The Leafs have won five of their last seven games. Dec 8, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (88) and forward Auston Matthews (34) discuss a play against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Did Leafs save their season with comeback against Blackhawks?

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Hunter Crowther | Last updated Dec 17, 2025 4:32 PM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off a late comeback win over the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night, down 2-0 with 10 minutes to go and getting timely goals from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Auston Matthews and Dakota Joshua to pull off a 3-2 victory in regulation.

While the win gives Toronto a much-needed two points, the effort through the first 50 minutes left fans underwhelmed, as the team struggled to generate chances and looked lethargic for chunks of the game.

At one point midway through the first period, head coach Craig Berube ripped into his players, screaming about how they could only generate one shot through the first 11 minutes of the game.

Craig Berube appears to call out the Leafs for having just one shot halfway through the first pic.twitter.com/K7EzXdc44j
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 17, 2025

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss the Leafs’ comeback win, Berube’s status with the club and if it actually saved their season.

Tyler Yaremchuk: The question is no longer “Has Berube reached his boiling point?” or “Has Leafs management reached its boiling point with Berube?” but now it’s “Did that three-goal third period potentially save Berube’s job and maybe save their season?”

Carter Hutton: I don’t think it “saved his job,” but it’s got to be infuriating to coach a team like this.

I just want a hard team to play against. I want a consistent team, I want a team that every night, when you come into our rink, we’ll make it hard on you, and they don’t get that.

They’re finding ways to win games right now, and that’s important. But that being said: In the big picture of things, is this a team we realistically think has a chance to win in the playoffs? I just don’t see this team beating anyone in a seven-game series.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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