Toronto Maple Leafs (Twitter.com)
Leafs fans truly can never experience a moment of peace.
A thriller of a game, including multiple blown leads, finally ended after an Ilya Mikheyev game-winning goal with 3 minutes remaining.
Here are my 5 takeaways from the Leafs' win against the St. Louis Blues.
1. I'm Not Ready to be Hurt Again
The motto of Leafs Nation is "I'm ready to be hurt again." I'm going to be honest: I'm not.
Everybody knows that cheering for the Leafs is one of the most difficult things in hockey. You have to expect the most unlikely scenario every time they hit the ice. But watching the Leafs games lately has made me so paranoid that I can barely go about my everyday life without expecting the worst.
As soon as the Leafs went up 3-1 in the first period, I knew that the Blues would eventually take the lead during the game. Naturally, they did.
From the second period onward, this felt like a must-win playoff game. The atmosphere in Missouri was electric and you could've convinced me that we were in the postseason. The simple fact that a regular season away game brought me that much worry just makes me horrified for when the team eventually loses in the first round this spring.
Whether it be against the Tampa Bay Lightning, two-time reigning Cup Champs, the Florida Panthers, who have scored 16 goals in their last 2 games, or the Boston Bruins, who have a little history with Toronto. All I know is that when the Leafs are eliminated, it's going to be devastating for me.
2. Marner's Return
In Mitch Marner's first game back since January 5, he provided the spark that the Leafs needed to eventually win the hockey game. He showcased his underrated defensive prowess to strip Oskar Sundqvist of the puck and rip it into the top-shelf. His creative playmaking allowed Auston Matthews to equalize with a power play goal in the third period. The Leafs need Marner to continue to step up.
He's one of their best penalty killing forwards, a perfect complement to Auston Matthews, and overall just a really good player.
The Leafs' forward corps becomes an unbalanced mess in his absence and although you can bemoan his lack of playoff success, the Leafs have always been a better team with him in the lineup.
3. Defense by Offense
The Leafs were objectively atrocious on defense tonight. They left the slot way too open, often lost their man, and were overall just very loose in their own zone. Jack Campbell had one of his worst performances of the season, struggling to bail out the constant defensive miscues. Luckily, the offense was up to snuff.
The interesting part about the Blues taking advantage of the Leafs' looseness in their own zone was that the Blues defensemen had to be equally as negligent defensively. Niko Mikkola and Justin Faulk, in particular, often popped up into the Leafs' zone, trying to get an open shot or be a part of net-front goal. However, they were often caught out too deep and the two of them made a couple mistakes handling the puck in the defensive zone.
The Leafs' D corps also took that route. Liljegren and Muzzin were often fourth forwards, divebombing the Blues' players to open up some more chances.
It caused an amazing game here, but if the Leafs are to find postseason success, they need to play defense by defense.
4. A Little Luck Never Hurt
Ilya Mikheyev openly admitted that his game winner was pure luck. Not that we expected anything else. He just tossed it on net after a Marco Scandella mistake and it somehow snuck through Jordan Binnington to give the Leafs a 6-5 advantage.
The thing is that luck is not a bad thing in hockey. When you're lucky for a couple games, you're lucky for a couple months. It's one of those weird trends in hockey where you're either scoring with every shot or getting dozens of unlucky bounces every game. If the Leafs can ride this luck until the end of the season, a playoff spot should be secured in no time.
Also, a little note on Mikheyev. He now has 5 goals and 6 points in 6 games in 2022. 2 of those goals are game winners.
5. The Epic Emergence of the Blues' Young Guns
The Blues came into this season as an aging team, lacking many significant prospects. Suddenly, the Blues' roster is one of the most exciting in the NHL. Jordan Kyrou, who was the best player on the ice last night, has 5 goals and 14 points over his last 7 games. Robert Thomas is on pace for about 70 assists this season. Pavel Buchnevich, who is still just 26, has been quite possibly the best addition of the entire offseason and is making the Rangers front office look like fools. Scott Perunovich is a key part of their blueline. Ville Husso has transformed from an inconsistent third goalie to a trusted backup in just one season.
Combine that with a Stanley Cup-winning corps of Jordan Binnington, Vladimir Tarasenko, David Perron and Ivan Barbashev, and suddenly you have one of the West's best teams.
The Blues will be an annoyance to any team they face.
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