The Islanders dealt the Leafs a fairly significant setback last night, beating them 4-3 in overtime on a wicked shot by defenseman Radek Martinek. The Leafs, while walking away with a point, didn’t even deserve that. They were clearly outplayed by a younger, more aggressive team, as Leafs goalie James Reimer faced 40 shots in the loss. Aside from a brief period towards the end of the third period, the Leafs weren’t able to control the play.
The Leafs bottom two lines were able to make the most difference last night, as they were the more willing combatants in blue and white, eager to get into the dirty areas. They were rewarded for their efforts as Tim Brent finished with a goal and an assist. Colby Armstrong and Mike Brown also finished with assists. Defenseman Keith Aulie scored his first NHL goal, and Nikolai Kulemin scored his 25th of the season to tie the game late, once again going to the dirty areas and getting rewarded for his play.
What’s clearly evident at this point is that the Leafs are going to have to start playing for two points instead of one. Last night was the 11th game in their last 12 to be decided by just one goal. While the Leafs are 6-0-5 in those games, it’s clear this team is playing too tight defensively. They’ve given up the first goal of the game way too often this year, and are then forced to open up the play more to tie it up. It’s when they do open up the play more that they have had more success, and yet this team is still tentative in the early going of many games.
While many will point out that even being this close, this late in the season, is an improvement for the Leafs. The playoffs would just be an ‘added bonus’ to what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. However, this team has proven that it has what it takes. It can hang with good teams, it can beat bad teams, but only every player applies themselves. Nothing frustrates a fan more than inconsistent effort, and now is the worst possible time for the Leafs to be inconsistent.
With 15 games remaining in the schedule, a 90 point benchmark would mean the Leafs can only afford to lose 4 more games, or a total of 8 more points. While there are many other factors in play here, the Leafs playoff picture should start to materialize by the end of Sunday night’s games. At that point, the Leafs will have played the Flyers and Sabres, the Sabres will have played the Leafs, Bruins and Sens. The Hurricanes will have played the Thrashers, Capitals and Blue Jackets, and the Rangers will have played Ducks and Sharks. This should bring every team in the race about even for games played. Should the Leafs be more than 3 points out at this juncture, it will be pretty clear that they will not be playing in the post-season this year.
One thing’s for sure, giving away points to teams below them in the standings is not very conducive to playoff success.
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Born and raised in Northern Ontario but currently living in Toronto, Tyler wouldn't have it any other way. Home to his two favourite sports teams, Tyler revels in the day to day sports experience that is Toronto. 