The Maple Leafs lost 6-1 to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Wednesday is a day off for the team in Las Vegas.

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Toronto’s 10-game point streak (8-0-2) came to a crashing halt on Tuesday night as the Utah Mammoth handed the Leafs their most lopsided loss of the season.

“I didn’t really like our game from the start,” said defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson following the 6-1 setback. “They came out and had the puck a little bit more, and it was hard to defend them. We got to be better.”

“We were just not playing to our level,” said winger Matias Maccelli. “We got to be better and everyone knows that.”

But the Leafs are not planning to dwell on their first regulation loss since Dec. 21 in Dallas.

“This is a flush game,” said coach Craig Berube. “I talked to the guys. We need to rest up. We are going to have a tough game in Vegas, who are good at home. That is a good team. We need to rest up here and get our legs under us for the next game.”

The Leafs will continue their four-game trip on Thursday in Las Vegas where they will face Mitch Marner for the first time since the summer sign-and-trade.

“Anytime I’ve switched teams and you play buddies, it’s always a little bit different the first night,” said defenceman Jake McCabe. “Yeah, looking forward to it.”

“It’s going to be fun to play against him,” said Ekman-Larsson. “It’s going to be fun to see him.”

‘This is a flush game’: Leafs reset and rest up with Marner reunion looming Craig Berube doesn’t want the Leafs to dwell on their most lopsided loss of the season. In the wake of a 6-1 defeat to the Mammoth, Toronto’s coach is urging his players to rest and reset on Wednesday in Las Vegas as they get set to face former teammate Mitch Marner and the Golden Knights.

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The schedule makers did the Leafs no favours to start this road trip.

After playing at home on Saturday, Toronto flew to Denver on Sunday before beating the league-leading Avalanche in a high-altitude, high-emotion overtime game on Monday night. Then it was off to Salt Lake City to face a Mammoth team that had Monday night off.

“Everyone’s got games like these in the schedule,” said McCabe. “You know, it’s not easy for anyone. So, you’re not going to hear me making excuses about the schedule.”

All teams deal with back-to-back situations, but this one stood out because both games started at 8 pm local time.

“It’s just a little weird,” Maccelli acknowledged. “It’s late in Toronto, but still that’s another excuse. We gotta be better.”

It’s commendable that the Leafs did not want to make excuses, but they sure looked like a tired group on Tuesday night.

“We just didn’t execute well enough,” Berube said. “It was kind of like we were ‘almost’ [there]. We almost got a goal, we almost got the play off, but we just didn’t execute well enough. I’ll give them credit. They had a great game plan. They were on us. We didn’t have much room out there. We really had to work for any opportunity we got. They were tight defensively, and they were quick offensively. They made us chase it around.”

“We attacked every shift with a lot of speed through the neutral zone and a lot of pace, a lot of pressure on their D,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny told reporters. “We knew they were on the back-to-back and played a big game [Monday].”

‘There’s no excuse’: Leafs refuse to blame schedule after lopsided late-night loss After an emotional overtime win in the high-altitude of Denver on Monday, the Leafs struggled to get up to speed on Tuesday in another game that started at 8 pm local time. “Everyone’s got games like these,” said defenceman Jake McCabe. “You’re not going to hear me making excuses.”

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The Mammoth firmly grabbed hold of the game in the second period. After John Tavares was denied by Karel Vejmelka on a breakaway, Dylan Guenther scored twice in quick succession.

“Tavares didn’t put it in,” Berube said. “We had some opportunities early on [in the second]. We got our legs under us. The second goal went in, and the third one really dug us into a hole.”

“I kind of made the situation worse a little bit during the second period, which I’m not too happy about,” Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby said.

Guenther’s first goal was a high, short-side snipe off the rush that beat the 6-foot-7 Swede.

“It’s a good shot,” Hildeby said. “Like from that angle, I don’t think it matters who it is, I mean, it should be a save. I just mistimed it a little bit and I wasn’t in my position. But, yeah, credit him, obviously a good shot, but I’ve got to save that.”

