Maple Leafs’ four-game winning streak ends in 5-2 loss to Flames
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ four-game winning streak ended with a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. Auston Matthews became the fastest player in franchise history to reach 800 points, while Kirill Marchenko left with a lower-body injury.
The Toronto Maple Leafs saw their four-game winning streak come to an end Monday night, falling 5-2 to the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome despite a historic milestone from captain Auston Matthews.
Matvei Gridin scored twice and added an assist for Calgary, which completed a perfect four-game homestand and extended its own winning streak to four games. Toronto rallied from a three-goal deficit to pull within one in the third period, but two late empty-net goals secured the victory for the hosts.
The Maple Leafs dropped to 7-5-2, while Calgary improved to 5-6-0. Toronto also lost forward Kirill Marchenko to a lower-body injury during the second period.
Gridin puts Toronto Maple Leafs in early trouble
Calgary established control midway through the opening period, with Gridin scoring his first goal at 10:05. The 2024 first-round draft pick beat Sergei Bobrovsky with a shot from below the left face-off circle to give the Flames a 1-0 advantage.
Just 1:45 later, Mikael Backlund doubled the lead after receiving a cross-ice pass from Matt Coronato. Backlund, returning from a two-game absence caused by an upper-body injury, scored his 609th career point to tie Johnny Gaudreau for fifth on Calgary’s all-time scoring list.
The Flames extended their lead just 25 seconds into the second period when Gridin scored on the power play. His second goal of the night made it 3-0 and marked the first three-point performance of his NHL career.
Gridin, selected 28th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, has recorded three goals and two assists over his last two games.
Toronto began its comeback at 12:54 of the second period when Easton Cowan redirected a pass from Troy Stecher past Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley.
William Nylander brought the Maple Leafs within one at 6:06 of the third, finishing a cross-crease pass from Jack Roslovic to make it 3-2.
However, Toronto could not complete the comeback. Joel Farabee scored into an empty net at 18:35 before Martin Pospisil added another at 19:21.
Cooley finished with 26 saves for his fourth consecutive victory, while Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots in his 800th NHL start.
Auston Matthews reaches 800 career NHL points
Despite the defeat, Matthews reached another significant milestone in his NHL career.
The Maple Leafs captain recorded an assist to reach 800 career points, becoming the fastest player in Toronto franchise history to achieve the mark.
Matthews reached the milestone in his 703rd NHL game, bringing his career totals to 437 goals and 363 assists.
The achievement came just three games after he celebrated his 700th NHL appearance with a goal and an assist against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Matthews acknowledged Calgary’s strong start and Toronto’s difficulties maintaining possession.
“I thought we were a little bit loose with the puck halfway through the first period and just got away from what’s making us successful over the last week or so,” Matthews said.
The Maple Leafs had entered Monday’s matchup following a 7-2 victory over Edmonton, where Nylander scored twice to reach 300 career NHL goals.
Against Calgary, however, Toronto struggled to generate the same offensive consistency, particularly during the opening 40 minutes.
Marchenko leaves with injury as Toronto’s streak ends
Toronto also faced a potential setback when Marchenko exited the game in the second period.
The forward suffered a lower-body injury after taking a hit from Calgary’s Yegor Sharangovich and falling awkwardly to the ice. He returned for one additional 14-second shift before leaving permanently.
Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller said the team did not yet have a complete medical update.
“He couldn’t come back and finish the game, so that’s never a good sign,” Hiller said.
Hiller also pointed to turnovers as a major factor in the defeat, noting that Toronto had reduced those mistakes during its previous four victories.
“Turned the puck over way too much,” he said. “You can’t win in the League if you do that, and we saw that.”
The loss ended Toronto’s winning streak at four games and prevented the Maple Leafs from completing a sweep of their Alberta road trip.
Calgary, meanwhile, finished its homestand with four consecutive victories, with Gridin recording his first three-point NHL performance and Cooley winning his fourth straight start.
