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After a sluggish start, the Toronto Maple Leafs were playing catch-up all night in a 6-5 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. 

Despite a valiant effort in the final minute of regulation, Toronto's attempt to stage a comeback came up short. Down 5-3, they scored twice in 44 seconds to force overtime and earn a point, pushing their regular-season point total to 90 and regaining sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. 

However, the Leafs missed out on two points against the Sharks this season – who are ranked dead last in the league – dropping both contests in a shootout. 

One bright spot for the Leafs, though, was newly acquired forward Scott Laughton registering his first goal and point as a member of the team. 

The tally came at the 15:13 mark of the second period to cut the deficit to one, making it a 4-3 score. His goal broke a 14-game point drought that stretched back to his time with the Philadelphia Flyers, picking up his first in 10 games in Toronto. 

The 30-year-old made a strong play in the offensive zone, carrying the puck up the half wall before he wired home a one-timer off a pass from David Kampf, beating Sharks goaltender Alexandar Georgiev.

Scott Laughton has his first goal as a member of the @MapleLeafs! 🍁 pic.twitter.com/2opNTZWRG1

— NHL (@NHL) March 28, 2025

It was an important moment for the Oakville, ON, native, who has been working hard to settle into his new role with the Maple Leafs. 

“It was nice, probably for my own confidence, and nice to get one for sure. It would have been a lot nicer to get a win and not score,” Laughton admitted after the game. “I know my role on this team, and obviously, contributing is nice, but I know what to bring on a daily basis, and I’m starting to feel more comfortable. Starting to play a little bit better. So, it’s good for myself, but you want to get those two points.”

Head coach Craig Berube had previously urged Laughton to stop overthinking his game, urging him to loosen up and just play freely. 

‘He’s Overthinking Things Instead Of Just Playing’: Scott Laughton Remains Pointless With Maple Leafs, Craig Berube Urges Forward To ‘Loosen Up’The Toronto Maple Leafs have begun to find their stride, securing back-to-back victories over the Calgary Flames and the Colorado Avalanche. However, one player in particular remains stuck in a slump – newly acquired Scott Laughton, who has yet to register a point in six games with the Leafs and continues to struggle to find his place in his hometown.

With the postseason approaching, hopefully, this is a step in the right direction for Laughton, who is adjusting to his new environment and working to find his rhythm after joining the Leafs in a trade on March 7. 

His teammates know just how much of a breakthrough a goal like that can be down the stretch.

“A lot of fun seeing him rip one home,” said Nylander. “First goal as a Leaf is huge. I’m happy for him.” 

“Yeah, it was huge. I think him being from Toronto and everything coming here is extremely exciting. And a lot of us know Lotty from different things. But he's been an unreal guy coming in here. He brings great energy every day despite whatever comes at him,” added captain Auston Matthews.

He was previously demoted to the fourth line, the “identity line,” amid the struggles and was recently placed back with Max Domi and Nick Robertson on the left wing of the third line for the past couple of games. On Thursday, the 12-year veteran logged 12:28 of ice time, registering two shots on goal, two hits, and two blocks, finishing with a plus-1 rating to go along with his goal.

When at his best, Laughton can provide physicality, depth, and steadiness. His game in San Jose was a key indicator of his capabilities, and he is now looking to build on his recent momentum by stringing together multiple strong outings in a row. 

“It was great to see him get a goal tonight. I thought he played great tonight. I thought he matched well on that line and created some really good chances. And that was a big goal that he had for us. So I know that's a big weight off your shoulders,” said Matthews. “I think that's just going to continue to carry momentum in his game. He's just going to continue to be more comfortable as we go along here.”

'We've Got To Be Better, Goalie Included': Maple Leafs Salvage Point But Struggle In Shootout Loss Against SharksSAN JOSE, Calif. — The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the San Jose Sharks 6-5 in a shootout at SAP Center on Thursday. Although they picked up a crucial point in the standings, it was yet another example of the Leafs struggling to pounce against a team at the bottom of the NHL standings as they gear up for a playoff run next month.

Despite earning a point against the Sharks, the Leafs have now lost seven of their last 12 games. They dropped the opening contest of their three-game California road trip and will face a back-to-back in Los Angeles on Saturday, followed by a visit to Anaheim on Sunday.

