ELMONT – Ridly Greig scored a short-handed goal, Linus Ullmark stopped all 23 shots he faced and the Ottawa Senators moved to the verge of clinching a playoff spot by shutting out the New York Islanders 3-0 on Saturday.
Ottawa is in if Detroit loses at home in regulation to New Jersey. The Islanders’ hopes took another hit with a fifth loss in six games.
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Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took a puck up high late in the second period, returned for one shift in the third and then did not return.
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Greig made it a 1-0 game with 6:54 remaining in the first. Jake Sanderson scored in the third, and Michael Amadio sealed it with an empty-netter. The Islanders went 0 for 5 on the power play.
New York is now 1-1 since firing coach Patrick Roy and hiring Peter DeBoer as his replacement. Ilya Sorokin allowed two goals on 15 shots.
The Montreal Canadiens have already punched a ticket. The Edmonton Oilers are nearly there, too.
The Ottawa Senators also look be on course for a return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Winnipeg Jets, meanwhile, have some work to do — and need a lot of help.
Four of Canada’s seven NHL teams remain in the mix for the NHL’s annual spring dance, with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs all set to miss out.
The Canadiens clinched a second straight post-season berth last weekend, but are jockeying for position in the Atlantic Division with the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning. Buffalo tops the ledger with 106 points, followed by Montreal (104) and Tampa Bay (102).
The Sabres, who hold the first tiebreaker with 41 regulation victories, have two games remaining on the schedule, while the Canadiens and Lightning each play three more times in the regular season.
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Montreal, which fell to the Washington Capitals in last year’s first round, could face either of those clubs to open the playoffs, while other possibilities include Ottawa and the Boston Bruins.
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The Oilers are on the cusp of making the post-season a seventh year running, a stretch that includes back-to-back Cup final appearances against the Florida Panthers in 2024 and 2025.
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Edmonton leads the Pacific Division — a race captain Connor McDavid called a “pillow fight” last month because of its slow crawl to the finish line — with 90 points, one better than both the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks. Each team has three games remaining, with the Oilers holding the tiebreaker thanks to 31 regulation victories.
The website MoneyPuck.com pegged Edmonton’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs at 99.98 per cent heading into Saturday after the league took Friday night off. Claiming the division crown would likely mean a first-round matchup with the Utah Mammoth.
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The Senators have captured four of their last five games in regulation to push the club’s post-season chances to 92.1 per cent.
Ottawa occupies the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card berth with 94 points and three games remaining.
The Senators are two back of the Bruins for the first wild card, while the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders are three points adrift of Ottawa. The Columbus Blue Jackets have 90 points, followed by Washington with 89.
Boston, Ottawa, Detroit, New York, Columbus and Washington all have three games left.
The Senators, who made the playoffs a year ago for the first time since the franchise’s run to the 2017 conference final before bowing out to the Maple Leafs, could face the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round, while the Sabres, Canadiens and Lightning are also possible.
Winnipeg sat last in the overall standings on Jan. 8 with a 15-22-5 record. The Jets steadied themselves and have made 20-9-7 surge in the second half to stay in the playoff conversation in the top-heavy West.
Last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winner with a league-topping 116 points, however, will need a lot to go right to get in.
Winnipeg currently sits on 82 points, three back of the Los Angeles Kings for the conference’s second wild-card slot. The Nashville Predators have 84 points, while the San Jose Sharks are at 81.
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The Kings, Jets and Sharks have four games left, one more than the Predators.
Winnipeg still has a shot, but MoneyPuck.com had its chances at 12.6 per cent heading into the weekend. Snagging an improbable post-season appearance would also likely mean a first-round date with the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2026.
TORONTO – J.T. Miller and the New York Rangers expected big things when they broke training camp back in the fall.
Coming off a playoff-less spring that resulted in forward Chris Kreider and defenceman K’Andre Miller getting shipped out of town, the club believed its remaining core — led by star goaltender Igor Shesterkin — along with the addition of decorated head coach Mike Sullivan and blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov would get the club back into the NHL’s spring dance.
The Original Six franchise is instead headed toward another long summer of big questions.
