{"id":480240,"date":"2026-03-02T04:48:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T04:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/480240\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T04:48:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T04:48:21","slug":"leafs-embarrassed-in-blowout-loss-to-senators-pushing-streak-to-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/480240\/","title":{"rendered":"Leafs \u2018embarrassed\u2019 in blowout loss to Senators, pushing streak to three"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) scores on Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) as defenceman Tyler Kleven (43) looks on during their game in Toronto on Saturday.Frank Gunn\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

There was no mincing words after the Toronto Maple Leafs\u2019 latest loss, a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the visiting Ottawa Senators on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust bad. Just fairly embarrassing, to be honest with you,\u201d said Leafs captain Auston Matthews. \u201cWe need to have more pride in our play, no matter where we\u2019re at, no matter what the situation is. We just have to have more pride in our game and we didn\u2019t have that tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews and the Maple Leafs have dropped three straight games coming out of the Olympic break on the heels of a three-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s getting dicey for the club which has made the playoffs in nine straight years \u2013 the longest active streak in the NHL \u2013 to ensure that run continues.<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs (27-24-9) entered action Saturday eight points out of a wild-card berth, and the road to get there is only more treacherous now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard. It\u2019s the first time in a long time we\u2019ve been in this position when we\u2019re out looking in. So we gotta figure it out pretty quickly,\u201d said forward William Nylander, who scored one of the Leafs\u2019 goals. \u201cStill not impossible, but we gotta play a lot better hockey if we want to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the Senators who looked like they wanted to be \u201cthere\u201d a lot more.<\/p>\n

Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each scored twice, and Thomas Chabot also got on the board for the Senators, who improved to 29-22-8 on the season to boost their slim post-season chances. Cozens also added an assist.<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs scored the first goal of the game thanks to Morgan Rielly, but they were outscored 1-0 and outshot 16-0 for the remainder of the first period.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly (44) pursues the puck against the Ottawa Senators in the second period at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.Dan Hamilton\/Reuters<\/p>\n

The Senators would string together 19 consecutive shots and three straight goals to take control of the divisional battle and earn their first win over the Maple Leafs since Game 5 of their first-round playoff series last year, which Toronto took in six.<\/p>\n

For the Maple Leafs, the slow start marked a continuation of sorts from Thursday\u2019s loss to the Florida Panthers, when Toronto was outscored 3-0 and outshot 16-7 in the first 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood first five minutes, I thought. Obviously got the first goal, which we\u2019ve been searching for,\u201d said Toronto defenceman Jake McCabe. \u201cAnd then we [expletive] the bed after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Maple Leafs struggled to find answers for their lack of desperation as they watch their playoff fortunes fade, they each cited \u201cdisconnect\u201d as a reason for their current skid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had trouble stringing together good segments of games consistently. It\u2019s just been too much of a roller-coaster,\u201d Matthews said.<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs had leaned on their pre-Olympic run for optimism toward a potential second-half surge.<\/p>\n

Now, that spark is all but snuffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I look at the game or show tape or go over things, there\u2019s a certain way we need to play the game. But I can\u2019t give guys this [points to heart] or this [points to head] and they have to come with that. That\u2019s on them. They gotta bring the heart and the competitiveness that\u2019s needed,\u201d head coach Craig Berube said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can go in there and yell and scream at them all I want. That doesn\u2019t do anything either.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the trade deadline approaching on Friday, the Leafs could look very different in a week\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s pending free agents include forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton in addition to defenceman Troy Stecher. Blue liner Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has one more season on his contract, is also a candidate to be moved.<\/p>\n

Berube admitted that uncertainty could play into the Leafs\u2019 struggles.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in saying that, those are all excuses. And we can\u2019t make excuses. Until guys in there decide they want to play the right way and play as a team, that\u2019s what you\u2019ll get,\u201d Berube said.<\/p>\n

Rielly, the veteran defenceman and longest-tenured Maple Leaf, refuted a notion that the team is quitting.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously an effort like tonight given what\u2019s at stake is confusing and unacceptable. So moving forward, we need to not allow that to happen again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Matthews called the current skid a \u201ctough stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never fun to lose. It\u2019s never fun to lose in this kind of fashion, three games in a row. So it\u2019s hard. It definitely wears on you, but we just have to be better. There\u2019s no hanging our heads, there\u2019s no feeling sorry for ourselves. Everybody\u2019s gotta look in the mirror and be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto has three more games before the deadline, beginning Monday against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.<\/p>\n

Mixed reaction for Matthews<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs honoured each of their three Olympians during the first television break on Saturday. Sweden\u2019s Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander, who returned home without hardware, received widespread applause.<\/p>\n

The reception for gold medalist Matthews wasn\u2019t as warm, as the Team USA captain was met with boos from the crowd before they were drowned out by cheers. He stood on the bench to acknowledge the crowd.<\/p>\n

American teammate Brady Tkachuk, the Senators captain, was jeered when he appeared on the arena\u2019s big screen for the first time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) scores on Ottawa Senators goaltender…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5104],"tags":[1018,1001,1019,967,991,1020,19,990,1008,1009,1004,992,989,1014,1016,1013,1007,1000,1030,993,994,1006,5,1002,1003,997,1021,998,1025,1026,4,1028,1023,1027,786,72,25,5157,1024,995,1011,1012,333,1010,1022,73,86,1015,1017,1005,999,996,1029],"class_list":["post-480240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa-senators","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-hockey","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-nhl","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-ottawa","tag-ottawa-senators","tag-ottawasenators","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-senators","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}