April 20, 2021. Heading into Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, that was the last date the Toronto Maple Leafs had lost five games in a row.
Fast forward 1,671 days, and the Leafs are now mired in another five-game losing streak with a 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks.
That last losing streak came as the Leafs looked focused solely on the playoffs that were around the corner, with their first division title in a generation all but wrapped up.
This losing streak feels far more ominous. It’s only November, but after surrendering a two-goal lead to the Blackhawks and throwing away a strong effort from Joseph Woll in his season debut, it’s starting to feel like the Leafs’ season is slipping away.
Because what hurt the Leafs against the Blackhawks is what’s hurt the Leafs throughout an ugly start to the season: defensive lapses that led to goals against and an inability to play consistent hockey late in games.
There were positive signs, including the Leafs owning more of the possession, high-danger scoring chances and expected goals (64 percent) at five-on-five. After lacklustre efforts throughout the losing streak, the Leafs were largely engaged through the first two periods.
But positive signs won’t take them away from where they find themselves right now: left with the second-worst points percentage in the Eastern Conference and left with a grip on their season that is loosening by the game.
Here’s what we saw from the Leafs’ loss to the Blackhawks:
Philippe Myers is not the root of the Leafs’ larger defensive woes, to be sure. But the Leafs have also been outscored 5-12 at five-on-five when Myers is on the ice. That goals-for percentage (29 percent) is the lowest of any Leafs defenceman. Myers’ errors continue to pile up. He was on the ice and at fault for two goals against. The time appears not just to have come but also to have passed for Myers to be moved to the press box or down to the Toronto Marlies. Giving a Marlies defenceman such as Henry Thrun or William Villeneuve, both of whom can move the puck, a look in the NHL feels long overdue.
The first Blackhawks goal was the product of the Leafs’ inability to clear the puck out of their own zone. A beleaguered group allowed the Blackhawks over a minute of offensive zone time way too easily. Jake McCabe appeared to give Myers an earful after Myers drifted from his defensive assignment and let Blackhawks forward Ryan Greene get a clear shot off undeterred.
the grass is Greener in Chicago🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/y6oAtUsp9O
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 16, 2025
Myers was again twisted inside out on the Blackhawks’ second goal, from forward Teuvo Teravainen.
Again, moving Myers off the roster won’t completely change the course of the Leafs’ season. But urgency is required from the Leafs’ coaching staff and front office. They have a very clear starting point on where to act on that urgency.
Leafs general manager Brad Treliving did indeed get a start Saturday afternoon, claiming right-shot puck-moving defenceman Troy Stecher, 31, off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers.
Stecher is in his 10th NHL season, having bounced around through seven NHL organizations. The third-pair defender’s most productive season was his rookie year in 2016-17, when he nabbed three goals and 24 points in 71 games.
Stecher should enter the lineup soon enough, with Chris Tanev’s return not yet on the horizon. Crucially, Stecher provides a right shot that Leafs coach Craig Berube desires. Berube iced five left-hand shot defenders in each of the Leafs’ last two games. He wants balance on the back end.
“(Stecher) is a right-hand shot. Very competitive player. He’s been around, got experience, but more so than anything, just getting that right-hand shot,” Berube told reporters ahead of the loss in Chicago. “He’s a competitive guy. He really is, and he has to be. But like I said, we were looking for another (defenceman), and the right-hand shot was what we needed.”
Stecher is expected to join the Leafs this weekend.
Full credit to Woll in his first NHL game since May 18.
After missing training camp and the start of the NHL season to tend to a personal matter, the Leafs goalie made his season debut against the Blackhawks.
In the lead-up to his return, Woll has tried to make things as normal as possible. He’s chatted continually with Maple Leafs goalie coach Curtis Sanford during breaks in practice, reviewing recent plays to ensure the details Woll takes so seriously are being adhered to. He’s stayed late in the dressing room after practice, tending to his gear while snacking on bananas and protein smoothies. It was worth wondering whether a different Woll would emerge after his return. Perhaps he would look like a goalie, and a person who wanted to abstain from prying eyes as much as possible. There’s no doubt what kept him away from the Leafs was serious, after all.
And yet in the days leading up to Woll’s stepping into the United Center as a Leaf, things felt, well, normal. You get the sense that’s what he wanted.
And most importantly, you get the sense that trying to limit distractions and stick to his routine would help him do what he needed to do in Chicago: give the Leafs a chance to win.
Through particularly frantic second and third periods, that’s what Woll did well. His positioning was typically elite. He looked sturdy in his movements, like a goalie more concerned with adhering to sound structure than athleticism.
Blackhawks star centre Connor Bedard entered the game on a nine-game point streak, with 19 points throughout that streak. And as Bedard tried to take the Blackhawks on his back in the second period, pressing toward the net with intent, Woll was exactly where he had to be. He confidently stopped Bedard’s efforts off his mask and then with his pad.
Woll dove around his crease when he had to. Woll’s second-period toe save on Artyom Levshunov was one of his best. And it was one of a handful of saves that suggested Woll’s timing and handling of the speed of the game — two areas of concern for him playing his first NHL game since May — were just fine, thank you very much.
Even after a long pregame ceremony in Chicago, Woll’s focus remained sturdy for nearly 60 minutes. He had to make a flurry of saves, including a stretching save on Blackhawks forward Landon Slaggert, in the third period.
The Leafs entered the game with an .882 save percentage, good for 27th in the NHL. Poor goaltending (Dennis Hildeby has largely stood tall, though) has been part of the reason the Leafs are sinking so low this season.
Woll’s .906 save percentage in his first start? That number topped the save percentage Anthony Stolarz put up in all but four of his 13 starts.
Just getting league-average goaltending would be a step in the right direction for the Leafs. Maybe enough to start to turn the tide of their season, though there are still plenty of areas to clean up. And we’re only one game into the new Joseph Woll Experience, sure. But he deserved a better fate than the loss that would appear on his stats. It was easy to see how confident the Leafs looked in front of him, especially as their goalie grew into the game.
Signs of hope were evident against the Blackhawks. Nick Robertson scored a crucial goal to open the scoring.
This is the same Nick Robertson who has been pushing, in his own way, for regular top-six opportunities. Those opportunities have barely come for the speedy shooter in his time as a Leaf.
Yet with injuries and continued forward lineup juggling, Robertson has finally gotten his top-six shot. And he’s made the most of it. Robertson’s goal pushed him to 9 points in nine games. Whenever Auston Matthews returns from injured reserve, Robertson has to stay in the top six. He’s earned it.
And the Leafs earned the offence they did get, as well.
Midway through the second period, the Leafs hit two posts during a remarkable shift. They sustained offensive zone time for well over a minute, cycled the puck with creativity and effort and finally broke through with a Morgan Rielly goal. William Nylander was the star through the shift, covering a million miles of ice in the process.
It brought to mind Nylander’s honest assessment of the Leafs on Thursday morning.
“I think that defensively we’ve been struggling, and that’s something that can be fixed. You can adjust and make changes to be better at that, with better attention to details,” Nylander said. “I would be more worried if we weren’t scoring goals because that’s harder, I think, to do.”
Nylander never shies off from sharing his opinion, even one that might ruffle a few feathers. But that he backs up statements like that one with dynamic — and relentless — play with the puck is a reminder of how singular a star he is in the NHL and how much the Leafs will continue to need him to get them out of their rut.
