Instant Reaction: Maple Leafs’ first game after trade deadline goes exactly as you’d expect
At least if this team was in a rebuilding stage, there would be rewarding factors to look for. Things like young players hungry to claim a roster spot using the end of the season as a tryout for next season (which isn’t happening if you’re a young player under Craig Berube, let’s be real), and optimism for a high draft pick (which the Leafs may actually be capable of retaining if they continue to play like this.
For the purpose of actually trying to analyze the game for those who are reading this and may have missed it, it was another textbook example of this team playing as if they lose the game as soon as they allow a goal. Matias Maccelli, one of the lone bright spots on this roster at the moment, scored not long into the game to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay got it back almost immediately after, and then added on three more goals in a span of three minutes to take a 4-1 lead into intermission.
The Lightning didn’t have to do anything from that point forward, because this Leafs team is one that doesn’t believe in their ability to get back into games – at least that’s how it looks watching them. I’m positive it’s not from a lack of effort or desire to win. You can’t tell me with a straight face that a team with playoff aspirations for the tenth year in a row is all sunshine and rainbows that they’re about to miss the playoffs. But, the confidence has never been lower, the faith in the system has never been lower, and when you seemingly know your fate a whole 18 games before the season ends, it can be hard to get up for games and make that extra push.
What we saw tonight was two teams on opposite ends of the class spectrum, in everything from top end talent to coaching to management. The Lightning are a team with success on their resume, a coach with credentials, and a roster full of players who have bought into their system and, more importantly, belief in themselves. The Leafs can say they believe in themselves all they want, but given how quickly they fold in the face of adversity, they’re not fooling anybody, and probably won’t be fooling themselves for much longer.