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3 takeaways from Leafs-Flyers: A better process, but a shootout loss prolongs the agony

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If you take the Toronto Maple Leafs at face value, there’s a groundswell of relentless positivity to be found. This would perhaps be a fool’s errand, as all hope has been extinguished. Although the Maple Leafs displayed a much better process than Saturday’s disastrous showing, the perpetual agony has been prolonged, after a 3-2 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Toronto forced overtime after a dead-even run of play in regulation. Trailing 2-1 to the Flyers, William Nylander rocketed home a one-timer to tie the game, with two minutes and 30 seconds remaining. After an overtime period where Auston Matthews recorded four shots, the game remain tied, and the Flyers emerged victorious.

“We had a good battle by our group tonight,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said post-game. “Really good second period. We had a lot of opportunities, we didn’t capitalize on them. I thought our game was good all around.”

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We’re not here to inflame tensions, but it’s difficult to remain optimistic about a Maple Leafs season that will come to an end in mid-April.

Here are three takeaways from the Leafs’ loss to the Flyers: 

Matthews-Nylander line needed to win their minutes more consistently

Citing a lack of 5-on-5 production after the Olympic break, Berube elected to stack Auston Matthews and William Nylander together, with Bobby McMann operating on the left wing. Berube’s reasoning suggested that Toronto’s two marquee forwards, along with a bonafide speedster in McMann, would help generate some much-needed offence for a team that is struggling to find the net.

“They’re arguably our two best players,” Berube said following Monday’s morning skate. “Go out and control the game and do what you guys do best. We haven’t scored (more than) one or two 5-on-5 goals in the last four games, going back to the Edmonton game. We need some offence from those guys, they have to be responsible defensively, too.”

Matthews and Nylander didn’t win their minutes consistently enough, at least relative to the standard expected from a loaded top line boasting two marquee scorers. McMann-Matthews-Nylander were outshot 7-6 in 14:57 at 5-on-5, and the majority of the damage created by Matthews and Nylander occurred either on the power play, or in overtime.

It wasn’t all bad: Matthews hit the crossbar on a feed from Nylander in the first period, after the score remained tied entering the first intermission. Toronto’s captain was engaged on both sides of the puck and blocked three shots, while recording eight shots on goal in total. It appeared that Matthews and Nylander improved as the game went on. And yet, some brutal defensive zone coverage from the Matthews line, in conjunction with Morgan Rielly and Brandon Carlo led to Noah Cates’ goal late in the third period.

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“It was a better effort. We had a lot of chances, just didn’t find the back of the net,” Nylander said post-game. “I mean, that’s what happens I feel like when you haven’t had a lot of chances in a couple games and you gotta work extra hard for them to go in.”

Easton Cowan’s deployment remains baffling

Easton Cowan has been reinserted into the lineup for the past two games, after being listed as a healthy scratch for the previous five contests. Although the Maple Leafs are professing positivity about the 2025-26 campaign, Cowan’s deployment and development ought to remain a major focus. He’s 20 years old, and aside from Matthew Knies, is one of the few under-25 pillars of the team.

Cowan was placed on the fourth line with Steven Lorentz and Scott Laughton, where he played a team-low 8:23 in total. Berube defended Cowan’s low usage after the game.

“It’s not about that. It’s about where he’s slotted right now,” Berube said. “He’s on the 2nd unit on the PP, didn’t get much time there. But he did some good things, made some good puck plays, worked hard, competed. It is what it is.”

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It wasn’t a perfect game from Cowan by any means, especially as he took an undisciplined penalty, due to an aggressive pursuit lane on Rasmus Ristolainen. Cowan’s deployment is more confusing, as he should be afforded every opportunity to get top-six minutes, as a 20-year-old player with offensive skill, puck touches and skating ability to handle the role. Going against his former London Knights teammate and good friend Denver Barkey, Cowan continued to play with tenacity, shook off his first-period blemish, and made smart reads. It’ll be compelling to see if Berube moves him up in the lineup with 21 games left.

Dakota Joshua, Philippe Myers deliver their best games of the 2026 calendar year

We’re not here to force false positives, but Dakota Joshua and Philippe Myers delivered their best games of the 2026 calendar year. Joshua scored for the first time since December 16, rocketing a feed from Matias Maccelli into the top corner to open the scoring. He was engaged on the forecheck and worked well in conjunction with Nicolas Roy to establish the forecheck. Joshua worked his way back into the lineup from a lacerated kidney that he suffered during a December 28 game against the Detroit Red Wings.

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“It’s been a while. It makes the hard days of recovery & coming back worth it when you can get one,” Joshua said post-game.

Myers’ performance has been subject to plenty of criticism over the past two years, including this space. He was cool, calm and composed with the puck, while blocking two shots. Although some of this can be attributed to Myers being sheltered by the steady Oliver Ekman-Larsson, he did well to mitigate the danger, and the Maple Leafs heavily controlled the shot attempts and expected goals when he was on the ice. Perhaps it will be enough for Myers to keep his place, when the Maple Leafs take on the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

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