The Rangers (28-35-9) became the second team officially eliminated from post-season contention Wednesday when they fell 4-3 in Toronto.
New York, which tied a franchise record with just 10 shots on goal in Monday’s ugly 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, directed 43 pucks on target against Maple Leafs netminder Joseph Woll, but were unable to avoid the axe finally falling.
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“I don’t think anybody thought we’d be where we are,” said Miller, the team’s captain. “It sucks … it’s the worst. We don’t want that. But right now we’re just worried about playing good hockey games during the season and feeling good going into summer — feeling good about our game, at least, and trying to move in the right direction.
“We failed to reach our goal.”
The Rangers made the Eastern Conference final in both 2022 and 2024 to go along with a first-round exit in 2023.
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“Nobody’s thrilled with where we’re at,” said Sullivan, who won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017 before leading the United States to gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics. “We’re doing everything we can to try to instil a certain standard here that we can build on moving forward.”
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General manager Chris Drury could be in line for some tough conversations once the Rangers, a group with plenty of veterans on big-money deals, play out the string and turn to 2026-27.
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“This is not what we wanted,” said centre Mika Zibanejad, who scored twice Wednesday to give him 32 goals on the campaign. “It’s tough, but it hasn’t come as a surprise in terms of (elimination) happening. It was just a matter of time if you look at the standings. You can do quick math, but it still hurts.”
“We get to evaluate more of it when we play all the rest of the games.”
Sullivan said if the Rangers put in more efforts like Wednesday’s down the meaningless stretch, they will be in better shape moving forward.
“If we play like that, with those intentions, that type of intensity, we’re gonna win games,” he said. “We deserved a better fate (in Toronto) … it didn’t happen, but I thought we played a pretty good game.”
GETTING CHIRPED
Maple Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe said his kids were giving him a hard time before puck drop for not scoring since Nov. 18.
The gritty blueliner, who leads the NHL with 173 shot blocks, promptly went out and buried the game’s first goal — and his fourth overall — with a nice finish off a scramble after pinching down from the point.
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“They said, ‘Dad, you never score goals. When are you going to score a goal?’” McCabe recounted with a smile of the conversation back at home. “It’s nice to get one, especially in the first period when I know they’re still up watching. Looking forward to seeing them in the morning.”
GOOD VIBES
Toronto, which is on course to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016, picked up a 4-2 triumph in Boston against the Bruins on Tuesday before bagging Wednesday’s result to sweep the team’s mentors trip.
The annual event sees players bring important people from their lives into the Maple Leafs’ circle.
“A fun couple games,” McCabe said. “It’s been tough sledding around here, so it’s nice to collect some points.”
BOYS OF SUMMER
Members of the Toronto Blue Jays, including George Springer, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider, attended Wednesday’s game — and were in Maple Leafs’ locker room before and after the victory.
“A little different type of preparation, but cool having them,” said Toronto centre John Tavares, who scored the game-winning goal against New York. “Regardless of circumstances for us, I think it’s great, the support for each other, and certainly what they did for this city last year, and what they’re hoping to do this year.”
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The reigning American League champions, who lost Game 7 of the World Series at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers, open the 2026 season Friday at Rogers Centre against the Athletics.
“It was unreal taking in their run,” Tavares continued of the Blue Jays. “I know the excitement and probably the determination for them to go back out, and do it again and finish the job.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.
OTTAWA – The only thing the Ottawa Senators are worried about right now is themselves.
With 13 games remaining in their regular season, the Senators are desperately fighting to secure a playoff spot. And while they could use a little help from other teams to improve their odds, they’re making sure to hold themselves accountable above all.
Following a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Senators (36-24-9) sit three points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
The Leafs, who’s playoff hopes were dashed a while back, struggled to hold their own against their provincial rivals.
“Obviously, they stuck to their game and what they did well,” said Toronto’s John Tavares. “They executed and made it hard on us and then we still got back in the game, but we just couldn’t seem to make the push we needed.”
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Ottawa has been playing some of its best hockey of late going 7-2-1 through its last 10, but more importantly are getting contributions throughout the lineup.
