The Toronto Maple Leafs could have a five goal lead in game-four of a series they were winning three-to-nothing and I wouldn’t be confident in their ability to close it out.
That isn’t an indication of the team, so much as this fan’s lack of confidence – because when you’e a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they don’t just lose, they gut you with the dumbest possible outcomes.
Take for example Nazem Kadri. No player is more personally responsible for the Leafs current inability to get out of the first round, and when finally forced to trade him due to his immaturity, he goes on to win the Cup.
You can’t make that up.
This is a team that managed to be the best team in 16 out of 19 games, and still lose three series.
But this year seems different – even if it’s only because the law of averages suggests the Toronto Maple Leafs will finally catch a break.
Perhaps that break came Saturday when they won their first ever playoff game (or so it seems) while being the second best team. In the years since the Boston series, when the Leafs lost to Columbus, Montreal and Tampa – they did not win a single game in which they were not clearly the better team, and that is just something you have to do if you want to win a series, let alone a Stanley Cup.
Toronto Maple Leafs Go for Third Win
A win tonight would be crucial for the Leafs, since it means they can avoid having to win a clinching game in Tampa. It would give them two shots to close out the series at home, and for this team you couldn’t ask for much more than that.
While Morgan Rielly, Ilya Samsonov, John Tavares, William Nylander and Ryan O’Reilly have all had big moments so far, the Leafs have gotten this far without a game-breaking night from Auston Matthews.
If there was ever a time for the team’s best player to step and have a career making performance, this is it.
It’s not that Matthews has been bad this series – in fact he’s been quite spectacular: He leads the team with a 59% puck-possession rating, while positing a ridiculous, and also team-leading 65% Expected Goals rating.
He has 10 shots and leads the team in individual shot attempts (20) and scoring chances.
He’s been the Leafs best player, he just hasn’t had the best results.
Still, it’s a testament to how good he is and how high expectations are that he has five points in three games, leads teh team in every non-scoring stat, and people are still questioning his play (those people aren’t exactly smartest, just the loudest).
With numbers like he has, he’s ready to explode, and the Toronto Maple Leafs can put a stranglehold on this series with a win tonight. If those two things can converge, the Leafs are home-free.