Roller-coaster Maple Leafs continue to play with fire, avoid getting burned

TORONTO — On another night that saw the Toronto Maple Leafs play with fire, another night that saw them cough up pucks with the vultures hovering, wire off-target passes at out-of-position teammates, and take up residence in their own zone while their opponents lobbed chance after chance at their netminder, this tumultuous blue-and-white roller-coaster squad once again managed to avoid getting burned.

Five games into the 2025-26 campaign, the juryâ€s still out on what exactly Brad Treliving and Co. have in this group. Itâ€s still early — thereâ€s still rust to shake off and new names to work into the mix. But through five games, the Maple Leafs have shown little in the way of inspired hockey, and even less in terms of the type of elite play required to take down any of the leagueâ€s best.

Thursday night, under the Scotiabank Arena lights, they waded through another night in the sludge, a messy affair against the New York Rangers chock full of lacklustre sequences in every corner of the rink. And once again, the lack of a top-tier opponent across the sheet meant they could pull out a late moment of quality and steal another win.

“You know, the first period had four penalties, so that sums up that period for me,†head coach Craig Berube said after the final buzzer sounded on an eventual 2-1 overtime win. “In the second period, I thought we got caught extending our shifts — they transitioned from defence to offence quickly and caught us with some odd-man rushes. Third period, they had the momentum.

“We grinded it out, though. … Weâ€ve got to be better than that, but it was a win.â€

Among the growing list of issues to sort out as the season wears on is the make-up of the Maple Leafs†struggling top line. Much was made coming into the campaign of the situation regarding Torontoâ€s top trio. With longtime top-six stalwart Mitch Marner leaving town, and captain Auston Matthews hunting for a bounceback campaign following an injury-plagued 2024-25, all eyes were on the name that would be pencilled in beside Nos. 34 and 23.

After a brief dose of Matias Maccelli up there, young Easton Cowan has gotten the call of late, with mixed results. Thursday night wound up more valley than peak, the 20-year-old finishing with a team-high five giveaways, and seeing only a couple shifts of action in the third period as Berube sent out Max Domi, Bobby McMann, and William Nylander in his place for stretches.

After the dust settled on the night, Berube chalked up Cowanâ€s limited third-period minutes to the flow of the tilt, rather than the young wingerâ€s own performance.

“The game in general, I think, more than anything,†Berube said of what forced No. 53 to the bench. “I thought our team maybe lacked a little energy tonight, so I was just trying to find some lines and some energy together, thatâ€s all.â€

Thereâ€s no doubt work still needs to be done in terms of ironing out the forward corps†wrinkles and finding some genuine chemistry with the new recruits. While the depth trio of Calle Jarnkrok, Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua came up with some good sequences; the trio of Domi, McMann and Nick Robertson had moments; and the second line of Nylander, Maccelli, and John Tavares seems reliable enough, thereâ€s still a sense that the group overall isnâ€t clicking. And that the most important question mark heading into the season — who lines up in No. 16â€s former spot — remains unanswered.

Still, even with the clubâ€s offence looking disjointed, the Maple Leafs find themselves heading towards a Saturday-night return to the ice with another win in the bag, largely because the clubâ€s leaders managed to pull out key moments when they were needed most.

It started in the first, when the Maple Leafs found a power-play marker amid a largely ugly opening frame, Nylander firing a puck on net and watching it bounce in off Knies.

“Weâ€ve worked on that play — just hang on the back post, make myself big, and hope that it bounces in,†Knies said of the goal. “Fortunately, it did.â€

It continued in the second, when a strong defensive play from Knies at the netfront preserved Torontoâ€s one-goal lead, the young winger using his size to hold off the hungry Rangers scorers after an initial Anthony Stolarz save spurred some chaos in the crease.

“You just want to stay close to Stolie, obviously make his life a little bit easier,†said Knies. “I think we did a good job of that in parts of the first and parts of the third, but in the second, we did hang him out to dry a little bit.â€

While the top line might be struggling to find its groove offensively without its former Selke-nominated leader, Matthews has seen improvement from young Knies on the defensive side of the game.

“I think heâ€s taken steps in that regard,†the captain said from the locker room late Thursday. “You know, heâ€s a big body, uses his size and his reach very well, and heâ€s smart. So, the more experience heâ€s had, and the situations heâ€s put in â€” end of the game, up a goal, down a goal, PK — you just kind of get a feel for how to use yourself in those situations. And heâ€s done a really good job improving in all those areas.â€

It was what transpired in the final seconds of Thursdayâ€s wobbly win that should give the blue-and-white faithful some reason to hope, though. The fact that even on a night like this, when it all couldâ€ve gone wrong for the home side — when it perhaps should’ve — the clubâ€s best came up with a moment of brilliance to put two points on the board.

Morgan Rielly kicked off the game-winning overtime play, stuffing an attempted Rangers†chance in Torontoâ€s zone before sending Matthews in on a 2-on-1 with Nylander. The snipers took care of the rest, Matthews dishing to Nylander, Nylander returning the favour, and No. 34 burying the game-ender.

If there was a time to come up with the one promising offensive sequence of the night, that was a good spot for it.

“Just had some time and space,†Matthews said of the goal. “Weâ€ve seen it a lot of times before, just playing a little give-and-go — obviously, heâ€s a great passer, and he put it right on my tape. It was a really nice play, and Mo made a great play in our zone there to break out that play and get us on that 2-on-1.â€

“Heâ€s an integral part of our team,†Stolarz said of No. 88. “You see him getting those big minutes there in the last two minutes — heâ€s someone thatâ€s grown into that role, and someone that weâ€re going to need as the year progresses to continue to battle, continue to work. You see him go for the change, and then his hockey instincts take over, he back-checks, Mo makes a nice pass to him, he comes down and feeds someone for the tap-in.

“The way heâ€s able to move up and down the ice, play defence, play offence, I think thatâ€s going to be huge for us.â€

Win aside, thereâ€s little outside of that final play that the Maple Leafs can look back on positively from this one. The list of issues to be sorted isnâ€t short, and thereâ€s little doubt a better club wouldâ€ve outlasted these Maple Leafs. But if youâ€re going to put up performances like this one while youâ€re fighting to find your game, youâ€d rather finish it with a W.

“I think we were kind of over-skating a little bit,†Knies said of the night. “I think they did a great job, honestly, hemming us in a little bit and controlling the momentum in parts of the game.

“But a winâ€s a win. And we found a way to get a victory here. Thatâ€s all that matters.â€

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