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Playing without Jake Sanderson, who suffered an upper-body injury March 7, and Nick Jensen, who suffered a torn meniscus March 11, the Senators depth at defence has been tested.
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Nicolas Matinpalo and Dennis Gilbert have proven to be a reliable third pairing. Gilbert’s future could be questionable. He left the game late in the third after taking a hard hit from Toronto’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The Senators are benefiting from the pairing of Jordan Spence and Tyler Kleven. Spence has been able to show some offensive capabilities and Kleven is a steady presence.
“It’s nice to see,” said Senators coach Travis Green. “They’re getting more minutes now, obviously, with our injuries, and you hope you have confidence in everyone on your team, that when that happens they step up and they have. They haven’t missed a beat. They’re playing as good as they were, or even better, with less minutes.”
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While much attention has been paid to Ottawa’s back end there’s no denying the contributions from its forwards.
“Our depth has been awesome,” said Tim Stutzle. “It’s been a lot of fun right now to come to the rink everyday and just working together as a group and trying to get better everyday.”
The Senators third line of Michael Amadio, Shane Pinto and Nick Cousins is a threat at both ends of the ice.
Amadio has already set a career high in points (12G, 18A) and is well appreciated by his teammates.
Amadio was traded to Ottawa in March 2021 and he played five games. He wasn’t re-signed by the organization and Tim Stutzle was quick to point out how he had enjoyed playing with Amadio during his first stint and was thrilled when he returned.
“He’s really underrated in my opinion,” Stutzle said. “He has one of the best sticks in the league, out killing penalties and plays in every situation. And just the space he creates for his linemates. It’s been awesome to see, and I think that line has been going really well.”
Ottawa’s fourth line has also found some chemistry. Lars Eller is playing between Warren Foegele, acquired at the trade deadline, and Fabian Zetterlund.
Foegele, who has goals in his last two games, has been a solid addition.
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“We have a lot of confidence in the way we play and the players that we have in this locker room,” said Claude Giroux. “So, when you have that confidence, you know you don’t have to be the hero, you don’t have to do the extra play, you just gotta trust your game is going to make you successful.”
The Senators visit the Red Wings on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2026.
OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators had a dominant game against their provincial rivals Saturday night beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2.
The Senators (36-24-9) dominated play from start to finish, scoring the game’s first three goals.
Anthony Stolarz was expected to get the start but took a puck to the throat during warm-ups and was sent to hospital for precautionary imaging putting Joseph Woll back in action. Woll faced 36 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to Carolina Friday night.
Trailing 3-1 to start the third the Leafs (29-29-13) made it close with a goal by Easton Cowan.
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The Senators regained the two-goal lead midway through the period when Michael Amadio, with his 12th, tucked in a Jordan Spence rebound. On an odd-man rush Dylan Cozens found Ridly Greig in the slot and he beat Woll, who stopped 39 shots.
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Linus Ullmark made a big glove save on Matias Maccelli early in the second to preserve Ottawa’s 1-0 lead.
The Senators made it 2-0 midway through the period when Claude Giroux grabbed a Tyler Kleven rebound and backhanded it past Woll.
Warren Foegele made it 3-0 with just over two minutes remaining when his shot deflected off Benoit, but 21 seconds later John Tavares completed the give-and-go with Cowan and beat Ullmark under the arm.
Ottawa opened the scoring at 14:58 of the first with a power-play goal. Tim Stutzle stepped into the faceoff circle and wristed a shot clean past Woll.
Morgan Rielly missed the game and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
TAKEAWAYS
Senators: The Senators tested Woll often and had good net-front presence to jump on rebounds.
Leafs: Toronto struggled with Ottawa’s forecheck in the second period and were held to five shots.
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KEY STAT
John Tavares tallied his 519th career goal to pass Dale Hawerchuk (518) for 41st place on the NHL’s all-time list.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
Senators: Visit the New York Rangers on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2026.
The Toronto Raptors threw a majority of sports bettors off Sunday.
Toronto upset Eastern Conference-leading Detroit 119-108 at Scotiabank Arena. Brandon Ingram had a game-high 34 points as the Raptors not only earned a second straight victory but also handed the Pistons their first loss in four games.
