Why Tavares doesn’t use his hot goalie as an excuse for the Maple Leafs’ loss

They’ve weathered numerous injuries, power play droughts, occasional slumps, and a general decline in even-strength offense, yet still established themselves as a defensive force and one of the premier clubs in their division.

And yet, anyone watching November’s hottest team struggle through a hectic December will tell you that their play has dropped off a bit.

Not so significant that the decline would be noticeable against a non-competitor like Detroit, Buffalo or Chicago.

But when a legitimate opponent like the Washington Capitals rolls into town and beats the Maple Leafs 5-2 on their own field for the second time in a month, it’s a stark reminder that Toronto needs to reach a new level.

“If you look at it a little bigger, I think we have a little bit more (to give). We have to be more consistent. I think that’s maybe why we’ve been a little bit on the wrong side here in the last maybe four or five games,” former captain and alternate captain John Tavares said after Saturday’s loss.

“Our execution can be a little bit better, and our tempo can just be a little better.”

William Nylander added: “Sometimes we make mistakes that shouldn’t happen to us. We played well most of the game.”

The Maple Leafs took an early lead and created enough chances to turn the result in their favor. But Washington’s performance was more consistent, the time in the O-zone was more sustained and the goalkeeper was superior.

Leafs coach Craig Berube notes that the Capitals “look” like a team should be: “They play a good brand of hockey. It’s very direct.”

Toronto was undone by a stalled Thompson, who frustrated Nylander to the point of breaking the stick, stoned Pontus Holmberg on a breakaway and overwhelmed Mitch Marner on a clean rush as part of his 35-save star turn.

“You just want to try to hit him save after save,” Toronto’s Matt Murray said. “But he played a hell of a game tonight. He made some crazy saves, a few that you thought would be sure goals, and he managed to get them off the line.”

But Toronto was also hampered by a lack of offensive execution (29 of the Leafs’ shots were either blocked or missed Thompson’s goal) and a penalty that didn’t do justice to Washington’s only power play.

Most costly, however, were some terrible zone exits.

A loss of possession from Connor Dewar immediately led to a quick shot from Andrew Mangiapane, which wiped out the home side’s early lead before it was two minutes old.

And a poor line change combined with more botched zone clearances helped set up Nic Dowd’s winning goal.

However, give credit to the Capitals because they are the type of team that can persevere through their mistakes until the end. (Translation: the kind of team that makes the playoffs.)

And if you’re feeling generous, cut Murray some slack.

The third-line goaltender has just played his second NHL game in well over 600 days and is still adjusting to the threats of the big leagues.

“There may be one or two times in the game where I feel like I’m a little late collecting pucks because of traffic. “That happened a couple of times tonight,” Murray admitted.

“They played hard. Made it difficult for me and got to the paint. And lots of traffic, lots of opportunities away from the hustle and bustle. They play a really tough game.”

Berube’s thoughts on his own goalie: “I’m sure he wants a few back. But he didn’t play much hockey. I mean, he fought. He fought.”

Just like the Maple Leafs will have to fight, fight a little harder, if they want to emerge victorious from more of these real tests against real opponents.

Tavares already knows this.

“The goalkeepers will play well. You will have a hot hand. You have to be prepared for that,” Tavares said.

“But we want to be able to find a breakthrough and do what we need to do to get the result we want.”

• If the warm-up goes wrong…

• Your daily AM34-1-1: Auston Matthews (upper body) has been skating for a few days now, but no return date has been set.

“We’re making really good progress, which is great. “He’s doing much better,” says Berube.

In other injury news, Team Finland defenseman Jani Hakanpää has also returned to the ice following his recent knee surgery.

“It’s still a long way away,” warns Berube.

• Jakob Chychrun: 10 goals.

Maple Leafs total defense: seven goals (and none so far in December).

• Mississauga, Ontario native Dylan Strome suffered a lot in the 2020-21 season, failing to score 10 goals and scoring just 17 points.

Since then, his production has increased every season: 48 points in the 2021-22 season, 65 in the 2022-23 season and 67 in the 2023-24 season.

This season, Washington’s No. 1 centerman is on pace to score 91 points.

“An extremely competitive guy,” Carbery says.

“This is the third year in a row where he tends to be a better player than the year before. You see that sometimes, but it’s pretty rare (at age 27).”

• So… Team Canada didn’t want Thompson, right?