The Toronto Maple Leafs were in a position to win their matchup against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, but ended up suffering a deeply disappointing 5-4 loss.
Toronto got on the board first with a goal by William Nylander five minutes into the opening period before letting the Hurricanes respond with back-to-back goals. Veteran skater John Tavares and Nylander then retaliated with consecutive goals to put Toronto ahead, 3-2, at the end of the wild first period.
Auston Matthews stretched the Maple Leafs' lead to two goals, 4-2, when he lit the lamp in the second period, then Sean Walker trimmed Carolina's deficit with a goal with under five minutes left in the same frame.
It was all Hurricanes in the third period, as Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven each buried a goal to give Carolina a win and leave the Maple Leafs scratching their heads after yet another confounding defeat.
Toronto head coach Craig Berube did not sound amused following the game.
“We're scoring enough goals every game, but we're letting in too many goals, the 59-year-old Berube said, per Arun Srinivasan of TheLeafs Nation. “Pretty much the season is, we don't value the defensive side of the puck enough.”
Berube's frustration with his team goes beyond just the loss to Carolina, where the Hurricanes massively outshot the Maple Leafs, 47-20. In even-strength situations, Carolina still won the possession battle by a wide margin, firing 32 shots to just 15 by Toronto. Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby could only do so much in front of the net amid a barrage of shots he faced against Carolina.
In last Saturday's meeting with the Boston Bruins at home, the Maple Leafs scored first, but eventually lost the game, 5-3, as the visitors fired 39 shots on goal to 33 by the hosts.
So far in the 2025-26 NHL campaign, the Maple Leafs are just 24th in the entire league with a 48.1 shot attempts percentage. Moreover, they have already lost four games in which they scored first, tied with the Bruins and the Utah Mammoth for second-most overall in the NHL.
Now at 8-7-1, the Maple Leafs will look to fix their issues on defense before a rematch with the Bruins at TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday.
