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Published Dec 21, 2025 • 3 minute read
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William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck during the second period against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Dec. 21, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Sam Hodde /Getty ImagesArticle content
There is zero confidence among the big shooters on the Maple Leafs, which equates to the team’s point total after that rough three-game road trip.
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The club would have taken a win, lord even a point, but instead was swept by Washington, Dallas and Nashville, the latter loss to a very poorly Predators side.
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In a 5-1 fall to the Stars on Sunday, which was the Leafs’ best game of the three despite the score inflated by an empty-net goal, the top guns fired duds again. Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Matthew Knies were blanked at even strength and power play.
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Our Takeaways from the troubled tour that cost the Leafs more ground in the playoff race:
RED LIGHT DISTRICT SHUT DOWN
Even Nylander, he of the good quip in bad times, was quite reserved on behalf of himself and the rest of the flustered firewagon. The leading scorer is goal-less in 11 games this month, and it’s getting to him.
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“I don’t know if I’ve felt like this before,” Nylander told reporters in Dallas of being so low in personal stats and the standings. “Everybody’s frustrated. But you can’t bring it home (to the last pre-Christmas game Tuesday against Pittsburgh).”
He, like Matthews, had a potential game-changing breakaway, but couldn’t beat the Stars’ top drawer stopper Jake Oettinger, shooting wide.
“He was big in net, but I think our confidence is low, too. For me, (goals) are had to come by, and that makes it easier for him.
“Bad luck, it’s just not going in. When we haven’t been playing well for a while, we have to grind through it even more. If we were more consistent, maybe last night (two blown leads in Nashville) would’ve gone our way, but we’re just in that little funk right now.”
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Most would term it bigger than ‘little.’
Many looked for a fruitful trip for Matthews after he was a big part of a home rally versus Chicago last week, but was blanked with chances in both Nashville and Dallas to strike early.
Tavares, who also had just one December goal until Nashville, had to leave Sunday’s game for a few minutes when hit on an arm by a teammate’s shot while trying to screen. Dallas, meanwhile, had two deflections to beat Dennis Hildeby.
“It’s easy to let ourselves think things are going against us,” Tavares said. “We have to fight that and continue to fight to earn the results, earn the breaks.”
POWER PLAY STILL PAUSED
With Nylander and Tavares on the bench of the first unit, the Leafs had their second game of the trip with a slew of man advantages. Their four chances certainly had puck movement, but generated few dangers around the Dallas net.
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Nick Robertson and Max Domi were added up top, but Robertson had no shots in the game. Assistant coach Mark Savard is presiding over a group that is now four for its last 44 chances and has the worst road record in the league, hovering around 10 per cent.
Head coach Craig Berube saw it as an extension of all the 5-on-5 misfirings and on Sunday held back on his recent criticisms, likely to let the overdue concept of creating equitable quintets get used to each other.
“When it’s not going in, you can’t nitpick every little thing,” Berube said. “This is a fast game, it’s reactions, and we just have to stick with what we’re doing. We want bounces, we want luck, you have to earn them – and keep earning them.”
IT’S THE PITTS
Looking ahead to the Pittsburgh game, Berube will have more lineup decisions, though not a lot of resources.
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He hinted that the healthy scratch of forward Easton Cowan, not really deserved based on the youngster’s play, would just be for the Dallas game, but there wasn’t an appreciable change in results after Max Domi’s second deletion this season.
The NHL holiday roster freeze, lasting until Saturday, prevents anything more drastic with Calle Jarnkrok the only other extra forward at present. Defenceman Henry Thrun sat out the last two games so the Leafs could get Philippe Myers’ size into the equation.
Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
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