A day after defeating the league-best Colorado Avalanche on Monday night, the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs were blown out by the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs allowed three goals in the second period as part of a 6-1 rout by the Mammoth, dropping their record to 23-16-7 for the season.
“They had a lot of energy and a lot of jump out there. They were quicker than us tonight, and it showed,” head coach Craig Berube told the media after the defeat. “This is a team loss. You know, we’re all accountable for it. We’ve got to be better. We weren’t good enough.”
Entering Tuesday’s game, the Maple Leafs were on a 10-game point streak, winning eight of those contests.
Since falling to the bottom of the Eastern Conference on Dec. 22, the Leafs have turned their season around and are now holding down the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Playing the second game of a back-to-back set, the Maple Leafs laboured from the opening faceoff against the Mammoth and were outshot 40-20. It was their first regulation loss since Dec. 21.
“I didn’t really like our game from the start,” Leafs defenceman Ekman-Larsson said. “They came out and had the puck a little bit more, and it was hard to defend them. So, we’ve got to be better.”
The Maple Leafs take on former teammate Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knight on Thursday before finishing their four-game road trip Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets.