Maple Leafs' third-period woes earn them brutal loss to the Wild

The struggles continued for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night. Zack MacEwen had a goal and an assist for Toronto. Matt Boldy had the natural hat trick for Minnesota.

Between the pipes, Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves on 25 shots, while Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 of 28.

This isn't much new to add here as this losing streak continues, but we'll do our best. Let's dive in.

Third period woes continue for Maple Leafs

I'm not trying to put lipstick on a pig when describing this brutal losing streak. However, aside from Sunday's 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, the Maple Leafs have been in all of these games. The penalty kill has been subpar, and turnovers have been far too frequent. They are allowing the first goal far too often and seem to always be playing from behind. Oh, and everyone is hurt right now. Still, all of these games have been right there for the taking, even when they are not playing well.

In the last five games, entering the third period, the Leafs have been down 2-1 (Utah Mammoth), 3-0 (Montreal Canadiens), 2-0 (New Jersey Devils), and 3-2 (Colorado Avalanche), and were tied 2-2 against the Wild. The game against the Devils we can throw out, since they were never really in that game. In the other four games, they were either down by one or tied at one point or another in the final frame.

That's what's been lost in the midst of all of this losing. Despite their poor play, they have had the opportunity to steal four wins during this slump. Instead, they have allowed three goals in each of the last two third periods, at least two goals in the last three, and at least one goal in all five.

For whatever reason, the third period continues to sink this team. Whether the injuries are to blame, poor discipline, or poor goaltending, the Maple Leafs cannot put together a decent third period to save their lives.

"We probably played well enough, but it's not good enough, clearly," head coach Jim Hiller said. "We can't take moral victories in playing close and losing. We've done that too often."

The Leafs have now allowed 24 third-period goals, which is the ninth most in the NHL.

MacEwen nets two points in loss

Everyone was outraged when MacEwen was placed with Auston Matthews on the top line the other night. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that he has been a tremendous addition of his 15 games this season. He added to that with a goal and a beautiful assist to Matthews.

On the one hand, if he has the bulk of your offense, you're pretty much in trouble. That being said, there's no doubt that he has been a bright spot in what has otherwise been a tough start to the season.

Up next for Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs will wrap up this lengthy homestand against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night and will play the Chicago Blackhawks on the road on Tuesday.

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