Instant Reaction: Maple Leafs continue free falling, record eighth-straight loss vs. Canadiens
It’s probably the best thing for this team right now, but man is it a tough watch.
Perhaps a little less mindless rambling and a little more game analysis would be nice, huh? I’ll do my best even though the story doesn’t differ all that much from previous games. The Leafs went down 2-0 in the first period and were being outshot 18-5 by Montreal, a familiar story in all of their games of late. They responded with a better second, with William Nylander and Easton Cowan combining for a pretty give-and-go ending on Nylander’s stick and in the net, but did little to generate offence in the third period outside of a couple of pretty chances for Bo Groulx, making his season debut tonight.
Speaking of Groulx, he was one of few players who had a good game. He played like a guy looking to get his name back into the NHL circuit and like he had double digit friends and family in the stands to see him play. His line with Easton Cowan and Nick Robertson performed well, as did Joseph Woll, who stopped 30 of 32 shots. William Nylander had good moments, including his goal, as did Matias Maccelli.
The problem is that none of these minor positives mean anything, at this point. It’s a sad truth but it’s the reality of where they are now. None of them helped amount to a win, and even if they did, who would be celebrating it outside of the players in the room from a moral standpoint? It would have taken them further away from the slim possibility of finishing in the bottom five, about the worst situation a team like Toronto could be in let alone that Boston owns their first-rounder if it doesn’t land in the top five.
The Leafs will look to extend their losing streak to nine games on Thursday when they host the also young and driven Anaheim Ducks.