Less-than-full effort costs Maple Leafs in shootout loss

Fewer than 60 minutes of good hockey usually doesn’t result in victory.

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It’s a lesson the Maple Leafs are taking a long time to learn in 2025-26.

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The Leafs lost 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena, their three-game winning streak done after the club had yet another poor second period.

Alexandre Texier scored the deciding goal, slipping the puck between the legs of Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby.

There were no concerns with the play of Hildeby, now the Leafs’ starting goalie with Joseph Woll placed on injured reserve earlier in the day.

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Hildeby was excellent throughout the game. He made a point-blank save on Texier early in the third period; in the second, a glove save on a breakaway by Zachary Bolduc resulted in a brief standing ovation.

In overtime, Hildeby stoned Mike Matheson with a pad save.

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The Leafs didn’t have a slew of scoring chances before Scott Laughton blasted a shot past Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes at 10:28 of the third period.

It was the third game in a row that Laughton scored, and the goal came in an unconventional manner. Not only was it shorthanded, Laughton unleashed a slapshot on a breakaway, giving Dobes little time to react.

It was the first time in five games that the Leafs didn’t score on their first shot on goal.

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The Leafs had a terrible second period as they were outshot 13-3 and gave up the first goal.

As defenceman Troy Stecher served a tripping minor, the Canadiens scored a power-play goal at 8:25 to go up 1-0.

Parked at the back door, Cole Caufield was found by Juraj Slafkovsky and put the puck into an open net.

The Leafs had no comparable success on three power plays and are now 2-for-25 in their past 11 games.

Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly skated in his 900th National Hockey League game, becoming the eighth player in franchise history to reach the milestone.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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