{"id":493150,"date":"2026-03-08T13:09:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T13:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/493150\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T13:09:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T13:09:19","slug":"maple-leafs-hot-streak-fizzled-into-worst-stretch-in-the-nhl-the-hockey-writers-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/493150\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs’ Hot Streak Fizzled Into Worst Stretch in the NHL – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, when a season goes sideways, people try to find one moment where everything fell apart. One bad trade. One injury. One awful game that changed the mood around the room.<\/p>\n

Related: 7 Cool Things About Alexander Ovechkin<\/a><\/p>\n

But when you step back and look at the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>\u2019 season, it\u2019s probably easier to understand if you break the schedule into sections. Three sections tell the story pretty clearly: the slow start, the brief surge that gave everyone hope, and the collapse that followed.<\/p>\n

Section 1: The Maple Leafs\u2019 Slow Start<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs opened the season unevenly. They went 3-4-1 in their first eight games, which wasn\u2019t great but also wasn\u2019t a disaster. For a moment, it looked like they were finding their rhythm when they won five of their next six games.<\/p>\n

\"TorontoThe Toronto Maple Leafs didn\u2019t have both goaltenders at the start of the season.
(James Guillory-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Then the wheels started wobbling again. Toronto followed that mini-run by losing seven of their next eight games, and by the time the club reached the 35-game mark, they were sitting at 15-15-5.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s three-point NHL, that .500 record doesn\u2019t keep you afloat for long. At that point, the Maple Leafs were last in the Atlantic Division, second-last in the Eastern Conference, and 25th overall in the league.<\/p>\n

Related: Maple Leafs News & Rumours: McMann, Cowan, Quillan & Treliving\u2019s Flaw<\/a><\/p>\n

Not a great place to be, but still early enough that things could turn around.<\/p>\n

Section 2: The Maple Leafs\u2019 Hopeful Surge<\/p>\n

For a brief stretch, things actually did turn around. The Maple Leafs suddenly caught fire and ripped off an 8-0-2 run over ten games. During that stretch, they looked like a completely different team.<\/p>\n

That run moved them up to fourth in the Atlantic Division and pushed them into the first wildcard spot in the East. Even more impressive, they climbed 15 spots in the overall NHL standings, landing 10th in the league. In other words, they were right back in the playoff conversation.<\/p>\n

\"DennisDuring the Maple Leafs\u2019 winning streak, goaltender Dennis Hildeby<\/a> showed solid play.
(John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Then came a strange little three-game stretch that felt like a warning sign. The Leafs were hammered 6-1 by the Utah Mammoth, then blew a two-goal third-period lead against the Vegas Golden Knights before losing 6-5 in overtime. To their credit, they bounced back with a dramatic 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets, erasing a 3-1 deficit on the road.<\/p>\n

Over those three games, Toronto went 1-1-1, which technically wasn\u2019t terrible. But the team slipped one point out of a playoff spot, and the momentum from that ten-game surge began to fade.<\/p>\n

Section 3: The Maple Leafs\u2019 Final Collapse<\/p>\n

In this final section, things really started to fall apart. In the 15 games since that comeback win in Winnipeg, the Maple Leafs have managed to win just three times. Their record over that stretch is 3-10-2, which is the worst mark in the NHL during that period.<\/p>\n

Related: 6 Oldest Players in Edmonton Oilers\u2019 NHL History<\/a><\/p>\n

The result? The Maple Leafs now sit last in the Atlantic, second-last in the Eastern Conference, and nine points out of a playoff spot. Overall, they\u2019ve slid back to 25th in the league.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a slump. That\u2019s a full-blown collapse.<\/p>\n

What Actually Went Wrong for the Maple Leafs?<\/p>\n

In this Maple Leafs\u2019 collapse, there are plenty of places to point the finger. You could blame injuries to key players or the compressed schedule. But every team deals with those things.<\/p>\n

You could question general manager Brad Treliving\u2019s roster construction in the post-Mitch Marner era, especially whether the right complementary pieces were added around the remaining core.<\/p>\n

You could also look behind the bench. Some observers wonder whether head coach Craig Berube has struggled either to motivate the group<\/a> or to install a system that consistently produces winning hockey.<\/p>\n

But the Biggest Surprise Is Auston Matthews\u2019 Lack of Scoring<\/p>\n

But when you start digging into the numbers from the past 15 games, one stat jumps off the page. The number \u201c2.\u201d That\u2019s how many goals Auston Matthews<\/a> has scored during that stretch. For a player widely considered one of the best goal scorers in the NHL, that\u2019s stunning. Matthews\u2019 two goals over those 15 games tie him for seventh on the team during that span.<\/p>\n

\"AustonAuston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr<\/a>\/The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

Players like Mattias Maccelli and John Tavares have five goals in that stretch. Bobby McMann (now departed), Matthew Knies, and William Nylander have four each. Even Max Domi has three.<\/p>\n

Related: The Maple Leafs\u2019 Playoff Problem Isn\u2019t Skill \u2014 It\u2019s Blandness<\/a><\/p>\n

Over those 15 games, Matthews is scoring at the pace of 11 goals over a full 82-game season. When your most dangerous scorer goes quiet,<\/a> the ripple effect hits the entire lineup. Suddenly, the margin for error disappears.<\/p>\n

Matthews\u2019 Drought and the Team\u2019s Woeful Defence Created the Perfect Storm<\/p>\n

When you combine that with shaky team defence \u2014 something the plus\/minus numbers during this stretch reflect pretty clearly \u2014 you start to see why the Leafs\u2019 season has gone the way it has.<\/p>\n

The slow start hurt them. The surge gave them hope. But the collapse since January is what will ultimately define the season.<\/p>\n

[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan\u2019s Facebook profile can be found here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

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