3 least impressive Toronto Maple Leafs players from 4-2 loss to Detroit Red Wings feat. John Tavares

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost a close 4-2 game against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at the Little Caesars Arena. The matchup came down to the wire in the final seconds, with the Red Wings adding an empty netter to ice the contest with less than five seconds to go.

While the Leafs didn’t play badly, the fact is that they didn’t get enough contributions from their entire lineup. As such, the loss against one of the bottom-dwelling teams in the division leaves much to be desired.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the three least impressive players from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

3 least impressive Toronto Maple Leafs players from loss to Detroit Red Wings

#3 Max Domi

Domi has had a rough year thus far. His offensive production has fallen off a cliff while his all-around play hasn’t been consistent with a top-six forward.

On Saturday night, he was largely inconsequential in the game, skating on the third line with Fraser Minten and Bobby McMann. McMann is a worker bee who gets the job done, while Minten has emerged as a solid third-line center.

Domi, however, lacked physical presence while being unable to use his speed to generate scoring chances. Domi finished the game a minus-1, with no shots on goal in a little of 12 minutes of ice time.

#2 Simon Benoit

Simon Benoit has been a solid bottom-pairing defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He plays with a physical edge that fits Craig Berube’s overall hard-nosed style. However, Benoit looked less than impressive against the Red Wings.

In particular, he looked bad on the sequence that led to Jeff Petry’s go-ahead goal. Benoit lost the puck at the Detroit blue line, leading to a 2-on-1 in which he was unable to get back in time to help his defense partner.

By the time Benoit reacted, the puck was already in the back of the net. As such, Benoit got burned in the worst way, costing the Leafs the game.

#1 John Tavares

In a contest in which the top six carried the offensive load, John Tavares was eerily quiet. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies all got on the scoresheet. However, Tavares failed to do so.

Tavares was a minus-2 with one shot on goal in over 17 minutes of ice time. However, the most glaring issue with Tavares was how he got caught puck-watching during the sequence that led to Petry’s game-winner.

Instead of covering Petry, a defenseman, Tavares, as a center, stood by at the boards watching as Petry walked to the side of the net and scored without anyone getting in the way.

Tavares has had a solid, overall season. But on Saturday night against the Red Wings, he was the least impressive player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.