After the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the San Jose Sharks 5-2, players were visibly upset.
It was another game where the Toronto Maple Leafs took their foot off the gas pedal, which lead to the opposing team capitalizing.
Although they were tied going into the third period, it was still another rough outing.
The Sharks scored two goals in 50 seconds, and while one may have been luck — the other one wasn’t.
Two of the goals scored against the Toronto Maple Leafs started off with a point shot. Which prompted Mitch Marner to call out some players:
Mitch Marner: "Coming into this game we talked about how they have one of the best if not the best guy at getting pucks thru (Burns) & ... we need guys to get in lanes, we need guys to sacrifice for each other & that's something we're just missing. Guys need to buy-in more ..."
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 4, 2020
The Toronto Maple Leafs had 11 blocked shots against the Sharks.
To me, sending the message that, “guys need to buy-in more,” in terms of blocking shots doesn’t bring a lot of traction, but it kind of makes sense.
If you’re in the league, you’re going to block a shot no matter what. But it’s at what way you go about doing it.
Remember when Marner dived in front of two shots against the Boston Bruins in the dying seconds of the game in the playoffs last season?
I think he more or less wants to see more of that.
You need to show that you care, and if you don’t, there will be more losses.
The Toronto Maple Leafs inconsistent tendencies have shown all season long. Their young team can’t hold leads, they giveaway the puck and sometimes, you don’t even know what team you’re going to get from a night-to-night basis.
Marner’s point was basically; sometimes you have to make that extra effort — if you don’t, we won’t believe that you believe.
You also could say the reasoning behind it is that guys may be afraid to sacrifice themselves at this point of the season. With the Toronto Maple Leafs missing a few key players due to injury, some might not want to be the next player with one.
Many of factors go into making that last-second decision to dive in front of that shot. It’s a risk that at some points, players aren’t willing to make.
And that’s okay. There are other ways to show that you’ve bought in or believe in the group.
But you also have to remember that if you want to be the big player, in big moments, you might have to put your body on the line at some points.
My point? Marner is right.
If you don’t show players that you believe, how will they know? Putting your body on the line is showing that you believe, without saying much.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need more of that to cure their inconsistent woes. If not, they could go into the playoffs again, and exit in the first-round, again.