![]() Īre they toast? I’m not ready to say that because if there’s one thing about this Leafs team, it’s that it’s completely unpredictable - and so as insurmountable as a 3-0 series deficit might look, nothing would shock me. The Leafs probably don't deserve to be down 3-0 in the series, but they definitely deserved tonight's loss.Ī few players stepped up, but the majority of their best players were not their best players. That doesn’t seem to be a recipe for a Stanley Cup run. They’ve got only one win in regulation and have managed to score only 10 goals in their past five games. The reality is that despite winning that first-round series with the Lightning, the Leafs haven’t found their top gear often enough and certainly not in a consistent manner in the playoffs. The opening minutes of the second period in Game 2 on Thursday were, to use Sheldon Keefe’s words, “baffling.” And they looked tentative in Game 3.Īt such a big moment in their season, where’s the swagger?Īren’t all these playoff scars supposed to add up at some point? And let’s give the Panthers the utmost respect and credit for what they’ve done - a six-game playoff win streak that began against the 65-win Bruins and has continued over a deep Leafs team slotted by the Vegas bookmakers as Cup favorites coming into the second round.īut the Leafs haven’t looked freed of anything. ![]() There was a widely held belief that this talented, unburdened Leafs team would be a rather dangerous outfit. Weren’t those supposed to go away after the Leafs slayed their first-round playoff demons against Tampa Bay? The Leafs are on the brink, and some of their same old playoff issues are rearing their ugly heads again. With their season on the line, the Maple Leafs’ biggest stars failed to deliver - again: Īnd so here we are. Marner, Mathews, Tavares and William Nylander haven’t scored in the series. Marner, in particular, struggled Sunday, and while Matthews had a few moments - we’ll never know how the game might have changed if his early-game post had been a goal - the big guys just didn’t do enough. Read more: Lessons for the Maple Leafs from NHL players who came back from a 3-0 deficitĪ night earlier, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid delivered, making sure the Oilers didn’t fall behind 2-0 in their series with the Golden Knights, because that’s what you need from your top players at this time of year. What’s even more troubling is that, with so much on the line, the Leafs’ top offensive players were essentially nonfactors. ![]() ![]() It’s not just that they lost in the biggest game of their season. One by one, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews talked solemnly about focusing on the next game and trying to bring the series back to Toronto. ![]()
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