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., only 21 per cent of Proline bettors took Toronto to win, although 55 per cent of bets were on the Raptors +3.5 on the point spread.
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A much stronger bet for Proline players was the Ottawa Senators’ 2-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks as James Reimer stopped 16 saves for his 32nd career shutout. A solid 88 per cent of the money was on Ottawa earning the road victory.
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On Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1, a result that 76 per cent of players backed. Later, the Buffalo Sabres earned a 3-2 shootout win over Toronto, with 84 per cent of bettors supporting.
Meanwhile, in golf, Cameron Young won The Players Championship by a stroke. He was the ninth-most bet-on golfer to capture the event.
A retail player won $4,114.10 from a $1 bet on a 14-leg NHL parlay while another earned $3,636.10 from a $5 wager on a seven-leg parlay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.
OTTAWA – Martin St. Louis may have tough decisions ahead.
The Montreal Canadiens coach raised eyebrows when he announced Jacob Fowler would start Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators.
The 21-year-old was instrumental, however, in Montreal’s 3-2 victory with 32 saves.
After his recall from the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket, Fowler was in Ottawa ahead of his teammates Tuesday while Jakub Dobes made 17 saves in Montreal’s 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Samuel Montembeault was Dobes’ backup in Toronto, but the Canadiens still opted to recall Fowler.
He’d played his first 10 NHL games earlier this season. Fowler from Melbourne, Fla., went 4-4-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average in that stretch. His previous appearance was Jan. 15 against the Buffalo Sabres.
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With the Canadiens (36-18-10) looking to firmly lock down a playoff spot, it’s clear St. Louis was willing to go with whoever he felt provides his team with the best chance to win.
He was impressed by his young goaltender’s composure in a game that had playoff intensity. The Senators (32-23-9) are on the outside of the playoffs and fighting to gain ground.
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“I thought he battled,” said St. Louis. “He made some huge saves for us. It’s such a game of inches in terms of winning and losing and it usually comes down to your goaltender and I thought he did that …this game could have gone either way and I think Fowler did the job.”
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Teammates were quick to recognize their young goaltender’s performance.
“We know what he’s capable of, but I mean some of those saves he made late in the game there is a big reason why we won the game,” said Alex Newhook. “A lot of credit to him. Great to see.”
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Fowler wasn’t as nervous as he was in his debut Dec. 11, when he had 33 saves in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“The first experience had me a little bit more ready for this,” said Fowler. “Before (it) was a little bit more new stuff. Here, I was just kind of rejoining a team I felt I was a part of and super-happy to be a part of this team and great win for our group.”
Fowler lauded his teammates’ efforts in the final three minutes Wednesday when Ottawa pressed hard for an equalizer.
Fowler made a number of key saves, but Alexandre Carrier and Phillip Danault also blocked shots by from Fabian Zetterlund and Tim Stutzle to secure the win.
“It was pretty hectic,” recalled Fowler. “Couple plays there that our guys on the ice were pretty gassed and a lot of huge blocks there down the stretch. You know the last few minutes, there were a lot of guys doing a lot of hard things to get a win, and that’s what it takes this time of year.”
With 18 games remaining in their regular season, the Canadiens are focused on positioning themselves for a playoff run.
The win over the Senators ranked the Canadiens third in the Atlantic Division, with a three-point lead on the Detroit Red Wings and four on Boston, who hold the two wild cards.
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‘You can’t buy that experience where we are in the season against that team,” said St. Louis. “Pretty good rivalry for us, on the road. You can’t buy that. So, for me, I think high marks the way (Fowler) played.”
With back-to-back games against San Jose and Anaheim this weekend, the coach’s decisions around his starting goaltender will be interesting.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2026
EDMONTON – Some more late game heroics have given the Edmonton Oilers a spark in the midst of what has been a tough stretch.
Leon Draisaitl had two goals and three assists and Evan Bouchard scored the overtime winner as the Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit through 40 minutes to emerge with a badly-needed 5-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
With Brady Tkachuk in the penalty box for tackling Connor McDavid in overtime, Edmonton got it back to Bouchard and he blasted in his 18th goal of the season for the come-from-behind win.
