4 Things the Toronto Maple Leafs Must Do to Overcome the Bruins
By David Agnew
Try to Remember This Is Not Tuesday Night Beer League
Judging by some of the dumb mistakes made by various Toronto Maple Leafs in this somewhat important NHL Stanley Cup Playoff series, one might be forgiven for thinking we were watching industrial leaguers taking out their frustrations on each other on a cold January weeknight.
Tyler Bertuzzi, I’m looking at you. We all know Brad Marchand is a pain in the butt, but you can’t swing your stick at him, no matter how good it feels. A 50% penalty kill doesn’t allow anyone any gratuitous violence.
Max Domi, you’re in the doghouse too. Sure, it’s fun throwing those post-whistle jabs and accidentally knocking over Boston goalies during commercial breaks. But let me say it again – 50% penalty kill. If Ryan Reaves can control himself, you can too.
Simon Benoit, your physical play is awesome, keep it up. On a separate note, arena boards are about 4 feet high, and the glass on top of them is another 8 feet or so. Add those numbers up and you get 12 feet. When shooting the puck out of your end (under no pressure), please try to keep the puck at a maximum height of 11 feet (that 50% penalty kill thing, again).
The key here is to focus. FO-CUS. Before every shift, simply tell yourself on the bench, “I have 45 seconds to go out there, work my butt off, don’t do anything stupid, and return to the bench”.
Boston has scored 5 powerplay goals in 3 games, and that fact is killing Toronto’s chances of winning the series.