Marner disallowed goal, defensive gaffes, and more: 3 reasons why Toronto Maple Leafs lost 4-2 against Detroit Red Wings

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 4-2 against the Detroit Red Wings at the Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night. The Red Wings avenged a 3-1 loss from November 8 by beating the Leafs on home ice.

Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies scored for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Meanwhile, Jeff Petry had two goals with Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond adding the others for the Red Wings. Joseph Woll made 22 saves in the losing effort for Toronto.

So, here’s a look at the three key reasons why the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

3 reasons why Toronto Maple Leafs lost after all Detroit Red Wings

#3 Lack of depth scoring

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ stars came to play. Auston Matthews scored his 10th of the season on the power play. Matthew Knies got an even-strength goal early in the third period. Mitch Marner had two assists, with William Nylander adding another helper.

However, the Leafs did not get much offensive production beyond that. The bottom six, while playing a solid defensive effort, lacked any sort of meaningful offensive output. They also lacked clear scoring chances.

As a result, the lack of depth scoring significantly hurt the Leafs on Saturday night. Moving forward, the Leafs will be counting on their bottom-six forwards to support the big guns in close, tight-checking games.

#2 Crucial defensive lapse

The Toronto Maple Leafs had just tied the game at two when the following sequence led to the Red Wings’ go-ahead goal in the third.

The sequence started in the Detroit zone, with the puck coming back over the Red Wings blue line and back into the Toronto zone. The Detroit forecheckers skipped the puck past Simon Benoit, who was clearly beaten and could not get back into the play.

Leafs’ defenseman Conor Timmins slid across the ice to take away the pass on what became a 2-on-1 against Timmins, leaving the shooter to Woll. Woll made the save, then stopped the rebound, but no one picked up Jeff Petry who stood at the side of the net while John Tavares stared at the play.

By the time Tavares reacted, Petry had buried his second of the night into a wide-open cage. The goal would stand as the game-winner.

#1 Marner no-goal call

With the Red Wings leading 1-0 in the first period, Mitch Marner picked up the puck during a sequence that led to the tying goal. However, the Red Wings challenged the goal, leading to the tally being overturned.

The replay revealed the play had been offside, effectively waving the goal off the board. The goal would have tied the game at the time. However, the goal didn’t count.

Had the goal stood, the game’s outcome could have been significantly different. Unfortunately for the Leafs, the outcome favored the Red Wings.

The Leafs will be back in action on Sunday night as the club plays back-to-back games, facing the Buffalo Sabres.