4 takeaways from Maple Leafs' brutal collapse in shootout loss to the Golden Knights

The Toronto Maple Leafs gave up an early 3-0 lead to eventually lose 4-3 in overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night.

Jack Roslovic, Easton Cowan, and Nick Paul each scored for the Maple Leafs. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 40 of 43 shots.

Let's put all bias aside for a moment. This was one heck of a hockey game. Do we wish the boys in blue and white could've held on, or even put on a bigger beatdown? Of course. But as a hockey fan, from start to finish, this game had it all.

Let's get into it.

Bobrovsky was brilliant despite first win alluding him

I wanted to start with this, because I don't think it can be overstated. Bobrovsky was incredible on Thursday night. The stats might say he stopped 40 of 43, but Jack Eichel's game-tying goal was on a penalty shot, and shots in the shootout don't count, so let's call it 40 of 42. Makes sense to me.

Three goals in 23 minutes is a tough pill to swallow. For sure. However, Vegas outshot Toronto 11-4 in the third, and there were several high-quality opportunities for the home team to win that game in regulation. Bobrovsky shut the door on all four Golden Knights' power plays, and then made four more big saves in overtime.

"We survived, in large part due to Bob," head coach Jim Hiller said after the game. "That's what great goalies do when you're off a bit like we were in the second."

That's what he has proven early in the season. He is still a great goalie. Not getting his first win as a Leaf sucks, but I don't think you can pin any of his three losses on him directly. In fact, I know you can't.

"I was a good hockey game," Bobrovsky said. "It's a big point for us on the road against a good team. We had a good start then things kind of got away from us a little bit. Still, it's hockey, it's the NHL and it's a good league. They're a really good team. So, it's again, it's a big point for us, and we just move on with our game and keep building."

Toronto flips the script from Tuesday's win against Nashville

10 minutes into the first period on Thursday, it was clear that the Maple Leafs made a point of getting off to a hot start after going down 3-0 (then 4-2) against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Roslovic used his wheels and bad positioning from goaltender Adin Hill to get the Leafs on the board just 34 seconds into the contest. Cowan scored on a breakaway less than three minutes later; Paul added on one more five minutes after that. It was quite literally the exact opposite of what happened against the Predators.

Mark Stone scored at the end of the period, and the Golden Knights carried that momentum into the middle frame. Four minutes in, the game was tied, and we had a brand-new game. Again, exactly opposite from Tuesday. Vegas outshot Toronto 21-8 in the period, and really gave no room for the Leafs to breathe.

While the shot clock read 11-4 for Vegas in the third, it wasn't quite as dominant as that. Regardless, if you erase the first period, the Leafs were lucky to get a point out of it.

Leafs forward group starting to gel as season rolls on

It's early days, but after nine days of hockey, the picture is becoming clearer when it comes to the Maple Leafs' roster. Both positively and negatively.

Kirill Marchenko has had flashes but hasn't quite settled into his new role. It's not overly concerning, at least not yet. You can see his speed and his playmaking; it just needs to come together. Roslovic has been a pleasant surprise through five games, at least for me. His hustle is there, and his presence with and without the puck has been on display.

John Tavares and William Nylander have had their ups and downs, but we seem to go through this every season. I'm not worried about Tavares, and Nylander, by and large, has looked like himself. Cowan has already taken a step forward and Gavin McKenna is a rookie who is finding his way in this league, and looks really good in certain moments.

For me, Auston Matthews and Bobrovsky have been the two most encouraging parts of this lineup. Obviously, the context is extremely different when talking about these two players. But Matthews is noticeable, even when he's not putting up points or carrying the puck, and that is really important. As we talked about before, Bobrovsky looks like himself, even if he is still looking for that first win.

Defence is a different story..

All in all, it looks like this forward group is on the way to figuring it out. The defence, however, is a different story.

"We need to be better and help Bob out," Chris Tanev said on Thursday. "We don't want to play like that and when we take four penalties, their skill guys get the feel of the puck."

Darren Raddysh and Morgan Rielly negatively impacted Stone's goal at the end of the first, and Rielly got beat again on a Jack Eichel breakaway that led to the penalty shot. Honestly, we could write a whole article on the defensive woes of the Leafs on Thursday, as well as throughout the first five games.

You could make the argument that the offensive lineup is set in stone. Defensively, though, it's clear they need to add at least one more piece. From what we've seen from general manager John Chayka so far, it wouldn't surprise me if he figures it out relatively soon.

Up next for Toronto

The Maple Leafs will head to Denver on Saturday to take on the Colorado Avalanche and will wrap up their road trip in Utah against the Mammoth on Tuesday.

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