The Leafs dropped to 4-4-0 on Thursday, falling 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues at Scotiabank Arena.
Returning home to Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs were kept in check offensively against the St. Louis Blues, losing 5-1 in head coach Craig Berube’s first matchup against his former team. Though the Leafs outshot the Blues 42-27, they couldn’t beat Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington more than once – even when they pulled Joseph Woll from the net with over four minutes remaining. Here are three key observations from the loss.
Joseph Woll Returns
Woll made his anticipated return against the Blues on Thursday, returning from “a little bit of groin tightness.” However, his debut didn’t go as he had planned. The 26-year-old allowed two goals on five shots to open the first period but managed to maintain just a two-goal deficit after 20 minutes of play.
The lead could have been extended to three had he not made a crucial save in the dying minutes of the opening frame, which saw Woll slide cross-crease to make a sprawling save.
Woll stopped 22 of 26 shots, keeping the game close for windows of time as the Leafs, at one point, only trailed by a goal in the second period. Despite this, the team in front of him didn’t do him many favors – only scoring once on 42 shots. To Woll’s defense, the netminder was screened heavily on the first goal and on a handful of others, there were no blue jerseys anywhere to be seen in support of the former third round pick – including a goal from Dylan Holloway which saw him standing alone in front.
Head coach Craig Berube echoed these thoughts, emphasizing that Woll didn't have much chance on a couple of the goals against. "(It's his) first game in a long time. I mean, he made some big saves, I thought, on some of those plays. But, you know, I mean, the first one he was screened on, he couldn't see it."
"We let a guy stand right in front of him and screen him. We don't clear him out of the net, out of the front of the net. It's a tough one. And then, you know, the second goal, the guy's right on the doorstep all along on, on the PK," Berube explained post game.
It’s tough to win any game with that little production. As mentioned, the goals cannot all solely be put on the shoulders of Woll, who was hung out to dry on many defensive errors. For a team that allowed no more than two goals in each of its first four games, the club has now surrendered 11 goals in two games. Was his 2024-25 season debut spectacular? No. But he certainly wasn’t to blame for the loss.
"I thought I settled in bit, and I thought our guys looked good in front of me, and I maybe like to have one or two back, and I think, you know, unfortunately there's a difference in the game, and, you know, a couple goals make a difference," Woll said.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Records First Goal as a Member of the Leafs
Though he’s generated plenty of offensive chances in eight games, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson finally broke through – scoring his first goal as a member of the Maple Leafs. From a play that stemmed from John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, who was paired with Ekman-Larsson for parts of the game beginning in the second period, found the Swede for a one-timer that had movement, beating Jordan Binnington glove side and bringing the Leafs within one 6:20 into the middle frame.
With the goal, Ekman-Larsson now has five points (1G, 4A) through eight games in his tenure in Toronto. Against the Blues, he recorded three shots and played a team-high 22:41 of total ice time.
Despite the goal, Ekman-Larsson is not content with the effort in back-to-back losses, especially from a defensive standpoint. "I don't think that's going to cut it. So we've got to get back to defending hard. And I think that's where it starts. We know that we can score goals. So get back to that grind game again."
"It's not good enough. Obviously coming out pretty flat in two games in a row. So I think that's got to be better. That's on us to prepare better," Ekman-Larsson said.
Power Play Woes Continue, Maple Leafs Held in Check Offensively
After capitalizing once on the man advantage against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, the Leafs went 0-for-4 on the power play in a 6-2 loss on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Entering Thursday’s contest against the Blues, the Leafs were an underwhelming 3-for-24 on the power play on the season.
Their success did not waiver any on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena, going 0-for-4 against the Blues, who conversely, went one-for-one on their lone opportunity. It marks the second straight contest that the Leafs failed to capitalize, now going 0-for-8 in their previous two games. Yet again, there was no breakthrough or answers against the Blues’ penalty kill on Thursday.
Through eight games and a 4-4-0 record, it remains an issue that has yet to be solved. Personnel on the two units has shuffled slightly, but nothing significant. Aside from players, the Leafs have struggled to obtain a strong net-front presence, which has not and will not work for them going forward. The Leafs’ power play has now gone a combined 3-for-28 in their first eight games. Dating back even further, the Leafs’ power play is 13-for-121 dating back to February 27.
"I thought tonight was a little bit better. And then, you know, we get down to crunch time and just not good enough there, not generating enough. Just not on the same page. That's kind of been the story throughout the first eight games here," captain Auston Matthews explained.
"It's hard to dominate, to gain momentum when that's off, right? It's such an important part of the game, both sides of it. And, you know, it's just an area that we need to bear down and dig in and be better in."
Berube mentioned that the power play can be, if used to its advantage, as an equalizer: "Well, it can be (an equalizer). I mean, again, like, they got some looks again tonight. They get looks, but it's still a little bit. They're not seeing it. You know what I mean? They're not really seeing it right now. And, you know, they'll get it going. We will keep working at it."
Offensively, Blues’ Binnington was strong, but not unbeatable. The Leafs capitalized once in the second period but failed to string together any momentum and build off their lone goal. Binnington stopped 41 of 42 shots, with the Leafs having a handful of golden opportunities to tighten the game.
The team was held in check and it was a quiet night in the Blues’ end of the ice. Outshooting their opponents 42-27, the chances were there, but they could not buy a second goal. Besides, a couple of mental lapses caused the game to get out of hand in the first place.
The Knies-Matthews-Marner line is a minus-5 over the past six periods, and the Leafs, collectively, allowed a pair of goals with little defensive help in the slot out front for goaltender Woll. It’s safe to say that Berube was not pleased with the lapses in judgment.
The Maple Leafs will hit the road for a two-game road trip, starting Saturday against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden before travelling to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Monday. Against Boston, puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. as the club looks to snap its two-game losing streak in a matchup with the Bruins.