“We did a good job in the third of putting them on their heels and keeping it fairly simple,” Draisaitl said. “We just needed two plays and it ended up working out for us. But we have to be careful not to be in those situations too many times. You can’t keep chasing games going into the third, it’s not a recipe for success.
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“At this time (of year) you take any point you can get, and there are a lot of positives, for sure, but there are also still some things that we need to clean up.”
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The Oilers tied the game with just 1:25 remaining in the third period and their goalie pulled as Zach Hyman tipped a Draisaitl pass under Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark for his 25th of the season to send the game to extra time.
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“We need to keep the puck out of our net, obviously, but when we are down, we have the firepower to come back,” Hyman said. “We don’t want to be putting ourselves in that position like we have been of late too often.
“But sometimes you need a game like that where you can come back and it’s a complete team effort to dominate a third period and win a game. I thought it was a good one for us and hopefully a springboard for better games.”
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Edmonton outshot Ottawa 12-3 in the third period and overtime.
“We know we can come back against any team,” said Bouchard, who not only leads all NHL defencemen with 71 points, but moved into a tie for 10th place in overall scoring. “It’s not what we want to do, we want to be playing with the lead. But it’s good to know to stay confident, that we have the guys that can get us back in it.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored and McDavid had two assists for the Oilers (30-24-8) who had lost five of their previous six outings.
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“We’re not coming off this game patting ourselves on the back,” said Hyman of his team knowing that they could have played better. “We’ve been to the finals two years in a row, we know what it takes. We know what type of hockey you have to play.
“Having said that, the positive is that we know that we can come back in high-scoring games and there’s going to be some of those, but if you want to be successful you’ve got to keep the puck out of your net. I think we’re capable of that, we just have to do it more often and consistently.”
It was Edmonton’s first home game in an entire month.
Draisaitl recorded his seventh career five-point game amid some other milestones.
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The German Olympic team captain passed Jari Kurri (1,043) for third on the franchise’s all-time points list. He also recorded his 301st multi-point game, passing Mark Messier for third most in Oilers history, behind Wayne Gretzky (472) and teammate McDavid (362).
Oilers rookie Matt Savoie picked up an assist to extend his points streak to a career high four games, with seven points in that span.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2024.
EDMONTON – Leon Draisaitl had two goals and three assists and Evan Bouchard scored the overtime winner as the Edmonton Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit through 40 minutes to emerge with a badly-needed 5-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
With Brady Tkachuk in the penalty box for tackling Connor McDavid in overtime, Edmonton got it back to Bouchard and he blasted in his 18th of the season for the come-from-behind win.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers (30-24-8) who had lost five of their previous six. It was Edmonton’s first home game in an entire month.
Drake Batherson had two goals for the second consecutive game and Dylan Cozens and Michael Amadio also scored for the Senators (29-22-9) who have been pushing hard to get into the wild-card playoff picture, now 6-1-2 in their last nine games.
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Connor Ingram made 17 stops to earn the victory in the Edmonton net, while Linus Ullmark recorded 32 saves for Ottawa.
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TAKEAWAYS
Senators: Despite battling an illness since returning from representing Germany in the Olympics, Tim Stützle continues to put up numbers, picking up a pair of assists to extend his points streak to 10 games, during which he has accrued 14 points. He already has a 13-game point streak from earlier this season, allowing him to join Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza as the only players in franchise history with multiple 10-game point streaks in the same season.
Oilers: Rookie Matt Savoie picked up an assist to extend his points streak to a career-high four games, with seven points in that span.
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KEY MOMENT
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The Oilers tied the game with just 1:25 remaining in the third period and their goalie pulled as Hyman tipped a Draisaitl pass under Ullmark for his 25th of the season to send the game to extra time.
KEY STAT
Draisaitl matched Jari Kurri (1,043) for third on the franchise’s all-time points list. He also recorded his 301st multi-point game, passing Mark Messier for third most in Oilers history, behind Wayne Gretzky (472) and current teammate McDavid (362).
UP NEXT
Senators: Visit the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2026.
