The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered what I would describe as the only loss in recent days that hasn’t been infuriating to watch from a fan’s perspective.
They kept it close on the shot clock, they capitalized on the mistakes made by Detroit Red Wings players as did the Wings to them, and they relied on heroism from their goaltender at points. It was the Red Wings who had the last laugh, however, as goaltender Dennis Hildeby made a poor choice in overtime that led to the Wings’ overtime winner from defenceman Simon Edvinsson. The final score was 3-2, and the overtime loss brings the Leafs within one point of the Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins, which adds a little bit of salt in the wound considering that they would have tied them with win.
Edvinsson ends it pic.twitter.com/EF4tuUgvdd
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 29, 2025
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All of this is to say that the effort level and decision making was actually pretty good in comparison to losses of the past. You probably don’t want to give up the tying goal under 30 seconds after taking a lead, but outside of that blemish and Hildeby’s mistake in overtime, it wasn’t a bad game overall.
The Leafs had a chance to take the lead in the third period when the score was still 1-1 after Matias Maccelli banked the puck off of Jake McCabe’s body and off of the post. Then, in overtime, Auston Matthews wired a shot that beat Cam Talbot but rang off of the crossbar and into orbit, and when the puck landed it led to the Red Wings’ overtime-winner. One of those games where the bounce simply went the other way.
When you’re struggling the way the Toronto Maple Leafs have so far this season, all of the losses tend to blur together, but if you isolate the games, this is one that can’t be tied to poor execution or lazy efforts like past games. The team is in a position where taking three of four points from a back-to-back has to be seen as a victory, and the Leafs will look to move on from it and apply the same process to their next game.
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