The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
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Leafs centre Scott Laughton left Saturday night’s game after taking a bit hit from Bruins defenceman Nikita Zadorov in the second period.
Craig Berube on the Nikita Zadorov hit that knocked Scott Laughton from tonight’s game:
“I thought it was a head shot. I gotta take a closer look at it”@TSN_Sports
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 9, 2025
“I thought it was a head shot,” coach Craig Berube said following Toronto’s 5-3 loss at Scotiabank Arena. “I gotta take a closer look at it.”
Laughton will miss Sunday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, but Berube is unsure of the timeline beyond that.
Bobby McMann confronted Zadorov after the hit.
“I didn’t really see the whole thing,” the Leafs winger said. “Just kind of caught it out of the corner of my eye. Didn’t really love the hit from what I saw and wanted to make sure he knew I didn’t like it.”
“I didn’t see it, to be honest, super clean,” said centre John Tavares. “But don’t like anything high that’s for sure and I know our bench didn’t like it. Not an easy thing by Bobby to get in there and step up for Laughty so that was a hell of a job by him.”
Laughton, who sustained a lower-body injury during training camp, just made his regular season debut on Wednesday.
The Leafs and Bruins will play again on Tuesday in Boston.
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Anthony Stolarz allowed four goals on 19 shots before being pulled early in the second period. The Bruins scored on their first two shots of the game.
“First and foremost I gotta bear down and make a save,” Stolarz said. “I mean, giving up the first two shots [is] not a good way to start the game.”
Stolarz apologized to Dennis Hildeby at the bench before the 24-year-old, who was called up from the American Hockey League earlier in the day, entered the game.
“He was awesome,” said Stolarz. “I mean, I put him in a s—t situation, but he came in and handled it like a true pro and played well.”
Saturday marked the first time that Stolarz has been pulled due to performance since joining the Leafs last season.
“Once Dennis went in, it gave up a little spark,” Stolarz said. “It was the right move.”
Stolarz has an .889 save percentage through 12 starts this season.
“There’s a lot of good, but I think [he’s] inconsistent like our team,” said Berube. “That’s what I see.”
“It’s obviously not up to par,” Stolarz said of his play. “I mean, it seems like every night I’m giving up one or two you want back. But, for me, it’s just [the] life of a goalie. Just have to put it behind you and focus on the next game and hopefully get back in practice, work on a few things, and tighten it up.”
Stolarz led the league with a .926 save percentage last season, but only started 33 games, which was a career high. With Joseph Woll missing the start of the season for personal reasons, the Leafs have leaned on Stolarz more than anticipated.
“That’s part of it for sure,” Berube acknowledged. “But it is what it is right now.”
Stolarz, who missed Tuesday’s practice for maintenance, insists that his body is feeling fine.
“It’s what I trained for this summer,” Stolarz said. “Some bad bounces. Just some little technical things that you look at. You look at the third one [by Michael Eyssimont] just lifting that pad up for half a second, the puck goes under it, so for me it’s going back to basics and just trying to regroup and find my game.”
Berube also believes the team’s dip in defensive play is part of the reason why the goaltending isn’t as strong to start the season.
“There’s good stretches of it, but not enough,” the coach said. “Like, you know, the last goal [by Fraser Minten] is just a turnover. I mean, I don’t know what you want the goalie to do in that play.”
Berube is unsure who will start Sunday’s game against the Hurricanes.
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Hildeby made his first NHL appearance since Jan. 22.
“It’s a little nerve wracking to begin with,” the 6-foot-7 Swede said. “I had to battle with my breathing there and all that, but once I got into it I had a lot of fun. I felt good.”
How did Hildeby calm down?
“Breathing and just your inner dialogue,” he said. “Just stay positive and try and focus on actually enjoying it. It’s the NHL we’re talking about. But breathing most of all.”
Hildeby stopped 19 of 20 shots.
“I thought I kept it simple,” Hildeby said. “Played to my strength and then stuck to the game plan we worked on through training camp and the beginning of the season.”
Hildeby had a sense he would be called up when the team flew him home from a Marlies road trip on Friday.
“He looked solid,” Berube said. “He was pretty calm in there and made the saves. I thought we defended better down the stretch like, you know, giving them the bad angle shots and things like that but he was fine for me. He looked good.”
Hildeby is 2-2-1 with an .890 save percentage with the Marlies so far this season.
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Woll started an American Hockey League conditioning stint on Saturday. He allowed three goals on 24 shots while playing 36 minutes for the Toronto Marlies during a game against Lehigh Valley.
Game Highlights | Nov. 8, 2025 at Lehigh Valley
Toronto (2) vs. Lehigh Valley (3)
Goals: Borya Valis, Bo Groulx
Goaltender: Joseph Woll (21 saves, L) Vyacheslav Peksa (12 saves)https://t.co/dtmqJS1tI5
— Toronto Marlies PR (@AHLMarliesPR) November 9, 2025
With Woll away to start the year, the Leafs claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers from the Hurricanes at the end of training camp. Primeau won two of three starts, but posted an ugly .838 save percentage. The Leafs put Primeau back on waivers on Friday and he was reclaimed by the Hurricanes.
Woll thanks Leafs for support in address to media; wants to focus on present Joseph Woll will start a conditioning stint in the American Hockey League this weekend and on Friday, he broke his silence, speaking to reporters for the first time since rejoining the team. Mark Masters has more in this report.
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The Leafs will not hold a morning skate on Sunday. The team’s next media availability will be at 4:45 pm.
