The Toronto Maple Leafs are staring at a rough stretch, and the uncertainty has reached the crease.
After Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, head coach Jim Hiller said he still “haven’t decided” who will start in goal against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. That matchup closes out Toronto’s six-game homestand, and it comes with the Leafs mired in a skid that has them looking up in the standings.
Toronto has dropped five straight at home in regulation, the first time that’s happened since the 1990-91 season. Overall, the Leafs have lost seven of their last eight and sit at 8-11-2 through 21 games, good for 18 points. They’re six points behind the Florida Panthers, who currently hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Oilers are next, and Toronto has already seen what a clean game against Edmonton can look like. The Leafs beat them 7-2 on the road earlier this season, in what was likely their best showing so far.
Anthony Stolarz started that game, and he was back in net Thursday against Minnesota. He stopped 21 of 25 shots in the loss, finishing with an .840 save percentage. His record now stands at 5-3-0, with a .900 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average across eight appearances.
After the loss, Stolarz pointed back to the first Edmonton meeting and the kind of effort Toronto will need to duplicate.
"We're gonna have to kind of repeat that and play that same style," Stolarz said of the Oilers matchup after Thursday's loss. "You got the best player in the world and a guy who's not too far behind.
And you look over the past few games too, Jarry's been playing extremely well. So we're going to have to get to the cage on him and make it tough for him.
Take what we did last time in Edmonton, and look at some video from that game, and just try to regroup and give a performance like that."
The goaltending decision is worth watching because Stolarz has not appeared in back-to-back games for Toronto this season. Hiller said earlier in the year that the staff had a plan for the rotation, but his comment that they “haven’t decided yet” stands out.
So far, the pattern has pointed toward Sergei Bobrovsky handling the bulk of the starts, with Stolarz getting roughly one outing per week and the two back-to-back situations filling in the rest. If that trend holds, Bobrovsky would be in line for his 14th start of the season on Saturday.
Bobrovsky is 3-8-2 with an .881 save percentage and a 3.47 goals-against average.
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For a team that has spent plenty of time searching for answers on the back end, the appeal is obvious: this is about more than patching a hole for a playoff run. The challenge is finding a fit that makes sense now and later, and the names being discussed suggest Toronto is at least aiming high as the deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Tanev Concern Is Starting To Feel Bigger For The Leafs
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The concern is not just about availability, either. There has been growing analysis suggesting Tanevs defensive impact has slipped in recent seasons, which puts added pressure on Toronto to get the most out of him without overextending him. And with other roster questions still hanging over the club, from John Tavaress performance to the way goaltending numbers are being read, the Leafs are left trying to sort through a few uneasy trends at once while Anthony Stolarzs play continues to trend in a more encouraging direction. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Losing Streak Has Jim Hiller Searching For Signs Of Life
After a 5-2 loss to Minnesota, Jim Hiller spent much of his postgame session circling back to the same problem that has followed the Leafs through a five-game losing streak: the mistakes are piling up, and they are costing them at the worst possible moments. The coach pointed to the breakdown that led to Matt Boldys winning goal and said the group has to clean up its play if it wants to stop the slide.
Hiller also weighed in on several individual performances, including Gavin McKenna, John Tavares and William Nylander, as he tried to separate the rough results from what he still believes the team can become. There was frustration in the room, but also a measure of cautious optimism, with Hiller suggesting the Leafs still have enough talent to turn things around if the details start to improve. [Read more 🡒]