This piece would’ve looked a lot different had I sat down to write it yesterday morning instead of this morning. Waking up on Saturday morning, the Leafs had just given up a two-goal lead to the Washington Capitals. They were sitting second last in the East, six points out of the second wild card spot, and were absolutely falling apart.
This Sunday morning, the Leafs just dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins, sit second last in the East, four points out of the second wild card spot, and are… oh.
Leafs Nation is notoriously unstable. The old meme in the community that the parade gets planned and cancelled based on which zone the puck is currently in rings true most of the time. And so it is with this in mind that we analyze the current state of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Best game of the season?
The Leafs played a mostly complete game last night (the first five-ish minutes were a little shaky). All four lines were rolling, and every single one contributed to the final score. That Auston Matthews goal I think healed something in me. I missed that sweet drag and patented release. And how about the third line, eh? They were forechecking hard, never gave up on the play, and it paid off massively.
Yes, we have to mention that Pittsburgh couldn’t buy a save last night, and Dennis Hildeby stood on his head, but that wasn’t the whole story. The Leafs played a structured, heavy kind of hockey that we have been waiting for all season.
Look, everything is not sunshine and rainbows all of a sudden in Leafsland. We are still second last in the East. The very thin silver lining is that we’re only four points out of the second wild card, and only nine points out of first in the East, but the standings are starting to stretch out. The season is not over by any means, but the train needs to get back on the track very soon. Hopefully, this Pittsburgh game was a reminder of this team’s potential.
Toronto still struggling
There are still worrying signs; the Leafs are giving up a large volume of shots against while not putting up that many of their own. We can’t rely on our goalies to continue to play lights out while expecting the opposing team to let in beach balls.
Injuries continue to be an issue, with OEL leaving last night’s game. Craig Berube afterwards said that OEL told William Nylander he was OK and that Craig hopes it’s not serious. Translated into layman’s terms, flip a coin to give you the odds he plays on Tuesday. Anthony Stolarz is currently missing from the face of the earth. Benoit and McCabe both couldn’t go last night. Tanev and Carlo are a ways away. This team is hurting.
Leafs running out of time
Where do we go from here? The only acceptable way is up, really. The Pittsburgh game was a good start, but it did come on the heels of two rough performances in Columbus and Washington. Winning on Saturday night, especially in the way they did, certainly put me in a better mood this Sunday and took some of the sting out of the awful slushy snow that fell here in Toronto last night. But I’m still jaded, I’m still cynical, and this is still a “what did you do for me lately” type of fandom. Lately, the Leafs didn’t ruin my Saturday night. They have an opportunity to repeat that performance on Tuesday.
Coming up, the Leafs have four important games. Three are against divisional rivals, all of whom are above them in the standings, and the last is against Carolina, a very good playoff team. Should the Leafs take all six points against Florida, Montreal, and Tampa, the season is right back on track. Should they drop all those contests, well, Brad better glue his cell phone to his ear.
It’s put up or shut up time for the Toronto Maple Leafs (not that it hasn’t been for many years at this point). Once again, we ask the question, the answer to which we are scared we already know: will the Leafs rise to the occasion, or crumble under the pressure?
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