Instant Reaction: Maple Leafs have nothing in the tank in 6-1 loss to Mammoth

Life comes at you fast. One night, you play one of your best games of the season against the league’s premier team and snap their 17-game home winning streak. The next night, you’re walked all over by a far lesser team.

The Toronto Maple Leafs simply had nothing going for them in a 6-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night. It was probably one of their worst games of the season, but it wasn’t one that deserves a ton of flak for poor play. Much was made about the high altitude and the affect that can have when you combine it with travel and a quick turnover, and it was on display on Tuesday night. The Leafs simply looked like a team that played a grind fest of a game the night before, meanwhile the Mammoth were well rested and playing on home ice.

Dylan Guenther scored two goals for the Mammoth, while Michael Carcone and J.J. Peterka added their own to contribute to the win. Dennis Hildeby struggled mightily in this one, allowing six goals on 40 shots, and while it would have been asking a lot of Hildeby to come out and stand on his head for his team, there were a couple of goals you could imagine he would want back. The game slipped away from them in the second period, with three goals against in the middle frame, and they simply never recovered from it. Calle Jarnkrok scored in the third period to get the Leafs on the board, and they appeared to briefly find their legs, but it was too little too late. Daniil But scored a final dagger with under five minutes to play to secure the win for Utah.

The Leafs are not in a position where they’ll be happy about sacrificing any points, given how tight the league is at the moment and how strong all of their fellow Atlantic Division teams are playing, but they also can’t afford to let this loss take them off course. They’ve still been playing their best hockey of the season since Christmas break, and if they pivot away from the good habits they’ve been building, their road to clinching a playoff spot will only get rockier.

The Maple Leafs will regroup and look to rebound on Thursday night when they face Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time this season.