TORONTO – There was no mincing words after the Toronto Maple Leafs’ latest loss, a 5-2 defeat to the visiting Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
“Just bad. Just fairly embarrassing, to be honest with you,” said Leafs captain Auston Matthews. “We need to have more pride in our play, no matter where we’re at, no matter what the situation is. We just have to have more pride in our game and we didn’t have that tonight.”
Matthews and the Maple Leafs have dropped three straight games coming out of the Olympic break on the heels of a three-game winning streak.
It’s getting dicey for the club which has made the playoffs in nine straight years — the longest active streak in the NHL — to ensure that run continues.
The Maple Leafs (27-24-9) entered action Saturday eight points out of a wild-card berth, and the road to get there is only more treacherous now.
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“It’s hard. It’s the first time in a long time we’ve been in this position when we’re out looking in. So we gotta figure it out pretty quickly,” said forward William Nylander, who scored one of the Leafs’ goals. “Still not impossible, but we gotta play a lot better hockey if we want to be there.”
It was the Senators who looked like they wanted to be “there” a lot more.
Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each scored twice, and Thomas Chabot also got on the board for the Senators, who improved to 29-22-8 on the season to boost their slim post-season chances. Cozens also added an assist.
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The Maple Leafs scored the first goal of the game thanks to Morgan Rielly, but they were outscored 1-0 and outshot 16-0 for the remainder of the first period.
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The Senators would string together 19 consecutive shots and three straight goals to take control of the divisional battle and earn their first win over the Maple Leafs since Game 5 of their first-round playoff series last year, which Toronto took in six.
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For the Maple Leafs, the slow start marked a continuation of sorts from Thursday’s loss to the Florida Panthers, when Toronto was outscored 3-0 and outshot 16-7 in the first 20 minutes.
“Good first five minutes, I thought. Obviously got the first goal, which we’ve been searching for,” said Toronto defenceman Jake McCabe. “And then we s— the bed after that.”
While the Maple Leafs struggled to find answers for their lack of desperation as they watch their playoff fortunes fade, they each cited “disconnect” as a reason for their current skid.
“We’ve had trouble stringing together good segments of games consistently. It’s just been too much of a roller-coaster,” Matthews said.
The Maple Leafs had leaned on their pre-Olympic run for optimism toward a potential second-half surge.
Now, that spark is all but snuffed.
“When I look at the game or show tape or go over things, there’s a certain way we need to play the game. But I can’t give guys this (points to heart) or this (points to head) and they have to come with that. That’s on them. They gotta bring the heart and the competitiveness that’s needed,” head coach Craig Berube said.
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“I can go in there and yell and scream at them all I want. That doesn’t do anything either.”
With the trade deadline approaching on Friday, the Leafs could look very different in a week’s time.
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Toronto’s pending free agents include forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton in addition to defenceman Troy Stecher. Blue liner Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has one more season on his contract, is also a candidate to be moved.
Berube admitted that uncertainty could play into the Leafs’ struggles.
“But in saying that, those are all excuses. And we can’t make excuses. Until guys in there decide they want to play the right way and play as a team, that’s what you’ll get,” Berube said.
Rielly, the veteran defenceman and longest-tenured Maple Leaf, refuted a notion that the team is quitting.
“Obviously an effort like tonight given what’s at stake is confusing and unacceptable. So moving forward, we need to not allow that to happen again,” he said.
Matthews called the current skid a “tough stretch.”
“It’s never fun to lose. It’s never fun to lose in this kind of fashion, three games in a row. So it’s hard. It definitely wears on you, but we just have to be better. There’s no hanging our heads, there’s no feeling sorry for ourselves. Everybody’s gotta look in the mirror and be better.”
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Toronto has three more games before the deadline, beginning Monday against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
MIXED REACTION FOR MATTHEWS
The Maple Leafs honoured each of their three Olympians during the first television break on Saturday. Sweden’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander, who returned home without hardware, received widespread applause.
The reception for gold medallist Matthews wasn’t as warm as the Team USA captain was met with boos from the crowd before they were drowned out by cheers. He stood on the bench to acknowledge the crowd.
American teammate Brady Tkachuk, the Senators captain, was jeered when he appeared on the arena’s big screen for the first time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2026.
