John Tavares Doesn't Hold Back With Comments After Embarrassing Loss to the Ottawa Senators
The Leafs suffered a horrible loss to the Senators last night, and their alternate captain John Tavares didn't hold back about how he truly felt with the media.
John Tavares isn't a stranger to speaking to the media about the Toronto Maple Leafs' struggles.
Since signing with the team in July 2018, the former captain has taken the podium time and time again after particularly poor performances.
But something felt off Tuesday night after the Leafs were shut out 3-0 by the Ottawa Senators.
Tavares, normally stoic, looked frustrated, even angry, as the Leafs labored through a game that found them for the most part disconnected and uncoordinated.
The numbers justified the dreary result, as well. At 5-on-5 play, the Leafs got only 25 percent of the expected goals share, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Without star forward Auston Matthews, who is out with a preseason upper-body injury, things have been even tougher offensively for Toronto.
The team had just completed a three-game win streak, but their spotty offensive output was a major problem, fully exposed in the loss to Ottawa.
The challenges just keep coming as the Leafs travel to Washington to face off against the Capitals, a strong opponent at 10-4-0 currently.
Winners of seven in a row at times this year, the Capitals, averaging 4.21 goals per game and 7-3-0 over their last ten, have been on a roll.
Alex Ovechkin has just been lethal, recording eight goals in his last seven games, which brings his career total to 863, just 31 shy of Wayne Gretzky's record of 894.
After the loss on Tuesday, Toronto flew straight to D.C. where head coach Craig Berube did some line juggling.
Max Domi, who's been filling in as the top center in Matthews' absence, has struggled to produce, extending his point drought to 11 games.
Matthews hasn't skated recently and his availability against Washington is doubtful. Coach Berube should update closer to the 7:30 p.m. Puck drop, ET, and the Leafs will need all the resilience possible against a steamroller of a Capitals team.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 13 | 144 ANSWERS John Tavares Doesn't Hold Back With Comments After Embarrassing Loss to the Ottawa Senators Will the Leafs perform better against the Capitals? | ||
| Yes | 84 | 58.3 % |
| No | 60 | 41.7 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||