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Goaltending a Massive Problem In Toronto Maple Leafs Huge Win

By Stephen Nixon

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 29: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs attempts to make a shot on goal against Alex Nedeljkovic #39 and Marc Staal #18 of the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of the game at Little Caesars Arena on January 29, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 29: Ilya Mikheyev #65 of the Toronto Maple Leafs attempts to make a shot on goal against Alex Nedeljkovic #39 and Marc Staal #18 of the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of the game at Little Caesars Arena on January 29, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs played their craziest game of the season thus far, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 10-7 on Saturday Night.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs game starting at 7:30PM, instead of 7:00PM on Hockey Night in Canada, you knew things were going to be weird.

After winning 7-4 and 5-4 in their previous two match-up’s against Detroit, you’d think that both sides would have tightened up defensively, but it was the complete opposite. For 60 minutes, it was chaos and both teams scored at will.

It may have been one of the most fun games of the season, but it also highlighted a few negative aspects of the team right now.

Toronto Maple Leafs Win By 3, But It Was Far From Perfect

Before we get to the negatives, let’s speak about one positive.

The Toronto Maple Leafs first-line proved why they’re one of the best in hockey. Mitch Marner (4  goals, 2 assists), Michael Bunting (1 goal, 4 assists) and Auston Matthews (1 goal, 3 assists) combined for six goals and 15 points, dominating the entire game from start-to-finish.

Although Marner and Matthews were brilliant, their captain (and second highest-paid player) was not.

Despite scoring 10 goals as a team, Tavares didn’t register a point. After starting the season so hot, Tavares’ game has fallen off a cliff.

Tavares hasn’t scored a goal since January 29th and the fact that he couldn’t even score against Detroit last night is worrisome. He needs to break out of this slump immediately because the Leafs cannot afford for him to be cold when the playoffs start.

Speaking of cold, the Leafs goaltending is ice-cold.

Is Jack Campbell hurt? There’s no way he can be this bad, if he doesn’t have a nagging injury, right?

The Leafs were well on their way to victory with a huge lead, but because of Campbell’s terrible performance, the Red Wings came back and almost tied it. His brutal night got him pulled and Petr Mrazek wasn’t much better in relief, but thank goodness the Leafs scored 10 goals or they could have let his one slip away.

Similar to Tavares, Mrazek and Campbell are seemingly broken right now, which is a huge issue as this team pushes forward towards the playoffs.

Next. Dream Trade Options for Leafs. dark

From an entertainment perspective, that was one of the most fun games you can ever watch, and you can’t be too mad when the Toronto Maple Leafs win. However, despite the victory, they need to clean-up a ton of issues that were on full-display last night.

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