The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered another defeat, losing 5-2 to the Seattle Kraken, marking their sixth straight loss. It was another loss for the struggling Maple Leafs, but coach Craig Berube insisted that the team played well, despite the loss to the Kraken, according to Leafs' insider David Alter.
“Craig Berube felt his team played well for the most part, minus some mistakes: ‘I get it. It's tough, and nobody's happy. But in the end, that's the way we've got to play.'” Alter wrote on X.
Ever since the shocking 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, the Leafs have gone 1-6-2 in their past nine games, and fallen to the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Part of the reason for the struggles has been injuries. Notably, the Leafs have been without William Nylander for a small stretch.
Things did not start well against the Kraken, as they fell behind 1-0 just 1:21 into the game. After Nicholas Robertson tied it up 15:02 into the first, sending it into the intermission locked up. But things unraveled in the second period, as Shane Wright put one in the back of the net to give the Kraken the lead. Then, Brandon Montour added one to make it 3-1.
Morgan Rielly cut the deficit with a power-play goal in the third period. However, Wright again found the back of the net to give the Kraken another two-goal lead. Jared McCann finished it off with an empty-net goal.
The Leafs did things the way Berube wanted, but still struggled from the second period onward. Ultimately, they won only 43% of faceoffs, limiting their puck-control opportunities. The few positives to take from this game were that the Leafs killed both penalties and were generally careful to avoid the critical mistakes that would lead to more. But as another loss hit, the Maple Leafs must figure it out before the season is lost. The Maple Leafs continue their road trip with a battle against the Vancouver Canucks.
