Maple Leafs Snap Skid in Shootout Win Over Canucks, But Bigger Questions Linger
VANCOUVER - The Toronto Maple Leafs finally caught a break Saturday night, gutting out a 3-2 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks to halt a six-game losing streak. It wasn’t pretty, and it doesn’t erase the hole they’ve dug themselves into, but for a team desperately searching for something to build on, this one mattered.
Let’s be clear: the Leafs are still well outside the playoff picture. But this win trims the deficit to eight points - a small but meaningful shift from the 10-point gap they faced before puck drop. In a season where margins are razor-thin and momentum has been hard to come by, that’s something.
“Obviously, this one feels good,” said captain Auston Matthews, who’s been one of the few consistent bright spots in a turbulent season. The Leafs were coming off a 5-2 loss to Seattle on Thursday - a game where, despite the scoreline, they looked like the better team for long stretches. “We played well in Seattle and it didn't come out our way, but I thought it was good that we just stuck with it,” Matthews added.
That kind of resilience is going to be critical if Toronto has any hope of clawing back into contention. The team already pulled off a midseason surge earlier this year after a statement win in Colorado. They’ll need to channel that same energy - and then some - to make this one count.
But let’s not sugarcoat it. The Leafs are in a tough spot.
Management knows it. The fanbase knows it.
There’s no hiding from the standings, and recent reports suggest the front office is starting to explore trade options, potentially shifting toward seller mode ahead of the deadline. That looming reality doesn’t just hang over the team - it shapes every game, every shift, every decision.
Still, inside the locker room, Saturday night brought a much-needed breath of fresh air.
“It’s a good feeling in there right now after losing six in a row,” said head coach Craig Berube. “It's tough, but they worked their way out of it tonight... They weren't going to be denied.”
Berube’s message was clear: don’t let this be a one-off. The Leafs have to build on this - and fast.
A big reason they were able to get over the hump? Joseph Woll.
The 25-year-old netminder was dialed in, stopping 39 of 41 shots and bailing his team out multiple times with high-difficulty saves. It was the kind of performance Toronto leaned on last season when Woll and Anthony Stolarz formed one of the league’s most reliable tandems.
This year’s goaltending hasn’t quite lived up to that standard, but if Woll can recapture that form, it could be a game-changer.
“I think from here on out, we need every game pretty badly,” Woll said postgame. “So it's going to be a playoff mindset... I think we really showed it.”
The Leafs aren’t out of the woods - not even close. But for a night, they showed fight.
They showed structure. And most importantly, they showed belief.
Whether that’s enough to shift the narrative of their season remains to be seen.
But if there’s going to be a turning point, this might be it.