The Toronto Maple Leafs blew two multi-goal leads on the way to a 6-5 loss to the Dallas Stars in their last game at Scotiabank Arena in the 2025-26 season. John Tavares, Jacob Quillan, William Nylander, Max Domi, and Nicholas Robertson scored for the Leafs. Artur Akhtyamov made 27 saves on 32 shots.
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Mavrik Bourque netted his first career hat trick, while Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Arttu Hyry also scored for the Stars. Casey DeSmith made 22 saves on 27 shots.
Latest Edition of the Stressful Tank
If you’re on Team Tank, you got all you could handle on Monday night. The Stars, who had virtually nothing to play for, seemed uninterested for the first 20 minutes of the hockey game, and the Maple Leafs took advantage. With four minutes left in the opening period, the Leafs were up 3-0, while outshooting the Stars 9-7. If you were a fan in the seats, you were treated to a fantastic start.
If you were a fan at home hoping for a top-five draft pick, not so much. The disappointment didn’t last long, however. By 9:29 of the second period, the game was tied 3-3, thanks to two goals by Bourque and (Jason) Robertson’s 45th of the season. The Stars outshot the Leafs 17-8 in the period, and took over start to finish.
By 4:19 of the third, Team Tank was shouting at their TVs once again, as the Leafs jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead to start the period. Yet, this Stars team that has been locked into the two-seed in the Central Division since Christmas, fought back to not only win the game, but win it in regulation with 5:08 to spare.
This game had everything. Encouraging play by a few rookies and sloppy play by some old vets. They built big leads, and then they blew them. At the end of the day, the Leafs lost in a way they’ve been losing all season and inched closer to snatching a top-five pick out of the hands of the Boston Bruins.
Quillan Nets First NHL Goal
In his 22nd game of the season, Quillan finally scored his first career goal in the NHL. After sending a nifty pass across the offensive blue line to Steven Lorentz, the 24-year-old rookie went to the front of the net to clean up a failed wrap-around attempt by Lorentz to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead.
As the puck went to the top of the crease, Quillan’s skate directed the puck past DeSmith. It was a bang-bang play, and it was hard to tell if he simply guided the puck or kicked it in. If Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan was considering a challenge on the play, I’m glad he didn’t. This game didn’t matter for the Stars, but that goal mattered to the kid.
“It was pretty cool,” Quillan said. “I kind of blacked out a bit. I got a little nervous it was going to get called kicking but I just put my hands in the air and it felt good.”
Toronto Says Goodbye to a Legend
Last night, radio play-by-play broadcaster Jim Bowen called his last home game for the Leafs after 44 incredible years.
You may agree with my articles; you may disagree. You may agree with my coworkers’ articles; you may not. One thing I hope we all can agree on, however, is that Bowen is a legend, and he will be missed.
If you’re like me, you remember listening to Leafs games on the radio while your dad was changing the tires or on long drives to somewhere you didn’t want to go. Maybe it was after you played hockey or driving home from your grandparents’.
Or, on the other side of the coin, maybe your kids were driving you insane in the backseat, so you cranked the game. That was certainly my dad’s story.
Whatever the memories, Bowen was a part of them. A big part of them. There’s something beautiful about the radio. The theatre of the mind. You feel like you’re a part of a community even though you’re by yourself in the car or wherever you are. You may not realize it now, but when you turn on the radio next season, it won’t be the same. No disrespect to whoever takes his place on the call.
I could wax poetic forever. For now, I’ll sit back and enjoy one last call.
Up Next
The Maple Leafs will play their final game of the 2025-26 season in Ottawa on Wednesday night against the Senators.
