Toronto Maple Leafs Hit New Low After Sixth Straight Loss Sends Team To Bottom Of Division

Oilers edge Maple Leafs 1-0 as Toronto falls to division basement© Getty via AFP

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in last place in the Atlantic Division. That sentence alone tells you everything about where this season is heading. Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers arrived and left with a 1-0 win, handing Toronto its sixth consecutive defeat. It is the worst home skid the franchise has endured in 41 years. No power play sparks, no late-game drama. Just another quiet, painful night in a building that is growing very restless.

Six Losses, One Goal, Zero Answers

Defenseman Evan Bouchard scored the only goal of the game, assisted by McDavid, who is on a 21-game point streak and already sits at 50 points on the season before U.S. Thanksgiving. Toronto managed 19 shots on Oilers goaltender Devon Levi and got nothing past him. The one moment that might have saved them was erased when John Tavares appeared to tie the game in the third period, only for officials to wave it off for a high-stick redirect.

Forward Kirill Marchenko was absent again, limiting what little offensive creativity Toronto could muster. With a makeshift lineup and mounting pressure, head coach Jim Hiller has few options to shuffle. The standings do not lie. Six straight losses, shut out on a single goal Saturday, and a team that cannot buy a win at home right now.

Mike Babcock Returns, Oilers Win With Ease

There was a subplot to Saturday's game that added a strange layer to the evening. Former Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock made his return to Toronto for the first time since being fired in November 2019. He was hired by Edmonton over the summer after the NHL reinstated him following an investigation into his conduct during his brief time with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023.

Babcock was characteristically candid about being back in the building.

“I love being here,” Babcock said. “It was a lot of fun when I was here. I enjoyed it a lot. Hanging out there in Yorkville last night for a minute was kind of nice, too. It's a nice city, good people, good fans, good team. So it's always fun to be back.”

He went on: “I loved it. I worked with real good people. I enjoyed the heck out of my first three years here. Worked with good hockey men, and it was enjoyable. I didn't enjoy my last year and a half as much, but that's the business. I really enjoyed my time here.”

His old team gave him nothing to worry about. The Leafs barely tested Levi, and Babcock's Oilers were clinical. For a franchise desperate to bounce back after missing the playoffs last spring for the first time in a decade, this November collapse has been sudden and genuinely alarming. The Atlantic Division is not forgiving, and Toronto cannot afford many more nights like this one.