day.
Rookie Easton Cowan returned to the lineup after three straight scratches but was limited to a team-low 9:53 and struggled at times with D-zone play and physical battles.
• New assistant Steve Sullivan’s power play is on fire. The Maple Leafs improved to 3-for-5 since Sullivan’s promotion from the AHL Marlies.
“Power play looks a lot more confident,” Berube said. “It’s not static.”
Further, the refreshed top unit empowers playmaker Matias Maccelli — a frequent resident of Berube’s doghouse — to get more involved in the offence.
“New perspective is good. New voice is good,” said Knies, who has sniped twice on the man-advantage since Sullivan took the reins.
“We have some new looks, and it’s been working out for us.”
• Toronto is on pace for its second-worst road record (5-10-1) in the past 30 years. (The club went 8-27-6 in 2014-15.)
The Leafs’ gap in points percentage at home (.659) versus the road (.344) is the worst in the league this season. The Flames’ gap (.647 / .333) is the second-worst.
• Let’s give props to Edvinsson.
The Red Wings defenceman who looked like a guy unfit to finish a hockey game after having his leg pummeled point-blank by a Matthews’ clapper.
Somehow, Edvinsson recovered after hobbling and flopping around the ice and needing to visit the trainers’ room. He returned to score the OT winner.
And the sore leg?
“It’s a long way from the heart,” Edvinsson said.
