TORONTO — If a good team loses to a bad team, the players drill down on their mistakes or rip their own effort. They blame puck luck or credit a locked-in goaltender at the other end.
They find the result either unacceptable or an anomaly.
When a bad team drops a hard-fought battle to another bad team, the tone is much different. They focus on the positives; they highlight improvements and talk about building blocks.
This — after nine straight post-season berths and 61 games in a campaign that will not see an 83rd — is now where we find the Toronto Maple Leafs.
And it’s a frightening place to live, the standards for urgency and excellence having dipped so low.
A bad hockey team finding the bright spots on a night where it could’ve defeated another bad hockey team, but instead lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers, who also plan to shed veteran talent by Friday’s trade deadline.
“Our game was good all around,” head coach Craig Berube said. “That’s kinda like our blueprint. That’s the way we need to play.”
This assessment came after the defending Atlantic Division regular-season champs’ fourth consecutive loss and seventh consecutive loss at Scotiabank Arena, a building now packing all the atmosphere of a dentist’s waiting room.
To be fair, Berube isn’t wrong.
After having their heart publicly questioned after Saturday’s listless effort against rival Ottawa, the Leafs did submit their most consistent effort since the Olympic break.
They scored first and dominated the second period and outshot their visitors 31-25. They didn’t roll over down 2-1 late, and they salvaged a standings point thanks to William Nylander’s power-play blast with just 2:30 on the clock.
“I thought it was a better effort,” Nylander said. “Today was a step in the right direction.”
But we’re accustomed to discussing playoff positioning and the ideal depth defenceman to add at this time of year in Toronto. Not clinging to moral victories.
Alas, this is the new reality in Leafland.
So, good on the skaters for doing a better job limiting odd-man rushes and easy looks around Anthony Stolarz’s net. The Flyers managed just three high-danger chances five-on-five. (The Leafs had two, per NaturalStatTrick.com.)
And good on Dakota Joshua for sniping one past Dan Vladar off a nice backhand feed from Matias Maccelli. That goal marked the power forward’s first since missing nearly two months of action as he recovered from a lacerated kidney.
“That was nice. It’s been a while,” Joshua said. “But it makes the hard days of recovery and coming back worth it when you can get one.
“I feel like I’m getting better every game.”
The 2025-26 Maple Leafs as a whole, unfortunately, have run out of time to get better and have it matter. The league is passing them by, and they know it.
Which explains why resignation has replaced frustration.
“It’s hard right now, but everyone’s in it together,” said Scott Laughton, at risk of being dealt at consecutive deadlines.
“Just trying to stay positive,” Joshua echoed. “Obviously, it’s a tough time for the group. And, you know, trying to keep our heads up and keep it moving, and just find a way to start grinding out some wins here.”
The Maple Leafs fly to the Big Apple Tuesday for a back-to-back against a pair of two more Eastern Conference clubs who weren’t where they planned to be, the Devils (Wednesday) and Rangers (Thursday).
Who knows what Toronto’s roster will look like next time they take to the ice at home?
“Everyone’s staying positive,” Stolarz said. “At the end of the day, this is our jobs. And everyone knows that we have to go out there and we have to play hard, regardless of the situation.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Did Bobby McMann just play his final home game as a Maple Leaf?
“It’s hard to put into words,” the winger told reporters at morning skate, trying not to get swallowed by the trade noise during his 200th career game. “It’s been fun my whole career.”
• Scott Laughton, pending UFA: “I’m a Leaf, and that’s where I want to be. And we’ll see where it goes.”
• Nick Robertson has just one goal in his past 11 games, and his average ice time in February (11:51) was his lowest of any month this season.
Berube scratched him Monday for a reset.
“I felt Nicky’s game has dropped off, even before the break, a little bit,” Berube said.
• Four members of the Sabres brass were in attendance for this one. Whispers that they are considering bringing back edgy, rangy Rasmus Ristolainen.
Philly’s right-shot defenceman is signed through 2026-27 at a $5.1-million cap hit, but his actual salary for next season is only $4 million. Hard to find guys who skate 20-plus minutes a night for that rate.
• The Oilers were a team with some level of interest in Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Stan Bowman’s acquisition of Connor Murphy out of Chicago (for a second-round pick) Monday suggests one potential buyer is off the board.
