The Toronto Maple Leafs showed their weaknesses once again on Thursday night in a 6-5 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks.
In what was easily one of their worst performances of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs were lucky to gain a point against one of the bottom-feeders in the NHL The San Jose Sharks arguably have nothing to play for, and would be better suited losing, but they found a way to beat the Leafs who desperately needed a win.
When you're fighting for the Atlantic Divisoin against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, you need to win every game that you're favorited in. I know it's a road game and it's tough going east-to-west but this isn't a casual trip to California: this is a business trip.
The three-game road-trip versus San Jose, LA and Anaheim used to be the hardest one in hockey, but it's now a breeze, and it felt like that's how the Leafs treated this game. They saw a team that was much worse than them and played down to their standards, ultimately missing out on what could be a much-needed point.
I'll give this team credit that they forced overtime after two late goals in the third period, but the Leafs never should have been in that situation. After losing a 2-0 lead in the third period to the Sharks on March 3rd, the Leafs should have learned their lesson and stomped the Sharks 6-0, like any other great team, but they weren't ready for a 10:30PM EST start.
Toronto Maple Leafs always lose games they should win
It's games like this that will be the difference at the end of the season and only gaining two of four points against the Sharks is unnaceptable. When the Panthers last played in San Jose, they won the game 7-2, sweeping the season series, which is what the Leafs should have done.
When you look at this team, this game against San Jose could end up being a micocosm of not only the season, but the history of the Auston Matthews Era. The team's top-six scored four goals and registered 11 points as a group, yet it wasn't good enough to win. The team's defense allowed 35 shots on net, forcing Joseph Woll to be perfect, which he clearly wasn't.
Toronto's team has always been focused on offense and even when they bring it, it's usually not good enough to win. Unless this team gets a rockstar performance from their goalie, then they're in trouble, which is a scary thought as we get ready for the playoffs.
Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz are fine goaltenders, but they are not Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky. As a team, you can trust Vasilveskiy and Bobrovsky and almost play freely knowing that they'll stop almost any puck, but with the Leafs don't have the advantage of a playoff-tested Cup winning goalie.
Goaltending and defense will always be the most important part to a hockey team, yet this organization continues to be focused on four offensive superstars, who can't beat a terrible Sharks team when they need it most.
I know it's just a regular season game and the Leafs could still win the Atlantic Division, but as always, we should have zero trust in this team when the playoffs start because even when their best are performing, it's still not good enough.