They’ll need to clean things up to finish the weekend on the right foot.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the San Jose Sharks 6-5 in a shootout at SAP Center on Thursday. Although they picked up a crucial point in the standings, it was yet another example of the Leafs struggling to pounce against a team at the bottom of the NHL standings as they gear up for a playoff run next month.

The Leafs appeared destined to lose against the Sharks in regulation time. But two goals in the final minute of regulation time forced the game beyond 60 minutes. Outside of their performance on the power play, Toronto looked lethargic on the ice. There were also some lapses in judgement.

Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll misplayed the puck while attempting to make a pass. Instead turning it over to Sharks forward William Eklund and into the net.

"They are a quick team, but I think that maybe the travel yesterday and everything, we just weren't on our toes," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said while trying to pinpoint an explanation for his team's performance. "We got better as the game went along. We made some mistakes. We all got to be better, goalie included. It's not good enough."

The performance came just after the Leafs punished the bottom-feeding Philadelphia Flyers 7-2 on Tuesday. It appeared as though they were passed their transgressions of not taking advantage of the opportunity in front of them by pouncing on teams lower in the standings like they did on Saturday when they fell to the Nashville Predators. 

"I didn't love our game tonight. I thought we just seemed slow," Matthews said. "We didn't seem to take care of the puck much, just kind of messing around with it too much."

The Leafs got into penalty trouble later in the game, which didn't help. After getting the first three power plays in the game, San Jose had the next four chances. 

Leafs need better goaltending. 

When your team is having nights where they are struggling, a strong goaltending performance can turn the tide. While Woll was busy making 14 saves on 16 shots in the first period, he wasn't particularly strong after that, finishing the night with 30 saves on 35 shots. 

Since the 4 Nations break, the goaltending tandem of Woll and Anthony Stolarz hasn't been as strong as they were to start the season. In his last eight starts, Woll's save percentage is .892 and Stolarz's save percentage is .895 in his last 10 starts. Both have now reached career highs in games played during a season after never being the starting goaltender before. It's still anyone's guess who will start for the playoffs, but neither has goalie has taken the bull by the horns as of late.

Nylander hot

William Nylander scored twice to reach a career-high 42 goals this season. Not the type that has traditionally scored in bunches, the Swede recorded back-to-back multi-goal games for the first time in his NHL career.  With 10 games to go, he'd need eight to reach the 50-goal mark. It certainly looks attainable.

Nylander recorded his 42nd goal of the season.

For the first time in his NHL career, Nylander recorded back-to-back multi-goal games. Two tonight, and two against Philly on Tuesday. https://t.co/idRGZgb3Yv

— David Alter (@dalter) March 28, 2025

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The Florida Panthers are about to enter the home stretch of their regular season.

Coming off a nice four-day break between home games, Florida is looking to hit the ground running as they host the first of their final 11 games against the Utah Hockey Club Friday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.

Entering play Friday, the Panthers are tied atop the Atlantic Division with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning but lose out to their neighbors from north of the border on a tiebreaker.

Both the Cats and Leafs hold identical 43-25-3 records, but due to Toronto having more non-shootout wins (42 to 38), the tiebreaker goes to them. Tampa has the same amount of points, but one more game played than Florida and Toronto. 

But with 11 games remaining for each team, things are surely going to change over the next few weeks.

Florida’s last game was five days ago, a 4-3 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was the Panthers sixth straight win on home ice.

As for Utah, the former Coyotes arrive in South Florida with their playoff chances on life support.

With only 10 games remaining, Utah is currently 10 points behind St. Louis for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

It’s been a strong second half the season for Utah, though.

Over their past 20 games, Utah has points in all but seven of them (11-7-2). That includes their game on Thursday’s night, an 8-0 drubbing at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Now they’ll make the short trip from Tampa to Sunrise and wrap up a back-to-back set against a rested and hungry Panthers squad.

If all goes well, Florida will get a boost to their lineup in the form of Brad Marchand.

The future Hall of Famers acquired by the Panthers at the Trade Deadline has been working his way back from an injury he suffered about a week before the deal was made.

Marchand has been skating with Florida for the past several weeks and has been nearing a return.

If he plays, he’ll line up on the Cats’ second line with his old buddy Sam Bennett and rookie Mackie Samoskevich.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Sunday’s showdown with the Pens:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues

A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jesper Boqvist

Gus Forsling – Seth Jones

Niko Mikkola – Tobias Bjornfot

Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis

Scratches: Tomas Nosek, Jonah Gadjovich, Dmitry Kulikov

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