Defensive miscues, lack of depth scoring, and more: 3 reasons why Toronto Maple Leafs lost to Nashville Predators

The Toronto Maple Leafs blew a 2-0 lead, giving up five unanswered goals to the Nashville Predators and dropping Saturday night’s game 5-2 at Bridgestone Arena. The loss dropped the Leafs to 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, while the Predators earned their 26th win of the season, keeping them mathematically alive in the Western Conference playoff race.

John Tavares (power-play goal) scored his 30th of the season, with Mitch Marner adding the other tally for the Maple Leafs. Captain Auston Matthews recorded two assists on the night. For the Predators, Filip Forsberg scored twice, with Michael Bunting (power-play goal), Kieffer Bellows and Luke Evangelista also scoring.

Here’s a look at three main reasons why the Maple Leafs lost to the Predators on Saturday night.

3 reasons why Toronto Maple Leafs lost to Nashville Predators

#1. Blown lead

The Toronto Maple Leafs were seemingly in control early. They headed into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead. But then, they allowed the Predators to get back into the game.

Michael Bunting got Nashville on the board with a power-play goal. Bellows tied the game at the midway mark of the second period. In the dying seconds of the middle frame, Forsberg scored his first goal of the night to give Nashville a 3-2 lead.

In total, the Predators scored five unanswered goals to secure a convincing 5-2 win and split the season series.

#2. Lack of depth scoring

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ big stars contributed against the Predators. Tavares eclipsed the 30-goal mark for the seventh time in his career. Mitch Marner scored, and Auston Matthews notched two assists.

However, depth scoring failed to deliver. In particular, key trade-deadline acquisition Scott Laughton has not lived up to expectations. The Leafs acquired Laughton as a potential second-line center option, but his tenure has been underwhelming, relegating him to the fourth line.

Against Nashville, Laughton and other bottom-six forwards played a little over nine minutes and did not get on the scoresheet. The Leafs will need their depth players to step up, as the Core Four need more support down the stretch and into the postseason.

#3. Defensive miscues

The Leafs committed several defensive miscues throughout the night. These lapses allowed the Predators to capitalize. A clear example came on Bellows’ game-tying goal.

Here’s a look:

Leafs center David Kampf bobbled the puck at the Nashville blue line. The Predators came back with an odd-man rush in which defenseman Jake McCabe was unable to recover in time. While Chris Tanev did well to take away the passing lane, Bellows took advantage of McCabe’s positioning and roofed the shot past goaltender Joseph Woll.

The Bellows goal was just one example of the miscues that doomed the Leafs on Saturday night. They will have a chance to regroup over the next couple of days before hitting the ice Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena against the Philadelphia Flyers.