Toronto Maple Leafs: When a Loss Is Really a Win

The Toronto Maple Leafs faced off last night against the NHL’s best team (by the standings) and should feel very good about their performance.

Sure, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost, but did they?

They hit four goal posts before the third period even started.

They almost put 50 shots on net.

They were playing the NHL’s “best” team (in quotations because the Leafs, who have only played two or three games so far with their optimal lineup and quite clearly have the best roster in the NHL) and they controlled almost 60% of the game.

I don’t think I am wrong to say that maybe that was the Leafs best game of the season so far.

It was certainly the most fun game to watch – end to end action, sweet plays, beauty saves……and hockey’s two best teams going at it.  I loved this game.  I wish the Leafs won, but it’s a good time to point out that victories are pretty random.

Deserve vs Reality

The best team doesn’t always win.  And last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs were the best team, by far.

Four goal posts.  At least five saves by Vasilevskiy that should have been in, a phantom goal for the Leafs and a no-goal phantom goal that they didn’t get credit for.

At even-strength, the Leafs outshot Tampa 31-16.  That’s a paddlin’.

High danger scoring chances: 12-5 for the Leafs.

And the Leafs power-play – although it’s the best in the NHL – is 1 for their last 18 (which is nothing but a bad run. What can you do?)

I will take this performance every night.  If it takes a 50 save performance, a short handed goal, four goal posts and a “goal” that was actually a sweet glove save in order to lose, I’m fine with that.

Even the Bruins game on Saturday looked much worse by the final score than it actually was.

I know a lot of people are only going to look at the final scores and use them to make some horribly dishonest narratives (Leafs can’t handle top teams, Leafs not tough enough etc) but we can rest assured that that is completely false.

Faced with a tough test, the Leafs destroyed their opposition.  They just happened to have one of those games where the other team’s goalie stops everything.

Mitch Marner and Johnny T combined for 11 shots and could have personally combined for six goals if there was any justice in the world.

And if I have to hear about Nyander’s give away, I want to hear about the twice-as-bad one done by Kucherov.

The Lightning scored two goal in the final minute of the second, and the game went to the dressing room with them up 4-1.  But if the scoreboard read 8-1 Leafs, that would have been a more accurate representation of the game played to that point.

The Toronto Maple Leafs just kicked the crap out of  the so-called best team in the NHL and lost because of a series of unlucky events.

They should be extremely proud of their effort.

stats from naturalstattrick.com