Maple Leafs vs. Avalanche: Losing streak continues at home in back-and-forth affair - Toronto Star

Toronto drops fourth game in a row — all in regulation, all on home ice — and suffers its sixth loss in seven games.

The struggling Maple Leafs will face Minnesota on Thursday and Edmonton on Saturday.

If ever there was a team desperate to win the 20th game of an 84-game season, it was the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The injury-ravaged and struggling Maple Leafs put in a game effort, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 6-3 to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.

It was the Maple Leafs fourth loss in a row — all in regulation, all on home ice — and sixth loss in seven games.

It leaves them at 8-10-2 after 20 games, a worse start than last year’s 9-9-2. Last year — you should remember — didn’t go so well.

“We could have a better record, but we don’t,” said coach Jim Hiller. “We are what we are, and it’s a lot of different things. The goals against, let’s start there. We’ve had penalties at inopportune times. But I like the guys. I like the team. We’re going to come out of it. It really sucks.

“The only way out is stay together and work.”

Despite their woes, the team has been at least entertaining and engaged in most games.

This game was no different. The game was there for the taking, and it’s not like the Avalanche were dominant. They made just as many mistakes as Toronto. But MacKenzie Blackwood was better than Sergei Bobrovsky when it mattered in net.

A rush by Jack Roslovic, back after missing Monday’s game, tied it 3-3 just 4:11 into the third period. But within a minute, Gabriel Landeskog scored his second of the game for a 4-3 lead as the Leafs suffered an almost predictable, heartbreaking, post-goal letdown.

Artturi Lehkonen put a dagger in the game with 2:45 to go, catching the Leafs on a line change. And 15 seconds later, Martin Necas scored into an empty net.

“We made multiple poor decisions,” said Hiller. “It’s usually how hockey works. Sometimes you make a bad decision and hopefully somebody cleans it up. One, two, three poor decisions in a row, veteran players, can’t have it. That’s how you lose.”

Darren Raddysh and Easton Cowan also scored for the Leafs.

The homestand doesn’t get any easier with Minnesota visiting Thursday and Edmonton on Saturday.

Thrust into the middle of the Leafs woes and mounting injuries was winger Ryan Tverberg. The 24-year-old from Richmond Hill, a 2020 draft pick, got into his first NHL games last season. With four goals, three assists with the Marlies in 14 AHL games, he got the call from GM John Chayka, and couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw he’d be playing on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander.

“Two great players, just gotta keep up,” said Tverberg.

“He’s a worker, he’s an energy player,” said Hiller. “He’s got lots of speed. You can see where we put him in the lineup. We’ll give him a good run.”

The line had its chances. The puck rolled just off Tverberg’s stick late in the second. Tavares missed from in close early in the third.

Maple Leafs fans finally got a look at Raddysh’s one-time slapshot. He took a feed from Auston Matthews off a Roslovic face-off win and his shot from 51 feet beat Mackenzie Blackwood for an early 1-0 Leaf lead. Matthews was the first to greet him. It was Raddysh’s first goal as a Leaf. He scored 22 last year in Tampa, earning his eight-year, $68-million (U.S.) free agent deal with the Leafs, including nine from long-range like this one.

The shot clocked in at 92.89 miles an hour, according to the league, the fourth hardest shot to have resulted in a goal this season.

It was a welcome turn of events. The Leafs haven’t been getting goals from defencemen. Troy Stecher leads the Leafs defencemen with two goals. The injured Marshall Rifai and Nick Blankenburg have one each. The rest remain without a goal.

The lead didn’t hold though. Colorado was up 2-1 after 20 minutes with goals by Brock Nelson and Gabriel Landeskog one minute 16 seconds apart.

No surprise, really, the Avalanche beat Bobrovksy early in the second period for a 3-1 lead on a Devon Toews shot. It’s now 12 times in 13 games that Bobrovsky has surrendered at least three goals in a game.

A power play late in the second looked like it wasn’t going to do the Leafs any favours. The Matthews-led first unit was the definition of discombobulated. The second unit came out and didn’t look much better.

Yet somehow, Cowan scored, a hard shot at Blackwood. It was just one second after Necas was allowed to return to the ice, so it doesn’t count as a power play goal, but no matter. The Leafs were within one going into the final 20 minutes.

Notes: The Leafs updated their long and vast injured list on Tuesday: Defenceman Morgan Rielly (lower body) is day-to-day. The remainder are week-to-week: D Nick Blankenburg (upper body), F Kirill Marchenko (lower body), D Marshall Rifai (lower body), F Colton Sissons (lower body).

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Kevin McGran is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Bluesky @kevinmcgran