Hildeby allowed six goals on 41 shots.

“I guess you’d want the second one back, but I don’t put anything on him,” Berube said. “This is a team loss. We’re all accountable for it. We have to be better. We weren’t good enough.”

‘I’ve got to save that’: Leafs goalie Hildeby admits he ‘mistimed’ Guenther shot Mammoth sniper Dylan Guenther beat Dennis Hildeby with a short-side shot in the second period on Tuesday. “From that angle, I don’t think it matters who it is, I mean, it should be a save,” the Leafs goalie said. But coach Craig Berube refused to blame Hildeby for the loss.

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Did the travel and late start impact Hildeby?

“Not enough for it to be an excuse,” the 24-year-old said. “First period felt alright.”

It’s easier to shrug off the start time after a win.

“10 p.m. start time, it’s always fun,” Joseph Woll said with a laugh after stopping 31 of 34 shots to beat the Avalanche on Monday. “Actually, I felt great. So, yeah, I think we’re all pros, so we know how to take care of our bodies and hopefully set us up for success. We’ve been hammering the beets and the iron and stuff. I do everything I can. So, yeah, my body felt good and great to get the win.”

Woll is winning a lot lately. He’s 6-0-1 since Dec. 23. And when Woll picks up the ‘W’ teammates are blasting ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis in the dressing room following the usual post-win song of ‘Come On Eileen’ by Dexys Midnight Runners.

“That’s pretty cool,” Woll said with a smile. “Yeah, I like our post-win songs right now.”

Woll is expected to get the start on Thursday in Vegas where he’s never won. He lost his only previous game in Nevada last season and it wasn’t pretty. Woll was actually pulled after allowing three goals on seven shots at T-Mobile Arena last March.

Woll loving the post-win playlist as Leafs sing along to ‘Wonderwall’ After Joseph Woll stopped 31 of 34 shots to beat the Avalanche on Monday night, teammates serenaded the goalie with a rendition of the Oasis song Wonderwall. “I like our post-win songs right now,” Woll said with a big grin. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar credited Woll’s strong start as helping turn the game in Toronto’s favour.

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Maccelli was playing his first game back in Utah since being traded by the Mammoth in the summer.

“It’s always fun to play against guys you know, but obviously we didn’t get the result,” he said. “So it wasn’t as much fun because they were buzzing.”

Maccelli did not hit the scoresheet and finished the night minus-two.

Maccelli heard from some former Utah ‘mates: “They told me to keep my head up. We’ll see what happens”

Who will Matias be keeping an eye on?

“Probably Lawson Crouse. He’s a big guy, so I have to be careful with him. But I’ll give it back to him if I get a chance” 🙂

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 14, 2026

But Maccelli did log over 15 minutes once again while playing on a line with Tavares and William Nylander. He is averaging 15:29 of ice time per game since re-entering the Leafs lineup on Dec. 20 following a nine-game stretch as a healthy scratch.

“Everyone wants to play,” the 25-year-old Finn said. “I was out for a few games, you know, just trying to reset and work hard in practice and then once I got back in just gave it my everything.”

“Talking to him, he wasn’t making excuses,” Berube said. “He knew he had to be better and he was waiting for an opportunity to be better.”

Maccelli has produced three goals and five assists in the 13 games since getting back in. He’s also earned a look on the top power-play unit.

“He’s playing with a lot more confidence, hanging onto pucks and making better plays with the puck and defensively he’s been solid,” said Berube before Tuesday’s tilt. “He’s working above things. He’s getting above. He’s being strong on the puck when he has to be in battles, but it’s confidence that I see in him now that I didn’t see early on.”

Maccelli produced nine points in his first 22 games this season while averaging 13:12 of ice time per game.

“Obviously getting more ice time helps,” Maccelli said. “My strength is with the puck and trying to make plays, so it helps when you play more and get more touches. And you get to play with JT and Willy, it makes my life a little easier too.”

