BOSTON — Bad things are starting to snowball for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and we’re about to learn if the mounting adversity will embolden or unravel them.
If surrendering another five goals and losing another decision in regulation to a division rival wasn’t enough of a hard pill to swallow, the Maple Leafs also saw their best goaltender, Anthony Stolarz (upper body), and top centreman, Auston Matthews (lower body), leave the loss early to injury.
Factor in recent injuries to their best defender, Chris Tanev (upper body), and their fourth-line glue guy, Scott Laughton (same), and the leaky Leafs will now be forced to claw out of their self-dug hole undermanned.
“It’s adversity, for sure,” Max Domi said, following Tuesday’s 5-3 road loss to the Boston Bruins. “Every guy in here is champing at the bit. Everyone wants an opportunity — and here’s our opportunity. Everyone’s got to step up. Next-man-up mentality. And we’re not going to focus on anything other than the next game and the task at hand.
“Everyone’s got to bring their best. And every game from here on out is like a playoff game, and we’re going to need that kind of intensity, day in, day out.”
Life in the NHL comes at you warp speed.
The team that won the Atlantic Division’s regular-season title in 2024-25 walked into TD Garden low on confidence and lacking jump. Meanwhile, the group that plummeted down the standings last season and traded chunks of its heart at the deadline composed itself with a mental and systematic edge.
The B’s dominated play, drew penalties, and feasted on the power-play, building a commanding 4-1 lead. Enough to withstand Toronto’s late push and willingness to muck it up.
“We needed some kills tonight. Didn’t get ’em,” head coach Craig Berube said, matter-of-factly. (If the coach is angry, he’s not showing it in his post-game pressers.)
“Sometimes you gotta go through a tough spell. And we are right now, you know? And I like the way we held it together as a group tonight.”
This group was already screaming to add a top-six forward, and now the availability of Matthews — who will undergo further evaluation Wednesday back in Toronto — is a mystery.
Hard-nosed defenceman Nikita Zadorov, who took out Laughton with a high hit Saturday, crunched the Leafs captain in the back. Matthews got up angry, chased his assailant down for a check, and left the bench after that shift.
“I think it’s a penalty, personally, but I’m not the referee. I don’t like it. I don’t like the hit. He’s in a vulnerable position,” Berube said.
Added John Tavares: “Obviously, Papi’s got his back facing the play. You don’t like seeing anyone get hit on the numbers, especially our leader and, obviously, one of the best players in the game and our best player. We don’t want any liberties taken. So, I thought guys did a good job of sticking together. Obviously, we didn’t like the hit.”
Sammy Blais tried taking out Charlie McAvoy’s knee. Domi tried instigating a fight with Zadorov late, but that resulted in another Bruins power-play — and the home side’s third power-play goal of the game.
“You don’t want to go to the box in the third period,” Domi acknowledged. “But at the same time, we’re not going to take a step back.
“We’re not going to take a step back to anyone. No one in this locker room is, and we showed that tonight.”
Silver linings?
The Leafs did push back without Matthews and with prospect Dennis Hildeby tending the net for a third straight game, narrowing Boston’s lead to 4-3.
They didn’t shy from the rough stuff.
And Berube’s report on Stolarz’s upper-body tweak was encouraging as well as vague: “I don’t believe that’s serious. I think he’ll be fine.”
Stolarz hasn’t been ruled out yet for Thursday’s game against the visiting L.A. Kings.
The wounded Leafs will take a day off before getting back to work and trying to snuff out their three-game losing skid — with whoever is healthy enough to lace ’em up.
“You know, I think we lacked a little confidence early in the game, but when we got down, we played like we can,” Berube said.
The coach knows he’s guiding a team that is hurt both physically and spiritually right now.
Maybe that’s human nature. When the negatives multiply, we have no choice but to cling to the positives.
“In the third period, we showed that we got a lot of hunger and a lot of grit,” Domi said. A public pep talk. “And when we play like that, we’re a good team. We’re a tough team to beat. So, let’s focus on that.”
Because focusing on the alternative is depressing.
Fox’s Fast Five
• Trying to rebuild on the fly, Bruins GM Don Sweeney’s deadline flip of Brandon Carlo to Toronto for 21-year-old centre Fraser Minten plus a 2026 first-round pick was some tidy business.
A quick fixture in the B’s lineup, Minten has already played more games for his new club (23) than the one that drafted him (19). He’s winning 51.7 per cent of his draws, kills penalties smartly, and ripped the insurance goal in his return to Toronto Saturday.
Minten went into this one having registered a point in five of his past seven games and finished a plus-2 Tuesday.
“I’m glad we have him,” said coach Marco Sturm, who has also thrown Minten up with David Pastrnak’s top line. “I gotta tell you this: He’s been outstanding. He’s just getting better and better.”
• Phillip Knies flew to Boston and was in the house for this one. He attends quite a few of his younger brother Matthew’s games and is now semi-famous for his role in an Adidas commercial: “Show it to me, Two-Three!”
Phillip doesn’t really call Matthew “Two-Three,” does he?
Matthew starts chuckling.
“No, that was in the script,” he says, shaking his head. “I got a lot of s— for that one.”
• Bobby McMann has been engaged and physical lately. Nice to see him rewarded with points in four of his past five games.
“They do come hand in hand. I mean, I’m always trying to be physical, always trying to have an impact whenever I’m not scoring or not necessarily producing as much,” McMann said. “But there’s definitely correlation. You kind of create space out there, create more ice, create separation, get pucks back, that sort of thing.”
• Noted Leaf killer David Pastrnak (774 games played) became the seventh-fastest player born outside North America to score 400 goals, trailing Jari Kurri (608 games), Alex Ovechkin (634), Pavel Bure (635), Teemu Selanne (700), Jaromir Jagr (742), and Ilya Kovalchuk (771).
He added goal No. 401 for good measure.
• Emotional few days for Carlo, playing his old team twice.
During Saturday’s game, the Leafs D-man was dragging a puck in the neutral zone when he got razzed by an ex-teammate: “Pasta was just yelling at me like, ‘Brando! Brando! Brando!’ and trying to make me nervous. That was kind of funny. I appreciate that from him, you know, keeping it light. It was great to see those guys — and weird to play against them.”
Prior to Tuesday’s homecoming game, Carlo brought his family back to Boston, they walked around Charlestown, their neighbourhood of nine years, and dined at Prima, a favourite Italian steakhouse. Like old times.
“Fun to kind of walk down memory lane,” Carlo said, “experience our old stomping grounds.”
