Maple Leafs managed just 5 first-period shots in Montreal as eighth straight loss exposes a broken team
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Toronto made it an even eight losses in a row against the Canadiens on Tuesday, leaving them only a handful of games from making history for all the wrong reasons as they fell 3-1 and had no answer for Montreal's offensive push.
There's no more denying it, the Toronto Maple Leafs are no longer the team that won the Atlantic Division last season and look more like a scattered group of players with no direction or hope of turning things around.
The not-so-great eight: Toronto only four losses from unfortunate record
That continued with a 3-1 loss to Montreal who made Toronto look like an AHL team at times with how dominant they were. Puck possession, scoring chances, you name it; it was a one-sided affair.
They managed just five shots in the first as Montreal nearly quadrupled them with 18 total through 20 minutes and the ball was in the Canadiens' hands all night.
Montreal outshot Toronto 33-18 while also dominating them in face-offs and blocked shots, and it was the usual suspects who did the damage.
Oliver Kapanen scored his 20th of the season, meanwhile Lane Hutson secured his 54th assist of the year on Phillip Danault's 5th goal and Jake Evans added an empty netter.
Jakub Dobes was a brick wall all night although William Nylander added his 22nd of the season.
Nylander said this morning that he was hoping this struggle was a one-off situation but from the looks of it, that's far from the case.
The young guns couldn't get it done, but there's hope
Bo Groulx, who was making his Maple Leafs debut didn't have a point but played hard and ended the game with only two shots and a plus/minus of zero but did play 13:45 for the night.
The 'kid' line of Nick Robertson, Easton Cowan and Jacob Quillan mustered only two shots went a combined even rating with a combined 39:05 TOI -- the chances were there but the output wasn't.
All credit to Joseph Woll who was pelted with shots all night and stood strong despite letting in the two goals. He looked a lot better than Anthony Stolarz did against Tampa, and regardless of the result he should be proud.
While the loss is a hit to the team's pride, it just moves them one step closer to securing the best odds possible to get the first overall pick. Otherwise, Boston may luck out again.
Updated March 10, 2026 - 9:53 PM ET with new details
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| POLL | ||
MARS 10|788 ANSWERS Maple Leafs managed just 5 first-period shots in Montreal as eighth straight loss exposes a broken team Will Toronto set a new record for losses? | ||
| Yes | 564 | 71.6 % |
| No | 224 | 28.4 % |
| List of polls | ||