The Leafs are an injured hockey team right now and no one will deny that. They had shown signs of life in their last few games, despite the result not always reflecting it, but a 4-0 defeat midway through the second period is unforgivable when you’re in the Maple Leafs’ position, as Martin St. Louis would probably say about the Habs if it had happened the other way around.
Joseph Woll was withdrawn after allowing four goals on 25 shots, but it was far from his fault. He might want some of the goals he allowed back, but the team seemingly stopped skating after the Canadiens scored their first goal. The second period was even worse, as usual this season, to the point where the Leafs had a pathetically low 9% expected goals (xG) rating. Whether you’re an analytics fan or not, you can recognize that around a 0% chance of scoring goals isn’t exactly ideal.
The Leafs are now at a point where they will have to decide if they are willing to go the extra mile to prove they are still a playoff team, let alone a Cup contender. The Atlantic Division, and frankly the Eastern Conference, are as wide open as they’ve ever been, and expecting the other teams to falter and gift them a spot in the Top 3 might as well be a tanking strategy.
The injuries haven’t helped at all, but they haven’t performed well enough while healthy to give themselves the benefit of the doubt. The ball is in their court, and with the pressure mounting every game and five straight games to go, they are running out of time to figure out what kind of team they are.
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