Instant Reaction: Maple Leafs lose to Hurricanes in overtime, Bo Groulx’s stock continues to rise

If you’re more or less tuned out of Toronto Maple Leafs games these days, nobody would blame you. The Leafs are well removed from the playoff hunt, Auston Matthews is out for the year, Matthew Knies is playing through an injury for some reason and Craig Berube is coaching as though he’s expecting a pink slip at the end of the season.

Tonight, in a game where the Hurricanes outshot the Maple Leafs 36-26 and won in overtime, it was one of the ‘less bad’ efforts of their recent losses. If the Leafs were firmly entrenched in a playoff spot, it would be a forgivable loss. Unfortunately, that’s not where they are right now and so it doesn’t really make a difference whether we’re talking about good losses or bad losses. They’re all the same lately, and they’re starting to pile up again.

One positive that can be taken away from the game is the continued success Bo Groulx is having in his first trip back to the NHL since 2023-24. After managing a grand total of one goal and five points in 65 career games with the Ducks, he has three goals and two assists for five points in six games after notching an assist on Dakota Joshua’s first period goal. The 26-year-old was well deserving a look considering his success with the Toronto Marlies this season (27 goals and 50 points in 54 games) and it begs the question – why did it take so long for him to get a look with the team? Topic for a different day, I suppose.

John Tavares scored the second goal and William Nylander scored the third, but the goals against were all too familiar. A goal immediately after the Leafs killed a 4-minute power play, a penalty shot goal after a breakaway against, and a second breakaway goal, this time shorthanded. Like much of the season, the Leafs haven’t been able to manage any consistency in terms of their special teams, and when one has a strong night, it seems the other falters.

At any rate, the Leafs remain 13 points out of a playoff spot and, more importantly, six points away from the bottom-5 of the standings. In any other season, everybody would be fully aboard the tank wagon, but it’s hard to do that with the lingering anxiety of handing the Boston Bruins a high draft pick. And guess who they play next?

I’ll leave it there. 13 games to go.

PRESENTED BY STAKE