The Toronto Maple Leafs invented a brand new method to lose a Sport 7 and crush their followers.
Due to David Pastrnak’s objective simply two minutes into additional time on Saturday evening, the Boston Bruins have been capable of get rid of the Maple Leafs within the first spherical and set the wheels in movement for what could possibly be a chaotic offseason in Toronto.
That is the seventh first-round loss in eight years for this Maple Leafs’ core, and sooner or later, sufficient must be sufficient. Whether or not it’s a change behind the bench, main adjustments to the roster, or each, the Maple Leafs can’t preserve hoping for a special consequence with the identical course of.
The factor about this specific loss although is that this clearly was not the Maple Leafs’ finest workforce of the previous eight years. Dropping to a Boston workforce that completed forward of them within the standings and beat them in each common season assembly is not precisely an upset.
However Toronto nonetheless felt prefer it had one thing right here. It overcome a 3-1 collection deficit by profitable Video games 5 and 6 with out the companies of their finest participant, Auston Matthews. Then they received Matthews again for Sport 7 of the collection on Saturday. Additionally they stumbled upon a white-hot goalie in these two video games with Joseph Woll stopping 94 out of 96 photographs in back-to-back 2-1 wins.
That they had instantly shifted the entire strain onto a Bruins workforce that was clearly rattled and making an attempt to keep away from the embarrassment of turning into the primary main North American sports activities franchise to ever lose a 3-1 collection lead in consecutive seasons.
In a merciless twist, the Maple Leafs realized on Saturday that Woll wouldn’t be out there — whilst a backup — due to an damage he suffered late in that Sport 6 win. That despatched Ilya Samsonov, who had misplaced his beginning job earlier within the collection, again into the crease.
Then they scored the primary objective (one thing that ends in a win in 75% of the Sport 7s in NHL historical past) with below eight minutes to play in regulation.
They nonetheless discovered a method to lose.
Whereas it will be unfair to put blame on him for Saturday’s loss, his efficiency earlier within the collection actually harm.
There was additionally the truth that Toronto’s energy play was a multitude the whole collection, changing on simply 4.6 p.c of its alternatives.
That helped end in an offense that scored greater than two targets simply as soon as within the collection and by no means scored greater than three targets. Going again to final yr’s playoffs the Maple Leafs — one of many league’s highest-scoring groups within the common season — scored greater than two targets in simply 5 of their 18 playoff video games, and solely as soon as previously 14 playoff video games. That isn’t ok. That, greater than something, is what would possibly encourage change. Or ought to encourage change.
