Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly's struggles in his own zone highlight a glaring defensive void for the Buds. And it's now painfully obvious the Leafs have lacked a true No. 1 blueliner in the Auston Matthews Era.

A trade before March 6 feels as necessary as ever for a team that’s swung deals for defenders at the trade deadline just about every year: Carlo last spring; Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin 2.0 in 2024; McCabe, Luke Schenn and Erik Gustafsson in 2023; and Mark Giordano and Lyubushkin 1.0 in 2022.

Easton Cowan scored 2:48 into a wild overtime and Scott Laughton had a short-handed goal in his return to Philadelphia as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Flyers 2-1 on Thursday night. Cowan scored on a 2-on-1 rush off a pass from John Tavares,

Cowan scored the OT winner against the Flyers on Thursday night, marking the sixth win in their last eight games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are only one point behind a playoff position, and with their strong start to 2026, they appear poised to secure their ticket into this postseason for the 10th consecutive year.

Also in the stands was Sundin, who watched the proceedings alongside his pal and former Maple Leafs teammate Tie Domi. Tie’s son Max, Sundin’s godson, is now himself a forward with Toronto and brought the crowd to its feet when he dropped the gloves with Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad late in the first period.

The Panthers currently sit fourth in the Atlantic Division, one point back of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Leafs enter Tuesday last in the division, two points back of Florida. Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

For most of the game, it looked like the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to fizzle one out. Their power play, which had been clicking lately, wasn’t firing — two-man-advantage chances without a shot on goal,

Matthews pushed it to 3-0 at 4:01. Knies cut through the slot and fought off Niko Mikkola before swinging a pass back to the Maple Leafs captain, who shot past Bobrovsky’s right pad from the slot. The goal extended Matthews’ point streak to five games (seven goals, four assists).

Kypreos reports that Toronto had two of its top prospects up for Brayden Schenn, but Blues GM Doug Armstrong was "reluctant to pull the trigger."