The NHL trade deadline is behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and although the first game on the road to the playoffs was entertaining, it ended with another loss with a score of 7-4. The Maple Leafs have been pretty reliable this season in holding onto third-period leads. Last Monday’s loss to the San Jose Sharks ended their streak and this game had Colorado erase a 4-2 deficit. It was 4-3 to start the third period and Colorado’s push in combination with some lapses gave them the opportunities to turn the game in their favour.
What stood out the most was the difference in speed. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar definitely lead the way in that category, but the Avalanche as a whole was the quicker squad making those mistakes more costly. Colorado had the majority of the shots and scoring chances but the Leafs managed to score on the opportunities that came to them, including a goal on their one and only power play.
Unfortunately, too many things went wrong at the worst moments. The Leafs couldn’t get the breaks they had in the first half of the game while Colorado turned a four-goal third period into Toronto’s third straight loss. The Maple Leafs get a final grade of B-.
Player reports
Auston Matthews: A-
Three assists in the game to extend his point streak to 12 games. His line was the only one to not give up a goal at five-on-five, seeing minutes against MacKinnon and Brock Nelson’s units. He had a key defensive play to lift Nelson’s stick in the defensive zone before leading to Mitch Marner’s second of the game.
starts with the defensive play from Matthews pic.twitter.com/WsUMJ6UZSA
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 9, 2025
It was also good to see Matthews take the ice he was given on the zone entry on the man advantage and finish it with a slick pass through Devon Toews’ legs to John Tavares.
JOHN TAVARES 🚨🚨
Power play goal! What a feed from Matthews pic.twitter.com/fApVKz1h2R
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 9, 2025
Mitch Marner: A-
Marner was shooting a lot in this game, putting two goals past Mackenzie Blackwood on four shots and six shot attempts. His first tied it at one while his second game the Leafs a 3-2 lead at the end of the first.
MITCH MARNER 🚨
20th of the season and the game is tied pic.twitter.com/DsPxMQwS97
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 9, 2025
He also had a strong defensive play in the third as well to disrupt an odd-rush rush with a diving block. The tripping penalty on Martin Necas was a tough one. Necas had a breakaway if he got free, so it may have stopped the imminent scoring chance, but MacKinnon scored the game winner on the resulting power play.
Matthew Knies: B+
His patience with the puck upon the zone entry drew two Avalanche players to the side giving Marner space to shoot from the slot. He had a few of those patient passes in this game.
Brandon Carlo: B+
It was a tough start for Carlo who was on the ice for two goals against, though he evened up by the end of the game. Carlo’s net-front play and use of his stick defending odd-man rushes stood out. Additionally, he led all defenders with six blocks including one off the hand.
McCabe read that perfectly pic.twitter.com/fOF9sw0Jxj
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 9, 2025
Jake McCabe: B
Clutch blocks on the penalty kill. One saved a goal as Valeri Nichushkin had a lot of net to shoot at. McCabe usually times his pinches well, but the pinch ahead of the Joel Kiviranta goal was a piece of that sequence.
Anthony Stolarz: B
We’ve had better performances from Stolarz. He looked deeper into his net on some of the goals against while others were simply elite plays from elite players. He was definitely the busier of the two goaltenders and was big for the Leafs in the second period as they took the lead in the game, but that uncharacteristic shakiness came back in the third.
Jonathan Drouin’s goal, for example, isn’t something we’ve seen from Stolarz much this season as he lost track of the puck expecting it to go around the net, missing the pass and getting beat to the post.
Jonathan Drouin ties it pic.twitter.com/Wv7oKH4qGs
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 9, 2025
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: B-
The pairing was the only defenders to get shots on net. McCabe’s pinch wasn’t the only issue with the Kiviranta goal as Ekman-Larsson committed to the right moving to left when it was too late.
John Tavares: C+
An accurate shot beat Blackwood to tie the game at two. Tavares also scored on the team’s only power-play opportunity. The line wasn’t getting much at five-on-five aside from the goal as the shot attempts were 9-16. Tavares himself had a few giveaways in the neutral zone.
William Nylander: C+
Tavares’ goal doesn’t happen without Nylander. The Leafs got an offensive-zone draw after Scott Laughton’s slapshot, however, it was one Tavares did not win. Josh Manson comes in, knocks Pontus Holmberg away from the puck and tries to get it to Parker Kelly but it goes in his skates. Nylander goes for the puck, is tripped up by Manson, and hooks the puck to Tavares in the slot while falling.
Morgan Rielly: C+
His stick may have helped with that first goal against and even though the net was empty, Rielly could’ve been harder on the puck carrier. I see the potential of the pairing, especially with how simple Carlo keeps things.
Scott Laughton: C
Finished the game with 11:54 and a 57.4 percent in the faceoff dot. It was a tough start to his Leafs tenure as he was on the ice for a pair of goals. Laughton could’ve chosen a better path to MacKinnon ahead of his first as he wound up with way too much room to work with. That said, it’s clear what Treliving saw in Laughton, Monday will definitely be a better showing.
Pontus Holmberg: C
Had a great one-on-one chance to score after being brought back to the second line.
Steven Lorentz — David Kämpf — Nick Robertson: C
Head coach Craig Berube’s latest experience had some good moments and zone time, especially in the first. The opposition got more threatening chances overall, and Lorentz was the only one to get a shot on goal.
Simon Benoit — Philippe Myers: C-
This wasn’t a good showing for the pairing. They’re both physical players but struggled to move the puck out and reduce time in their zone.
Max Domi: C-
No shots for Domi in this one, he had a chance for a good one in the slot after McMann broke up a pass, but he tried to get it back to him instead of taking it himself.
Game Score
What’s next for the Leafs?
This latest road trip officially ends Monday night as the Maple Leafs take on the Utah Hockey Club at 10:00 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.
(Photo: Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images)
