3 least impressive Toronto Maple Leafs players from 6-3 loss to Carolina Hurricanes feat. Mitch Marner 

The Toronto Maple Leafs entered Thursday night's matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on a hot streak, having won five consecutive games.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes hadn't been as consistent, going 2-2-1 in their last five. But they ultimately emerged victorious with a 6-3 triumph thanks to a hat trick from captain Jordan Staal at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, improving their record to 25-15-2, while the Leafs fell to 27-14-2.

The game started well enough for the Maple Leafs, who took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Nick Robertson and William Nylander; for the latter, it was his first goal since late December.

However, the Hurricanes knotted things up thanks to goals from Eric Robinson and the first goal of the night from Staal; both teams entered the first intermission tied at 2-2.

Staal struck again early in the second period, scoring shorthanded just 35 seconds into the middle frame. But Leafs captain Auston Matthews responded less than a minute later, re-tying the score with his 14th goal.

Carolina responded once again as Jackson Blake scored his ninth goal just over three minutes later.

Just 20 seconds into the third period, Staal completed the hat trick:

With goaltender Joseph Woll pulled for the extra attacker, Seth Jarvis scored into the open net to increase the lead to 6-3, which was the final score.

3 least impressive Toronto Maple Leafs players from 6-3 loss to Carolina Hurricanes

#1. Mitch Marner

The Leafs forward had a particularly brutal night on the defensive front, finding himself on the ice for five Hurricanes goals against.

Marner entered the contest with a +9 rating, which has now dipped to +3. He has typically been known as a more defensively sound forward who not only provides offense but backchecks well. However, his outing on Thursday night featured nothing of the sort.

#2. Joseph Woll

The Maple Leafs goaltender had one of his more porous performances this season, finishing with just 28 saves on the 33 shots that he faced; he finished with a save percentage of .848, well below his average of .914 that he entered the game with.

While he did make a spectacular save during the contest, he didn't do enough to help his team win.

#3. Matthew Knies

Knies, who recently scored four goals in two games including his first career hat trick, had an abysmal performance backchecking; much in the same manner as his teammate Mitch Marner.

He finished with a -5 rating, putting his season total now in the negative at -2.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to bounce back when they host the Vancouver Canucks next at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.