NHL: Maple Leafs 1, Mammoth 6 Dylan Guenther scored two goals and picked up an assist, Jack McBain had three points of his own, and Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves as the Mammoth routed the Maple Leafs. Dennis Hildeby made 33 saves for Toronto, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.

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Auston Matthews did not score on Tuesday, but Toronto’s captain continues to look dangerous.

“He’s been cooking,” Nylander said following Monday’s game. “It’s nice to be out there with him. You know [if] you give it to him, it gets in the net.”

The manner in which Matthews scored on Monday in Colorado stood out to teammates. It looked a lot like the signature style he displayed en route to winning the Rocket Richard Trophy three times.

“That way he can weight shift and pull that puck in … it was a beautiful goal,” said winger Bobby McMann. “And really timely. The boys were fired up for that one.”

4 of Matthews’ 7 hardest shots of the season have come since Christmas break. Also, his two fastest skating speeds.
8 goals in 8 games after starting the season with 14 in 31. https://t.co/kpIFwNGeSs

— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) January 13, 2026

Matthews used Avalanche defenceman Josh Manson as a screen while snapping a puck past Trent Miner. The goal gave the Leafs a 3-2 third-period lead.

“There’s a lot of that [old] Auston Matthews, like, with the speed coming down, pulling it in and ripping it,” said Berube. “He’s getting his looks every game now.”

Leafs fired up to see Matthews continue to cook with another vintage snipe Auston Matthews used a vintage release to score his seventh goal in six games on Monday night in Denver. “That was a beautiful goal and really timely,” said Bobby McMann. “The boys are fired up for that one.” Added William Nylander, “He’s been cooking.”

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McMann scored a beautiful goal of his own on Monday night.

The Avalanche won a faceoff in the Leafs zone with Victor Olofsson tapping the puck back towards the point. The pass ended up going between defencemen Ilya Solovyov and Samuel Girard.

“Sometimes when a puck pops out like that, neither D is really sure who should get it,” McMann said. “So sometimes I just got to poke it ahead and try and get the wheels going and see if I can out skate’em there.”

McMann did just that and beat Miner on a breakaway to tie the game up at 2-2.

“He’s so explosive,” said Matthews. “You can just see how on his goal, I mean, once he gets a step, he’s hard to pick up. He’s been playing great lately.”

“He’s been playing like a beast,” said Nylander. “Using his speed.”

What is working well for McMann?

“I was just skating,” the 29-year-old said after Monday’s game. “I think that’s the biggest strength of my game. Just skating onto pucks, trying to force turnovers, generate pucks back to our guys. I was doing things like that and trying to stay consistent with that and continue to be physical.”

“He’s got such great speed and he uses it extremely well,” said Berube. “He can play anywhere and does the job. I thought defensively he was outstanding with his stick and his speed. It broke some plays up.”

Among all NHL forwards, only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (39.61 km/h) and Utah’s Logan Cooley (39.23) have hit a higher max speed than McMann (39.03) so far this season, per NHL Edge stats.

“It’s a little unfair, honestly, how fast he is,” said Leafs winger Matthew Knies. “It’s crazy.”

‘Playing like a beast’: McMann sparking Leafs with ‘explosive’ speed Bobby McMann burst through the Avalanche defence to score a breakaway goal on Monday. “He’s so explosive,” said Auston Matthews. “Once he gets a step, he’s hard to pick up.” McMann matched a season high with six shots and logged more than 18 minutes.

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After blocking a shot off his left leg on Monday, winger Nick Robertson missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day, per Berube.

Robertson sat out two games earlier this season as a healthy scratch, but Tuesday’s game marked his first injury-related absence of the year.

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Leafs lines to start Tuesday’s game:

McMann – Matthews – Domi

Maccelli – Tavares – Nylander

Knies – Roy – Cowan

Lorentz – Laughton – Jarnkrok

Rielly – Carlo

McCabe – Ekman-Larsson

Benoit – Stecher

Hildeby

Woll