The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Saturday’s matchup against the St. Louis Blues looking to build on back-to-back wins over their last two games amid an already-lost season.
Instead, the performance was far from remarkable, and although the Leafs held on to a goalless draw through the first frame, the game quickly turned into a 5-1 loss.
The defeat prompted Leafs head coach Craig Berube to deliver a strong postgame assessment in which he called out pretty much all of his players.
Leafs goalie Joseph Woll, facing his hometown team, handled a heavy workload and finished with 33 saves on 38 shots faced, spending the whole game in net.
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube during a press conference.John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
(John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)
Berube made it clear afterward that he saw a sharp contrast between his goaltender and the rest of his players.
“We had one player that showed up tonight, and that was our goalie,” Berube said. “That is really what it boils down to.”
The Maple Leafs were outshot 38-13 and struggled to generate offense. Berube pointed to the ever-present lack of urgency and competitiveness as the defining issue in yet another loss.
“It’s very disappointing,” Berube said. “I thought the last couple of games were pretty good, and we were building. As I talked about, we were staying competitive and playing together out there. We did not have that tonight.”
Added Berube: “I am not going to sit here and say it is easy. But again, if you don’t have urgency and you are not competitive, you are just letting each other down. You’re letting that sweater down. That is the bottom line.”
Toronto returns to action Monday against the Anaheim Ducks in perhaps the most-anticipated matchup of the season following Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas’ season-ending injury on Leafs captain Auston Matthews on Mar. 12.
Puck-drop for the Leafs-Ducks game is set for 10 p.m. on Monday.
Related: Maple Leafs Send Strong Messages Before Ducks Rematch
Related: Ducks’ Radko Gudas Sends Clear Message Before Maple Leafs Rematch
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the NHL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.