The Toronto Maple Leafs' season continues to unravel as they suffered their seventh loss in eight games, falling 5-2 to the rival Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday night. The defeat leaves the team searching for answers amid what began as a season with Stanley Cup aspirations.
Second Period Collapse Proves Costly
Head coach Craig Berube expressed frustration with his team's inability to maintain early momentum. The Maple Leafs controlled play initially, registering the game's first six shots, but collapsed after Montreal capitalized on two quick opportunities.
"We're down 2-0, but I just don't understand why we can't go out in the second period to dictate how we're going to play the period," Berube said. "That's the difference for me. They dictated the game in the second period. They put their foot on the gas, and took it to us."
The statistics tell a grim story of Toronto's second-period struggles. The Leafs went without a shot for nearly 11 minutes (from 16:48 to 5:49) while the Canadiens fired 10 shots during the same span. Montreal even maintained possession for an 81-second keep-away session during a delayed Toronto penalty.
Berube didn't mince words about his veteran team's performance. "We go out there and we don't play with any urgency or any confidence in the second period, because we get down a couple goals. That's an excuse all day long for me. This is a veteran hockey team. It's inexcusable."
Canadiens Snap Losing Streak with Dominant Performance
Montreal received outstanding contributions from Noah Dobson and Josh Anderson, who each scored twice to help snap the Canadiens' five-game losing streak. Dobson's second goal came at 4:09 in the middle frame off a setup from Ivan Demidov.
The game became so one-sided that Berube pulled goaltender Joseph Woll after Anderson made it 4-0 just 13:11 into the second period. Canadiens fans celebrated with "Olé, Olé" chants with more than 25 minutes still remaining.
Despite surrendering four goals on 25 shots, Berube described Woll's performance as "excellent" and explained his decision to pull the netminder was meant to protect both the team and the goalie, who's carrying the load with Anthony Stolarz injured.
Xhekaj Brothers Make Family History
The game featured a special family moment as Florian Xhekaj made his NHL debut alongside his brother, Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj. The Xhekaj brothers became the 14th pair of siblings to play together for Montreal, and the first since Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn in 2010.
Florian made an immediate impact, delivering a huge hit on his opening shift, recording an assist, and engaging in a third-period fight against Dakota Mermis. The 6-foot-4 winger pumped up the crowd as the Bell Centre erupted and teammates banged their sticks along the boards.
"I kind of fired up our bench, fired up our crowd after, I had so much adrenaline," Florian said. His older brother Arber couldn't have been prouder, adding: "I see my younger bro throw hands like that, it's awesome. I couldn't stop banging my stick."
The entire Xhekaj family traveled from Hamilton to Montreal to witness the historic occasion, with parents Simona and Jack watching both their sons take the ice together against Toronto.
Injury Woes Compound Toronto's Troubles
Toronto's challenges mounted when defenseman Jake McCabe exited in the second period after taking a puck to the face. Berube described the injury as "bad enough he couldn't come back to play," though no specific timeline was provided.
The Leafs were already missing several key players, including captain Auston Matthews, goalie Anthony Stolarz, and defensemen Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev. The team currently sits second-last in the Eastern Conference and trails playoff position by four points.
Despite the mounting losses and injuries, winger William Nylander remained optimistic. "It's tough right now," he acknowledged. "But in the end I think it'll be good for our group."
Center John Tavares summarized the team's frustration, noting: "Second period was real tough. Just didn't respond well after we got down two. We just weren't able to kind of get things going in the second period until really late, and put us in a big hole."
