Toronto Maple Leafs First Round Exit Should Sting Even More Now

The Toronto Maple Leafs should feel sick to their stomachs right now after the Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers booked their ticket to the Conference Finals.

Losing in the First Round is never fun, but it stings even more when you watch your opposition sweep the next team they play in the Second Round. You never know what would have happened if the Toronto Maple Leafs played the Florida Panthers, but I’m sure it would have been a similar result.

We all laughed when Sheldon Keefe spoke about how the Lightning said that their series against the Leafs was one of their toughest playoff match-up’s in years.

It was frustrating to hear Keefe praise the fact that they got a respectful handshake after losing, but after seeing what Tampa just did to Florida, maybe the Lightning actually meant it.

Winning is incredibly hard in the NHL Playoffs, but the Leafs should be kicking themselves for not getting past the Lightning. One more win and Toronto would be dancing their way past Florida and building confidence towards the Conference Finals.

Similarly, Kyle Dubas and company should be frustrated watching the Oilers find their way to the Conference Finals because they’re a much worse team than the Leafs, but their superstars led them to the Final Four.

Toronto Maple Leafs Should Feel Even Worse Now

In 12 playoff games, both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have seven goals and 26 points. They have single-handedly put the team on their backs and they’re showing the entire hockey community that they’re the best duo in hockey.

Sorry, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but you’re nothing compared to Draisaitl and McDavid.

Both Matthews and Marner were above a point per-game in the First Round, but they didn’t go above and beyond to help their team win the First Round. When the game mattered the most, neither of them scored a game-winning goal or willed their team to victory, similarly to how McDavid did against the Calgary Flames.

The Flames vs. Oilers match-up is pretty equivalent to the Montreal Canadiens vs. Leafs match-up last year, yet both Marner and Matthews disappeared there too. When it was go-time to close out a series, neither Matthews or Marner scored a game-winning goal.

But you know who did in the Oilers series?

Connor McDavid.

The best player in the world showed why he has that nickname and proved to the rest of the hockey world, that nobody is better than him.

Matthews had a chance to put the team on his back and become a god in this city, but instead he stayed quiet. He should have been the player who scored a Game 6 overtime winner to lead the Leafs to the Second Round, but he couldn’t get the job done.

Watching the Lightning continue to dominate the league, while the Oilers are in the Conference Finals with Mike Smith as their goalie should frustrate the crap out of the Leafs and their fans.

The Leafs are as good as Tampa and better than the Oilers, but instead of playing far into the playoffs, they’re stuck playing golf, which seems to be their favorite pastime over the last 20 years this time of the year.