"It was probably really entertaining for people watching, but that was brutal," Haula expounded.
In the spirit of the holidays, here is an analogy to best explain what happened. Picture Christmas morning, presents under the tree. You grab a gift, furiously unwrapping it. Surprise! It's that one thing you really, truly wanted. But, then you open the box. Empty. Nothingness.
"That was a tough game. We didn't come out ready," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We got back in and had the game in hand, but just fell asleep and took a little breath. That's a team that has some high-end talent. You can't do that. Another tough lesson."
2. A Nightmare Start
The start to this game was nothing short of a nightmare for the Hurricanes.
It took just 30 seconds for the Maple Leafs to strike first, when Jason Spezza scored on a backhand shot from the slot.
Then, Brett Pesce was whistled for a high-sticking double-minor, and the Leafs converted on each of the power plays. William Nylander was left wide open in the slot and buried his wrist shot to make it a 2-0 game. Late on the second power play, John Tavares' shot beat James Reimer to put the Leafs up 3-0.
All of that within the first 5:10 of the game.
"Reims coming back here, he's played here before, and that's how we start the game in front of him. It was quite embarrassing," Haula said. "We were all pissed off for him and at each other a little bit."
Brind'Amour then made just the second mid-game goalie switch of his head coaching tenure. Reimer has been excellent this season, especially lately on the road, but Brind'Amour had to somehow spark his club.
"The message was pretty simple: Let's get to the game," he said. "We spotted them three, but they didn't even have to break a sweat."
3. A Nightmare Finish
The end of this game was also, unfortunately, nothing short of a nightmare for the Hurricanes.
Trailing by two goals at the start of the third period, the Maple Leafs scored five goals, including four unanswered and three in 59 seconds in the latter half of the period to grab the win.
Auston Matthews and Erik Haula traded goals in the first six minutes of the third period.
And then, things jumped up a notch.
Mitch Marner finished a gorgeous feed from Matthews to bring the Leafs within a goal, 6-5. Then, 53 seconds later, Tyson Barrie buried a backhander to tie the game at six.
Brind'Amour called his timeout and attempted to rally the bench.
But, off the ensuing faceoff, Marner burst through the Canes' defense and scored on a breakaway to put Toronto ahead, 7-6.
An empty-net goal with 1:40 left in regulation sealed a wild win for the Leafs.
"We bounced back, but in the third period, I just don't know what happened there," Necas said.
4. Everything in Between
It started with a simple shift.
The Canes finally got a buzz going in the first period with a strong shift from the trio of Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Staal and Warren Foegele. Staal had a couple of good looks, and though the Canes didn't get on the board, that shift helped take back some momentum. One shift at a time.
The penalty kill, victimized for two goals earlier in the frame, got one back later in the period when Brock McGinn scored on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush to get the Canes on the board.
