Another week has gone by in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ season, and things have gotten much worse. Injuries have continued to pile up, and so have the losses. Going forward, this team needs some kind of confidence boost. Last week, the Maple Leafs went 1–1–1 through three games. The one victory they got was a boring game that was finished by a beautiful overtime winner from William Nylander. Unfortunately, it did not feel like a complete effort; not many have this year. Let’s take a look at what all went down last week.
Injuries are never-ending
This franchise has simply been cursed with injuries this season. Throughout the last week, the injury list has been as long as it’s ever been this season. The following Leafs have dealt with recent injuries:
- Brandon Carlo
- Chris Tanev
- Anthony Stolarz
- Nicolas Roy
- Auston Matthews
- Jake McCabe
- Matthew Knies
The injury bug has simply been unbelievable to start the season. At least guys like Jake McCabe and Matthew Knies are only day-to-day. McCabe left Saturday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens after he took a puck to the face in the second period. This marked the third top-four defenceman to get injured on the Leafs. Another recent injury was when forward Matthew Knies was announced to have a lower-body injury. This must have happened last Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, as Knies has not appeared since that game. His power forward presence was severely missed last week, because the offence had very little drive. On the small bright side, Scott Laughton returned to action Thursday night against the Blue Jackets.
Is this team doomed with their injury problems?
Trouble on the back end
The injury to Tanev may have a greater impact than people think. Without his defensive presence, this team cannot keep the puck out of its net. As of right now, the Leafs have the highest goals against per game average in the entire NHL. They allow an average of 3.73 goals a game, which can be tough to go up against when the team’s best scorer is injured. Funny enough, the Leafs have the fifth-highest goals for per game average in the NHL. This just helps bring to light that the offence has been acceptable, but it cannot outscore their defensive problems. The only other team that has given up more goals against this season are the Edmonton Oilers.
Going forward, this team needs to find a way to help out its goalies. On Saturday night, it was awful to watch Joseph Woll get peppered so much by a rival team. Woll faced seventeen shots in the second period as the Leafs got continually hemmed in their own zone. It was evidently frustrating for Woll as he let out some frustration when he yelled at the referee after his mask fell off. Craig Berube had seen enough of this when he pulled him after Josh Anderson scored. This, unfortunately, did not swing any momentum in the game, as they got embarrassed by their most famous rival.
To finish out the week, the Leafs now officially sit in last place in the Eastern Conference.
The schedule ahead
Next week, the road trip continues. The Leafs will appear in three games, all against opponents in the Metropolitan Division. Games against the Blue Jackets, Capitals, and Penguins will all be serious challenges with the way this season has gone. They recently lost to the Blue Jackets in overtime as Adam Fantilli walked around the team to score a beautiful goal. The Leafs also lost the first game against them 6–3, which was another disgusting effort (which nearly finished 6–1). This will thankfully be the last game against the Blue Jackets this season. If this team wants to win, they need to learn how to play a full sixty-minute game.
The other two games against the Capitals and Penguins have a little more optimism on the Leafs’ side. It will be the first of three meetings on Friday against the Capitals, who are another team that has been very mediocre to start the season. The game against the Penguins is in the Leafs’ favour because they recently had a legendary comeback against them. This was the last fun game to watch as the Leafs scored four straight goals in the third period to win. Auston Matthews and William Nylander sparked this comeback before Bobby McMann finished it off.
It is tough to stay confident in this group because it feels like they are real pretenders this season. Without Marner, it feels like the offence has just gone to waste. This roster currently lacks the enthusiasm, grit, and tenacity to bring any kind of hope for the fans. If things keep going this badly, the Leafs could easily miss the playoffs and be in the hunt for a top-end draft pick. Have you given up on this team? Or are they yet to find their stride this season?
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