Stolarz, Maple Leafs too leaky in high-scoring loss to Mammoth

SALT LAKE CITY — Three points against three of the best in the West.

Surely, that should constitute a satisfactory road trip for a bottom-five team dinged by an important injury, led by a new coach installing a new playbook, and composed of so many players still getting to know each other’s nicknames?

Three out of six is good enough, right?

“No, no, no, no,” Jim Hiller said. 

Yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied and pressed late in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to a dangerous and improving Utah Mammoth squad. But no, it wasn’t enough to earn a point. Nor please the bench.

“Because we want to win. I mean, we could have got five points. So, when you say, ‘Are we good with three?’ No, not really. If you would have said, ‘Are you happy to (get) five?’ I would have said, ‘Absolutely.’ It’s just the way it works. Just got to get points. Could have made this a great trip. In the end, it’s OK.”

The Maple Leafs were so disengaged and so sloppy last season that plenty of observers might see OK as the new great.

But it’s refreshing that Hiller’s expectations remain high. 

And, heck, as a 2025-26 mid-season casualty — fired by the L.A. Kings with a pedestrian 24-21-14 record — Hiller knows well that OK doesn’t cut it in a league flush with average.

Speedy and opportunistic, the Mammoth jumped all over their visitors early, scoring five goals on 16 shots in two periods against Anthony Stolarz, each one off the rush. All of them at even strength.

This is a team defence issue that picks at a scab from last season, when Chris Tanev (out with an undisclosed upper-body injury) was barely available and the goalies were asked to turn away high-danger looks on the regular.

Even coming into Salt Lake City on two days’ rest and riding a mile high after doubling up the Avalanche, the Maple Leafs were slower out the gate, shooting themselves in the foot with leaky turnovers and a lack of discipline in the neutral zone.

“There’s a mental warfare out there every game. That’s hockey. When you can have your lines connected like our lines have been so far, it makes it really tough,” Utah coach André Tourigny said. 

“Because you cannot get your head out of water. We keep them in deep water. We keep applying pressure, pressure… till it breaks.” 

Fourth-liner Daniil But set the tone by breaking Morgan Rielly’s gap, dancing him at the blue line and sniping short-side in the first period. 

“He made a good play. Obviously, that’s on me,” swallowed Rielly, a minus-2.

But it was Utah’s four-goal second period that downed the Leafs.

Dylan Guenther beat Stolarz far side from distance, and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar stuffed a puck through his massive body with just 40 seconds remaining in the frame, off a D-zone draw no less. 

A classic backbreaker.

“I put us in a in a tough situation. Probably want two or three of those goals back,” Stolarz said, pointing the finger at himself. “I know I've got better and will be better in the future.”

He’ll need to be.

He’ll also need help from some irresponsible forwards and mismatched defence pairings.

“They scored five rush goals, right? So, that’s not just Anthony. That’s different people making mistakes prior to getting to him. Yeah, there's probably a couple he wants back, but that happens,” said Hiller in his most critical post-game presser to date. 

“Second period, no good. That’s three second periods on this trip that were no good.”

The long change in Period 2 requires smart, connected line changes. Speed helps.

The Maple Leafs — though blessed with impactful special teams, elite game-breakers, and some impressive resilience — generally appeared the slower and less organized side against Vegas, Colorado, and Utah.

“They’re a fast team. They have a lot of offensive skill players who can make plays, and they got a couple guys that can shoot the puck,” Stolarz said. “It’s your job as a goalie to make a timely save, and that was something that I really didn’t do until the third period, and just kind of put us in a deep hole.”

Comeback wins are a blast. They thrill and bond and make for great quotes. But they are not a sustainable recipe for success, as Toronto’s two-goal third period effort proved on this night.

“We pushed a little bit harder, played with some urgency,” Jack Roslovic said. “But we have to manufacture that urgency when it’s 0-0 as well. So, it’s good to see fight back. But at the same time, manufacturing that from the get-go is going to be important.”

Stolarz vowed to study the film. Roslovic promised the skaters would clean up the “little mishaps” that cost them three points. And Rielly knows there is another level to reach after a .500 roadie.

The glass is half full. The glass is half empty.

“It’s all right,” Rielly said of the trip. “But we leave here not feeling great about it.”

Fox’s Fast Five

• Operating in a barn built for the Jazz, the Mammoth must have the steepest seating in the league, creating intensity with fans hollering right on top of the players.

The Delta Center’s upper-north end zone was redesigned over the summer with new terrace-style seating that offers a nearly vertical view, and more than 1,500 full-view seats were added for hockey games. Owner Ryan Smith’s grand plan is to upgrade nearly every seat in the rink. 

Already looks better — and sounds louder.

“Playing in that rink is truly special. I feel like every game has been sold out, if not close to it,” Logan Cooley says. 

“Our fans are super passionate, super supportive. They all just love being at the games and having fun. You see the jumbotron; they’re always laughing, giggling, just having a great time. That what we enjoy — trying to make people’s day.”

• For all their defensive question marks, the Maple Leafs just shutout the NHL’s second-best power-play and now own the No. 1 penalty kill in the league (95.8 per cent).

“It always starts with the goaltenders,” Hiller said. “Our goalies have been really sharp there, but we’ve had guys blocking shots, winning faceoffs. The D have done a nice job not giving up a lot of little rebounds or plays in tight. They’ve had some looks from outside, but none of those little tap-ins, cross-creasers. But that’s a collective effort.”

Starting with PK coach John Gruden and GM John Chayka, who added all four of Toronto’s most-used forwards on the PK: Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime and Nick Paul.

• Despite Gavin McKenna’s contributions to a top power-play unit that struck twice in Denver and helped the Leafs swipe a win, new dad (again) John Tavares resumed his usual spot in Utah. He sniped a power-play beauty and set up Matthews for a man-advantage strike.

“Gavin did a good job. And just like other situations in the game, Gavin will get put in and then pulled back a little bit,” Hiller explained. 

“We’re talking about John Tavares. It’s a pretty easy decision to get John back in there. He’s had a great career. Still a great goal scorer. So, that wasn’t a hard one at all.”

• The Leafs jetted to a resort in picturesque Park City following Saturday’s big win in Colorado and enjoyed a full Sunday off in the wilderness. Some guys just relaxed and watched football, but 15 or so players went on a flyfishing excursion, snagging (and releasing) brook trout and whitefish. 

“Not gonna say I caught the biggest fish, but I did catch the biggest fish — in my group,” Darren Raddysh smiles. “It was a whitefish. I think Colt had one as well. It was fun. Never did that before. 

“It’s just like throw (your line) up the river, let it flow down, and go back. It was kinda different. It was cool. A little bit different fishing than in Ontario.”

• Paul spoke to inspiration for his charity initiative, which will see him donate $150 in support of youth mental health for every point he registers (already $600 and counting this season).

“When I was younger, I had a friend (Lucas, Grade 9) take his life by suicide, and it stuck with me and impacted me. And I knew if I was ever going to be able to have a voice and do something to help that cause, it’s something I want to do. So, I started Points by Paul. I’ve been doing it for a long time now and just bringing it here with Toronto and joined Jack.org. So excited for this year,” said Paul, who believes teammates need to support each other off the ice.

“Everyone’s got each other’s back. I think it’s a really tight group. We all have one goal in mind, and that’s winning and continuously getting better every single day. And I think we're just a room where if you're going through something or if you’re struggling, there's guys here to pick you up.”