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As it stands now the Bruins have played five more games than the Maple Leafs and sit third in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are three points behind Boston and will certainly benefit from playing a quality game on Saturday and taking the two points away will help ease the pain from the three game losing streak that Toronto is in.
Last night the Leafs got off to a good start scoring that ever so important first goal of the game when Marner picked up a rebound and buried it. Unfortunately the Leafs were out battled and out worked in their zone giving up too many high quality scoring chances. A few mental lapses with weak coverage from both the forwards and defense led to the Blues capitalizing. Obviously Babcock and his coaching staff will have to give some words of wisdom to minimize the number of high quality chances. The Leafs were playing their best hockey when everyone was on the same page, keeping the shots to the outside and were doing a better job at tying up the player in front of their net.
I’ve never been a fan of playing a team after they fired their coach. It just seems the players step it up a notch to impress their new coach and hopefully gain a spot in his heart for future considerations. In last night’s case it was the Blues who kicked it up a notch and especially Jake Allen who has been horrendous this year. It seems as if he and Hitchcock were so disgruntle with each other that it was affecting Allen’s game and ultimately they picked their young goalie over a shelf-life coach like big Hitchcock.
It may be a tough stretch for the Leafs and more line shuffling may be in order. As much as Babcock wants to keep Matthews and Marner separated; it may only be a matter of time before he gives them another shot together. When the Leafs were getting shred by Dallas earlier in the week it was quite the pleasure watching Toronto’s two elite rookies make some plays together. They so badly want to play together and have been dangerous when doing so; keep an eye out for some changes if this difficult phase continues for Toronto.
I really do believe it’s just a hiccup in the season as the Leafs have their first three game losing streak in regulation. It was bound to happen eventually as every team in the NHL has their ups and downs. What’s important is what the Leafs do now and how they respond in Boston with a crucial game against the Bruins.
It goes without saying that the Leafs will be looking to improve their defense through a promotion from the Marlies, a quality free agent signing or a trade that brings in a reliable defender who can chew up some quality minutes and make life difficult in front of the Leafs net.
So far so good in Leafs land in terms of making any irrational decisions. Patience is the key to a proper rebuild and of course jumping on a deal that is too juicy to pass up. That time of the year is approaching and there may be some activity brewing. When things are quiet in Toronto it seems that Lamoriello is up to something, whether it be big or small as long as it’s forward progress for the Leafs of the future then we should all be happy. This team is being built one day at a time and no shortcuts have been made to appease the media or fans.
Marlies upgrade for 2017-18: Andrew Nielsen
Free agent upgrade for 2017-18: Kevin Shattenkirk
Trade upgrade for 2017-18: Jacob Trouba or Hampus Lindholm
Everyone has their own wants; but I feel any of these additions would help the Maple Leafs moving forward. Of course when it comes to a trade, it all depends on what you have to give to get.
Let’s hope the Leafs are sniffing the salt bag on Saturday night and come out the gates with the guns a blazing.
I don’t think I’m ready to deal with another loss, especially against Boston!
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend.
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