This team really never does fail to disappoint…for every other NHL fanbase, that is. The Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 OT loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 3 all but cements their Stanley Cup hopes as they now face the dreaded 3-0 deficit.
I really didn’t expect to take back almost every good thing I said about this Maple Leafs team in the span of two weeks, but here we are.
So, as I said, the Toronto Maple Leafs are truly allergic to success and victory as after breaking their 19-yearlong 1st Round playoff curse by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2, they followed that great performance with 3 straight losses to the Florida Panthers as they face elimination in Game 4. All Maple Leafs fans must be really proud of this “different-feeling” team now, right?
Okay, I’ll put aside the sarcasm for now as I actually do feel bad for the good, honest, and humble Maple Leafs fans. That very slim majority (sorry, Maple Leaf fanbase, but you know it’s true) doesn’t deserve to be tortured by this cowardly, phony, pathetic team plagued with one of the most obnoxiously overhyped, overvalued franchise cores in NHL history. Yes, I’m saying it now, this Maple Leafs team needs to be BLOWN UP.
How do you follow 6-straight years of hilariously bad 1st round failures (2017 vs. Caps, 2018 vs. Bruins, 2019 vs. Bruins, 2020 vs. Blue Jackets, 2021 vs. Habs, 2022 vs. TBL) with one of the single most pathetic showings in the 2nd round since…the Florida Panthers’ 2022 meltdown (isn’t it funny how this works out)?
Oh, I know how, you rely on Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander to win a very important, must-win hockey game.
I was reluctant to talk about this in my last few articles as I would have sounded quite bitter about the Bruins losing in the 1st round and the Leafs winning, but the Leafs were extremely lucky to win that series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And I mean extremely lucky.
Yes, they played great and showed the fight a team that has averaged a 2nd place Atlantic division (a division that includes the likes of the Bruins, Bolts, Habs, and Panthers) ranking these last seven years should have, but they went 3-0 in overtime against the Bolts and stole two games (GM. 3 and GM. 6) where they were outshot by over 10 shots.
Winning all three overtime games against any team, let alone the former 3X Eastern Conference champion, is almost impossible, while relying on your goalie to bail you out of games when you get outshot by 10+ shots is like playing the NHL playoffs version of Russian Roulette. That series could have easily of been a 4-2 Lightning victory just as much as it was a 4-2 Leafs triumph, so the warning signs of this series getting ugly where there.
Nevertheless, I expected the Leafs to win at least 2 of the first 5 games against the Panthers, and not find themselves in a situation where they waited 19 years to just win a single playoff game more than usual.
But, when you have Auston “The 60-goal scorer” Matthews (2 assists), Mitch “The Selke Finalist” Marner (1 assist), John “The Curse-Breaker” Tavares (0 PTS), and William “I’m Actually A Decent Playoff Performer, But Not In This Series” Nylander (1 assist), you should expect nothing less than utter catastrophe.
Perhaps I’m being a little too harsh with these nicknames, but how many years can you constantly come up short in the big moments before these nicknames are deserved?
Matthews has been a ghost in front of goal, Tavares seems to have forgotten that it’s his job to put the puck in the back of the net and not into the goalie’s chest protector, Mitch Marner honestly seems to be under the impression that’s he’s playing for the Panthers with some of his “Selke-nominated” defensive performances, and William Nylander has uncharacteristically been very quiet.
Unless the Leafs pull off only the 5th ever 0-3 comeback and win this series to shut me up for good, then two of the four players I listed need to be moved on from the organization. Along with Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe.
You can’t keep assembling roster not fit for the playoffs and only relying on the brilliance of past Stanley Cup winners, such as Ryan O’Rielly, Luke Schenn, rookies with no prior losing experience, such as Matthew Knies, and 4th liners, such as Noel Acciari, Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf, and Sam Lafferty, to win playoff series.
These are the kind of moments true stars arise and thrive in, yet that’s obviously not something we can attribute to this Leafs core.
Enjoy the extra playoff win (or two if the Leafs win Game 4), all the obnoxious, ridiculous, and annoying Maple Leafs fans, it might be the only one you get for a while.
Images Source: Featured Image:
