The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost five games in a row and it feels like the world is ending.
Bad things happen in threes and the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently experiencing that. At first it was a terrible power-play, followed by bad goaltending, but now it’s injury concerns.
Three things that can’t happen are currently happening and thank goodness the team is going through these pains in April and not May.
The only thing that matters to the Leafs this season is the playoffs. The 56-game regular season is a just a dress rehearsal for the big performance in the spring. After failing to win a playoff series since 2004, the pressure to win is at an all-time high, especially since the Leafs are favored to do so.
In previous seasons, it’s been a toss-up on whether or not Toronto should win. In Auston Matthews’ rookie season, the Leafs were a huge underdog to Washington, but pushed them to six games. Then, in back-to-back campaigns against Boston, the Leafs once again couldn’t secure home-ice advantage, which cost them, as they lost to the Bruins in consecutive Game 7’s.
Toronto was the favorite to win the series against Columbus last year, and if it wasn’t for one of the unluckiest shooting percentages in NHL history, the team would have cruised in the playoffs.
So although the playoff losses seem like an issue, they’ve faced a superior opponent in round one every year and were a few bounces away from defeating the Blue Jackets last year.
Leafs Are Not in Trouble Right Now
The Toronto Maple Leafs are still first in the North Division, which is hard to believe. What’s even harder to believe is that this team only has 13 regulation losses in 46 regular season games.
That’s incredibly impressive, considering the fact that Leafs Nation is getting very anxious heading into the playoffs. So, although goaltending is a problem, the power-play can’t score and injuries are piling up, why shouldn’t there be a cause for concern?
Well, first and foremost, what David Rittich did on Tuesday night is not going to happen again this year. He’s the third-string goalie and he’s not going to be in net much more this season, especially after that performance. With only one back-to-back game left, we hopefully saw our last, or second last, game of Rittich’s career in the blue-and-white.
Jack Campbell is going to get the net moving forward and has shown that he can be a legit No. 1 netminder. Also, who knows what’s happening with Freddie Andersen, but the fact that he was on the ice recently, makes me believe that he’ll be ready to go for the playoffs. If Andersen continues to stay on LTIR, it helps the salary-cap, so if they wait until the playoffs to activate him, they’ll be able to maximize their salary-cap as much as possible, which seems like a smart strategy.
But what about the power-play, Stephen? How are you not freaking about a power-play that has three goals since March 11? Well, it’s pretty simple. This trend is not going to continue to happen. The Toronto Maple Leafs have four of the best offensive players in the NHL and that percentage is going to get back to normal soon.
Last but not least, is the injury concerns. Obviously, the Andersen injury is tough, but he’ll most likely be back for the playoffs. If he’s not, at least Campbell can step up. In terms of the other players, the Zach Hyman and Zach Bogosian injury hurt, but fortunately for this roster, they have more depth than anyone.
Nick Foligno will be here soon and will be a perfect replacement for Hyman. His work-ethic is very similar to Hyman’s and he’ll be able to produce just like him, if he’s paired with Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
The Bogosian injury stings, because he’s been a great bottom-pair defenseman all season, who brings a different element to the blue-line. However, the offense is going to get a lot better in his absence. Rasmus Sandin looked fantastic against Vancouver on Tuesday night, so he’ll be able to slide into the bottom-pair beside Travis Dermott nicely.
You’d obviously prefer to have rock-solid goaltending, a perfect power-play and zero injuries, but that’s not how professional sports work. If things aren’t going to fire on all cylinders, you’d much rather have it happen in the regular season, than the playoffs, so this shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
Every team needs to face adversity during a championship-run, so these current troubling times will only bring a positive future.