Another disappointing loss for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs were expected to get out to a strong start in response to a disastrous performance against Columbus on Tuesday, but it was the St. Louis that took a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Oliver Ekman-Larsson briefly pulled his team within one, but Toronto struggled on special teams and surrendered far too many odd-man rushes.
The Leafs outshot the Blues, but they still lost 5-1 to a mediocre team that was missing its star centre. The overall team grade is a D+.
Player grades
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: B+
He opened the scoring for the Leafs in the second, firing home a one-timer to pull the Leafs within one. Craig Berube switched up the pairs halfway through the first, and Ekman-Larsson’s goal came off a nice pass from a new partner in Morgan Rielly. He continues to look feisty.
OEL’S FIRST AS A BUD! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/dkvtU30kZk
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 25, 2024
The third line (Steven Lorentz, John Tavares and Nick Robertson): B-
They didn’t play together in the third, but all three were in the “fine, but not spectacular” category. Lorentz made an excellent play to poke the puck around Justin Faulk and draw a penalty in the second, but his team failed to capitalize. Tavares picked up a secondary assist in the second and started the play off with a key faceoff win. Robertson had a couple of noticeable moments himself, but it feels like all three of them need to play with someone who can set them up. Their minutes were a little bit too boring.
The fourth line (Pontus Holmberg, David Kämpf and Ryan Reaves): B-
They were strong defensively, and even had a couple of decent scoring chances, but at some point, they need to put the puck in the net. It feels like when they play well the score during their minutes is 0-0, and when they play poorly they get outscored. They need some +1 games to offset the -1 games.
Morgan Rielly: B-
Rielly was moved to the right side toward the end of the first, and he rewarded his coach by setting up Ekman-Larsson for his team’s first goal. He created another good scoring opportunity at the end of the second, but this was overall an average game for him at best.
Bobby McMann: C+
McMann had a great scoring chance on his team’s opening power play, but he couldn’t quite capitalize. Other than that, his minutes were pretty dull.
Joseph Woll: C
Woll surrendered four goals in his season debut, and while you’d like him to come up with one extra save, his team was doing him no favours. Auston Matthews screened him on the first goal, and his team’s penalty kill coverage was horrendous on the second. The third goal was off a nice shot from the slot, and the fourth goal was off a two-on-one.
He made a couple of huge saves to keep the Leafs in the game heading into the third, but his team made too many big mistakes in front of him.
Jake McCabe: C
McCabe took a high-sticking penalty in the first, and his team failed to bail him out. He created two solid scoring chances for himself in the second, but Binnington was up for the challenge on both occasions. He was on for St. Louis’ third goal after making a poor pass to Matthews.
Matthew Knies: C
Knies set up McMann for a high-danger chance on an opening power play, but his line struggled at five-on-five, and he started the third with Tavares and Nylander as a result.
Max Domi: C
Domi played incredibly boring minutes through 40, and was moved to the bottom six to start the third. His best shift came during some four-on-four action in the third. He’s expected to create more offensively.
Simon Benoit: C-
Benoit made a nice block on his team’s first penalty kill, but his most noticeable moment was when his stick broke on him and created a dangerous rush the other way.
William Nylander: D+
Nylander set up Matthews for an A+ chance in the first, but Toronto’s captain shot it into Colton Parayko’s skates. He set up Matthews for another good chance to start the second, and McCabe for a dangerous one-timer at the end of the frame, but neither resulted in an assist. Unfortunately, he later made a bad turnover at the offensive blue line that led to the fourth goal against.
Conor Timmins: D+
Timmins made a bad play toward the end of the first, as he shot the puck into shinpads, and gifted Brayden Schenn a breakaway as a result. The Leafs were already down 2-0, and he’s fortunate that his goaltender bailed him out and kept the team in it.
Chris Tanev: D
Tanev was on for St. Louis’ first three goals, and he deserves a share of the blame for the second one. Dylan Holloway was left alone in front on the power play, and one of Tanev or Matthews should have been covering him. Maybe it was just a communication issue, but it was definitely a tough look. He was a little bit late to cover Alexandre Texier on the third goal against.
Mitch Marner: F
Marner generated little to nothing through 40, and his team was pretty clearly outplayed during his minutes. It felt like he took the night off.
Auston Matthews: F
He lost a defensive-zone faceoff in the opening minutes, and ended up screening Woll when Philip Broberg scored seconds later. He was on for the second goal against as well, as he and Tanev couldn’t agree on who would cover the wide-open Dylan Holloway in front.
Nylander set him up with an A+ chance toward the end of the first, but he shot the puck into Parayko’s skates. The negatives didn’t end there, as Matthews was on for the Blues’ third goal after he was unable to win a puck battle in the corner.
Game score
What’s next for the Leafs?
Heading to Boston to play the Bruins on Saturday at 7 p.m. on Sportsnet.
(Photo: Chris Tanouye / Getty Images)
