TORONTO — The Rangers never quite had a grasp on this game against the Maple Leafs.
Despite their ability to keep pace for a majority of the contest, any time the Blueshirts had a chance to assert themselves a defensive lapse or a juicy rebound ended up in the back of their net on the way to a 5-4 loss Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.
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Even when Alexis Lafrenière tied it up with just over five and a half minutes left in regulation.
It was a reflection of how strong the Rangers have been in third periods so far this season, but the visitors never stopped chasing the game — and that was on full display leading up to Troy Stecher's game-winning goal with 26.3 seconds left during a delayed penalty.
As Tye Kartye looked around after getting called for a delayed tripping penalty, the Rangers overloaded the left side and left Stecher wide open for a clear shot from the right circle.
Brandon Duhaim (24, center right background) scores on Dylan Garand during the first period of the Rangers' 5-4 loss to the Maple Leafs on Oct. 22, 2026 in Toronto. NHLI via Getty Images
"It's unfortunate, obviously, the whole play, how it develops," said Mika Zibanejad, who scored the Rangers' first goal of the night before his team fell to 1-4-1 on the road. "It's a great shot by [Stecher], so give him credit. Just hurts more when we tie it up and we tie it decently late, and we're looking to go into overtime and grab the second point. You come out of it with nothing.
"I don't think we played our best game today and didn't get to the level that we wanted to. Still had a chance, and we didn't take it."
It was a fast-paced, back-and-forth affair that saw the Maple Leafs poke holes in the Rangers structure and capitalize on a green goaltender.
Tye Kartye (left) celebrates with Pavel Dorofeyev (16) and Adam Fox (23) after scoring a goal during the second period of the Rangers' loss to the Maple Leafs. AP
In his sixth consecutive start, rookie netminder Dylan Garand struggled mightily with rebound control. He ultimately stopped 30 of the 35 shots he faced in his fourth loss of the season, but the 24-year-old faltered in the face of Toronto's high-octane offense.
The emotions of the last month and the increased workload could very well be weighing on him.
A couple of those pucks never reach Garand, however, if the Rangers keep Toronto out of the middle of their zone. The Maple Leafs were able to bulldoze into the dangerous areas of the ice without much pushback from the visitors, resulting in point-blank shots that produced long rebounds with no Rangers jerseys to be found to contest.
The Rangers have taken significant strides with their defensive structure, but this was an opposing club with high star power and skill that exposed its weaknesses.
"There wasn't a lot [defensively]," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I just didn't think we managed the puck. I didn't think we played with structure. We chased it, you know? We chased the game. It wasn't a collective effort. You got to know your job, do your job, trust your linemates are going to do theirs. I just thought the types of chances we gave up tonight is uncharacteristic of this group."
Just over a minute and a half into the game, a bad Rangers change led to Toronto's first goal of the evening.
Pavel Dorofeyev and Kartye skated right for the visitors bench as the puck was passed to Jake McCabe in the neutral zone. McCabe quickly passed it up to Easton Cowan, who split Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson before burying the puck over the glove of Garand.
Sullivan benched Dorofeyev for one power play for staying out too long with the man advantage last game against the Ducks, but the Rangers head coach has shown faith in the team's offseason acquisition and long-term signing despite his two goals through 12 games.
Dorofeyev rang another one off the post later Thursday night, an indication of how much he may be pressing.
The Rangers offense certainly competed, but the shortcomings defensively were costly.
"We were definitely giving them a lot of chances and a lot of Grade-A's too," Adam Fox said after posting a four-assist night. "[Garand] had to make some big saves there as well. They got a lot of fire power, so you're giving guys dangerous chances that I don't know if that's the recipe for our team to win games. Can we? Yeah, but just felt like we kind of played it to how they wanted to play tonight."
