Another heartbreaking A loss in Game 7 necessitates cuts to Maple Leafs core
The Toronto Maple Leafs, in the midst of Game 7 of their NHL Stanley Cup first-round playoff series on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston, lose to the Boston Bruins in overtime.
Tyler Bertuzzi (59) of the club departs the ice between John Tavares (91) and Morgan Rielly (44). (Photo by Michael Dwyer/AP) All rights reserved. Copyright 2024, The Associated Press.
There was a startling familiarity to the hollowness of it all as the main players of the Toronto Maple Leafs crossed the visitors’ lounge of TD Garden one by one and answered all the standard questions in the wake of this era’s eighth post-season series loss in nine attempts.
Speaking in quiet tones after suffering a 2-1 overtime defeat to the Boston Bruins on Saturday, hockey players spoke of narrow margins and close quarters, of intense efforts and bitter tablets.
The most recent in a long line of series, this group was barely competitive enough to lose.
I must admit that it stinks. We fought our way back into the series because we were so close. I am lost for words.
William Nylander, the only member of The Core to score in any of Toronto’s three elimination games this week, described the current situation as “just an empty feeling.”
“Look, I don’t believe the core is the problem. We were (expletive) right there the entire series, I believe. fought valiantly and forced overtime to reach Game 7. I feel like an expletives.
John Tavares attempted to explain why he thinks the same set of players ought to have another chance at winning in October.
“There we are,” the skipper declared. It’s really not that much of a difference. There’s no denying that we’re there, especially considering the kind of hockey we played, how we had to play to have a chance to win the series, how we came together, and how persistent we were.
It is accurate to say that Tavares and Auston Matthews both stated that the shot count in their Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins was 31–31.
However, the slow, defensive playstyle over this seven-game span, the goal differential (18–12), the goalie struggle, and the special teams’ output all worked against the eventual winners.
Yes, the Maple Leafs should be commended for not folding their tent in Games 5, 6, and 7. They showed heart and character. Nylander and Matthews, two of their top scorers, persevered despite difficult injuries.
Joseph Woll, their greatest goalie, struggled to maintain his health. They demonstrated their ability to engage in physical combat head-on with an opponent.
Perhaps most astonishingly and impressively, they put together three of their most sparing and defensive plays to date.
However, as coach Sheldon Keefe famously said earlier in the season, “Find a way, don’t find an excuse.”
These Leafs, without a doubt, went down fighting. Nevertheless, they fell.
Their signature move, a 1-for-21 (4.76 percent) clip, was a disastrous failure.
They continued their offensive catastrophe by failing to score more than three goals in 14 straight playoff games.
And with his postseason record falling to 1-5 and his vain attempt to defeat the Bruins at home, Keefe’s career is undoubtedly in jeopardy.
According to Keefe, “teams that play the Leafs set up the game for the Leafs to beat themselves.”
This entails securing the slot as though it were the One Ring and converting the neutral area into a minefield.
