Erik Kallgren allows a goal (Roy K. Miller, Getty Images)
Well, that happened.
The Leafs fluffed a chance to scare their likely playoff opponents, getting utterly steamrolled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Here are my 5 takeaways from Toronto's most embarrassing loss of the season...so far.
1. Heartbreak Incoming
Tampa Bay's victory against the Leafs combined with the Boston Bruins' shutout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins assured what was essentially an inevitability: the Lightning will be facing the Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. If last night was anything to go off of, the Leafs are in for a world of pain.
It's undoubtedly been a resounding success for the Leafs in the regular season, but unfortunately the NHL playoff format has screwed them over. It is simply outrageous that the Leafs (the 3rd best team in the NHL by points) are matched up with the back-to-back Cup champs, while the Edmonton Oilers and the LA Kings are likely to play each other in the weak Pacific Division.
As you may expect, watching every game and reporting on it after creates a connection between myself and this team. It's depressing, but I've probably spent close to 270 hours this season doing Leafs-related activities, whether it be watching the games or doing the takeaways.
While a first-round exit wouldn't make almost 11 whole days of this worthless, there would definitely be a sense that I had wasted my time. Heck, I've probably wasted my life cheering on this team. It's perfectly simple to just start cheering for another team. But I've always had hope, even after the 2013 choke to Boston, even after the Mike Babcock era brought nothing, even after this team threw away a winnable series against the Montreal Canadiens. Yet another first-round loss could be the nail in the coffin.
While I do still believe that this team is building and are going in the right direction, it is going to sting when they are eliminated by a Tampa Bay team that reach an unstoppable level in the postseason.
At the end of the day, this Tampa Bay team has lots of issues. They are beatable. They have 99 problems, but Toronto 8-1.
2. Special Teams Woes
Over the last 6 games, Toronto's power play, their biggest strength this season, has gone 3 for 30, or a 10% success rate. Obviously, they've been missing Auston Matthews in some of those games, but that's still an atrocious mark. A unit with Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly should still find success, and they simply are not doing so.
More concerning is the penalty kill. The Leafs conceded 4 goals while shorthanded against Tampa. That likely won't happen in a playoff series, but this is the culmination of what has been a shakier unit lately. You could argue that not many of the penalties were warranted, but the scary thing was yet another too-many-men penalty, marking Toronto's NHL-high 14th bench minor.
On the season as a whole, the Leafs' special teams have been their greatest asset. Dean Chynoweth and Spencer Carbery have completely transformed this team. If Toronto was to pull off the upset and kill the giant, they will need the penalty kill and power play to excel. Right now, that simply isn't happening.
3. Fourth Line Becoming a Concern
The NHL is a constantly-changing sport. Literally two days ago, I was praising the fourth line for finally finding their groove, but now I'm very worried about the trio. Whomever makes up Toronto's bottom-six will need to assure that they don't make obvious mistakes, like taking penalties. They must have a positive impact against their opponent's units.
The fourth line of Kyle Clifford, Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds struggled mightily against Tampa's deep forward corps. The trio took several unnecessary penalties, of which a couple led to power play goals against. According to Joshua Kloke, the Leafs' fourth line has had a sub-50 expected goals for percentage in each of Toronto's four games against the Lightning this season. That can't continue. Top-heavy offense is not a sustainable method of success in today's NHL. The Leafs will need their depth guys to chip in.
4. Liljegren and Lybushkin Throwing Away Opportunities
Though I am of the mindset that both these two defensemen warrant a couple of games in the first round of the playoffs, they both seem to be actively showing why many Leafs fans are skeptical of the D-corps.
Lyubushkin has been very careless with the puck lately. His giveaways in the defensive zone have consistently been leading to scoring chances against. He needs to learn a bit of responsibility to assure himself a spot in Toronto's postseason lineup.
For Liljegren, his inability to mark players in front of the net is a problem. The shots that have troubled Jack Campbell the most this season have been tip-ins. Players like Lyubushkin and Mark Giordano have both improved the Leafs' net front presence. However, if Keefe wants to rely on his young blueliner, Liljegren needs to learn from his peers and stop his opponents from getting free deflections on the puck. Tampa's first goal, scored by Alex Killorn, was directly on Liljegren, who failed to tie up Killorn.
5. Stamkos Breaks Franchise Record
Steven Stamkos is one of the biggest "what if" stories in modern NHL history. Whether it be the blood clot or the broken leg, Stamkos has missed so many games in the prime of his career. He absolutely could have established himself as one of the league's premier players on a consistent basis.
Despite Stamkos' poor injury luck, he has persevered and been very successful at the highest level of hockey. On Thursday night, "Stammer" scored his 954th, 955th and 956th NHL points, to become the Tampa Bay Lightning's all-time leading scorer. Consider where the Markham native would be if he never faced injuries. He'd be at 1000 points surely.
Either way, the former first overall pick has two Stanley Cups, two Rocket Richard trophies as well as the point and goal records for the Lightning. That's a first ballot Hall of Fame career if you ask me. At 32, he still has time to add to his total.
ALL STATS COURTESY OF MONEYPUCK AND EVOLVING HOCKEY
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED
Comments
Post a Comment