No one would've batted an eye if the Boston Bruins had lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Bruins had won five straight games, the Maple Leafs were waiting for them at home for a big Hockey Night in Canada matchup, and the Bruins took a hit with the absences of Charlie McAvoy and Casey Mittelstadt. For most teams, it'd be an easy home-ice win.
The Maple Leafs are unlike most teams. They make a habit out of losing games they should win to send their fans into misery, and it happened again on Saturday night. To make matters worse, Fraser Minten sent the dagger by scoring the insurance goal against his old team. It couldn't get much worse for Toronto, but the good news was that they had a game against the Carolina Hurricanes 24 hours later to right the ship.
For the second straight night, the Maple Leafs lost a game that most believed they should've won. It was an easy bounce-back spot against a Hurricanes team that has some injury issues and lost a defenseman in the first period. Toronto entered the third period with a lead, but old friend Taylor Hall tied it early, and then Logan Stankoven scored the winner.
The Maple Leafs' defense was atrocious again on Sunday night. Brandon Carlo further confirms that last season's trade was a massive win every time he steps on the ice. Jake McCabe is starting to show his age, and the rest of the blueline is struggling to keep up. They have been a mess defensively, and they lack the necessary offensive skill to lead a breakout that can help their forwards. Simply put, it has been a disaster.
Craig Berube: "Pretty much the season is we don't value the defensive side of the puck enough." pic.twitter.com/Jipf8lgglX
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 10, 2025
Head coach Craig Berube doesn't have an answer, but he has to find one soon. The fanbase isn't going to take kindly to another loss on Tuesday night, making the matchup at TD Garden as close to a must-win as you can get this early in the season. It'd be hard to see them make a change from Berube, but a coaching switch-up might come in the form of assistant Derek Lalonde, whose changes in his first year looking after the team's defense haven't been working.
Bruins' chances on Tuesday night
Bruins fans are waiting for the bubble to burst on this six-game winning streak. While the team is better than expected, it's surprising to see them go on this good a run. A seven-game win streak would have fans dreaming of plenty of success this season, and winning back-to-back games against their rival that was supposed to pass them by this year would add the cherry on top.
Jeremy Swayman will likely get the start after two days off, McAvoy was back at practice on Monday morning, and Mason Lohrei showed enough on Saturday night to get another game, according to the lines at the skate. Boston will enter Tuesday night with their best lineup minus Mittelstadt. Some of the Bruins' defensive breakdowns on Saturday that gave Toronto some offense would've likely been avoided with their shutdown pairing of McAvoy and Nikita Zadorov.
It's too early to start making outlandish predictions, but Tuesday night's game is an important one for both teams. If the Bruins reach a seven-game win streak and move one step closer to first in the Atlantic, it could start even more momentum toward Don Sweeney attempting to improve his team to make a run at the playoffs. If the Maple Leafs lose their third game in four nights and fall to .500, there's no telling what direction the organization will take on Wednesday morning.