Leafs close out home schedule with another loss - BERITAJA

TORONTO – John Tavares and his teammates opened the NHL play pinch plentifulness of hope.

Toronto’s sports segment was buzzing. The Blue Jays were successful the early stages of what would move into a memorable tally to the World Series.

The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, had made the 2nd information of the playoffs conscionable the 2nd clip successful the league’s net headdress era backmost successful the spring.

Sure, prima winger Mitch Marner had bolted town, but the Original Six nine still recovered itself among the Stanley Cup favourites pinch a halfway led by skipper Auston Matthews and supported by Tavares and chap prima guardant William Nylander.

Things went disconnected the rails quickly. Now it’s almost clip for the autopsy aft missing the playoffs for the first clip successful a decade.

Toronto (32-35-14) closed retired its location schedule Monday pinch an entertaining, mistake-filled 6-5 nonaccomplishment to the Dallas Stars (49-20-12) wherever the Maple Leafs had built a 3-0 lead by the first intermission and led 5-3 midway done the third.

“When you cognize it’s the past location game, it’s not a bully sign,” said the 35-year-old Tavares. “In immoderate ways, reliable coming successful coming knowing this was the past regular you’re going through, opportunity to spell play successful beforehand of your fans. In immoderate ways it’s difficult, but you effort to spell retired location and put your champion ft forward.

“Unfortunately, it was immoderate of the aforesaid for us.”

Head coach Craig Berube, whose early is unclear beyond Wednesday’s finale successful Ottawa against the Senators, lamented different nighttime wherever important errors costs his group.

The playoff-bound Stars, meanwhile, became conscionable the sixth squad successful NHL history — and first successful almost 40 years — to flooded three-goal and two-goal deficits successful the aforesaid crippled en way to a regularisation win.

Despite the bitterly frustrating season, fans still connected manus astatine Scotiabank Arena gave the players a bully ovation aft the last buzzer.

“The support successful Toronto is fabulous,” said Berube, whose nine vanished 18-15-8 connected location ice. “It’s been fabulous for arsenic agelong arsenic I could remember, and it’s going to proceed to beryllium fabulous. It’s a awesome lucky market, it’s a awesome sports town. The fans are awesome here.

“This is simply a typical place.”

Another personnel of the statement pinch clouds of uncertainty is defenceman Morgan Rielly. The longest-serving personnel of the existent roster pinch 950 games crossed 13 campaigns, location are questions about his early pinch a nine that will look to a floor plan its way erstwhile a caller encephalon spot is successful spot pursuing wide head Brad Treliving’s firing past month.

The 32-year-old Rielly, who has 4 seasons near connected a statement that carries a US$7.5-million net headdress hit, would person to work together to a waste and acquisition retired of Toronto, but he was asked pursuing the greeting skate if he’d thought about Monday perchance being his past location game.

“It’s crossed my mind,” Rielly told reporters. “All athletes person that astatine immoderate point.”

Tavares called the blueliner “one of the about selfless teammates” he’s played alongside.

“The measurement he handles himself day-to-day, the measurement he puts the squad first, and really overmuch he cares about each and each individual,” Tavares said post-game arsenic the Maple Leafs fell to 0-5-1 complete their past six. “And you talk about the level of hockey’s played for an extended play of time. With wherever we’re astatine this season, it’s beautiful evident everyone’s sewage to look themselves successful the mirror.

“We didn’t travel adjacent to wherever we wanted to get to, truthful that’s connected everyone. He’d beryllium the first feline to put his manus successful the aerial saying, ‘I gotta beryllium better. I sewage to find ways to amended my game’ — particularly arsenic a leader to proceed to push guardant and find ways to push the group to wherever we request it to go.”

LOTTERY TALK

The Maple Leafs will surrender their first-round prime astatine June’s NHL draught to an Atlantic Division rival, the Boston Bruins, if it falls successful the top-5 aft the lottery.

Tavares was asked what it was for illustration to a play connected a nighttime wherever galore of Toronto’s fans were hoping for a loss.

“There should beryllium an utmost magnitude of pridefulness to play successful this league, to play this game, and to deterioration the crest that we’re wearing,” he said. “I effort to attack each crippled the same, nary matter the circumstances, the challenges, the spot you’re in.”

FINAL BOW

Legendary longtime play-by-play man Joe Bowen called his last Maple Leafs location crippled aft 43 years moving successful power and television.

The 75-year-old was honoured successful the 3rd play pinch a video tribute and raucous opinionated ovation.

“Extremely special,” Tavares said. “Couldn’t beryllium much well-deserved. He’ll beryllium successful Leafs lore for forever.”

This study by BERITAJA was first published April 14, 2026.