"Threw the playbook out the window": Darren Dreger rips into Toronto Maple Leafs after 6-3 loss to Carolina Hurricanes

The Toronto Maple Leafs had their five-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night in a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Leafs' record fell to 27-14-2 (56 points) after the defeat, though they still hold a four-point lead on the Florida Panthers (52 points) for first place in the Atlantic division.

After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Maple Leafs fell apart. They were outscored 6-1 by the Hurricanes from mid-way through the first period onwards.

TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger shared his thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs' disappointing performance against the Canes on "First Up" on Friday (2:05):

"It was borderline inexplicable how flat the Carolina Hurricanes were, they look absolutely disjointed, which led to the two-on-one chance, where Nylander hits the post, then he's got a breakaway, doesn't score there, looks dejected, right?

"Frustration is being well worn, and then, like, what a minute, two minutes later, if that, he's got another two-zone breakaway, and this time just fires it and puts it away. You're like, okay, as impressive as that is, why is ice so tilted? You know, it's in Carolina. We know how structured the Carolina Hurricanes are, what's going on?"

Dreger added:

"And then they get that first one, and it was like a wake-up call. It's like, all right, fellas, like, we're in this hockey game. Away we go. And Toronto just threw the playbook out the window. I don't, I said this last night post game.

"I think I don't recall a game where I felt like the Maple Leafs started so strong that first 10 minutes was, might be as good as they started all year, maybe the best, right? And then the next 50 went absolutely sideways, and it was the top six. ... You're right to say Matthews, Marner and Knies collectively were a disaster defensively."

The Toronto Maple Leafs knew the Carolina Hurricanes would provide a much tougher test than the opponents they beat during their win streak, in which four of the five wins came against non-playoff teams. Unfortunately, they weren't able to put forth a full 60-minute effort in Raleigh.

Toronto Maple Leafs' first line had a tough night in Carolina

The Toronto Maple Leafs first line had a night to forget on Thursday. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies combined to be a -17 rating in the 6-3 loss. Matthews and Marner were both -6, while Knies was a -5.

This was an unprecedented stat line as their -17 total rating is the worst by a line in an NHL game since 2003. It last occurred to the Atlanta Thrashers' top line of Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Stefan in a loss to the Ottawa Senators.

It's certainly not a statistical record that any of the three players arguably wants to be associated with.

They'll have an opportunity to bounce back on Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada when they host the Vancouver Canucks. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Scotiabank Arena.