Just remember, it’s pre-season, nothing to stress over.
The sports fans in Toronto certainly got a mix of some great ball and some poor hockey. The Maple Leafs got dummied by the Montreal Canadiens, and the Blue Jays laid a beating on the Texas Rangers.
The Leafs will just have to pick up and move on; it’s as simple as that and it’s all part of the learning process. With such a young team, and a number of new additions you have to expect the odd fur ball to be coughed up by the young Leafs squad. I can assure you one thing, the boys will be skating at practice today, and Babcock will be cruising behind them smacking them in the arse with his stick. That’s what happens when you put in a lackluster effort, you pay the price the next day.
It’s a good awakening for some of the players, knowing the competition gets stiffer as pre-season goes on players are going to have to pick up their compete level and get ready for puck drop. We’re just five days away before squaring off against the Ottawa Senators and Babcock will certainly want the boys firing on all cylinders.
Last night was ugly, but it’s certainly not something to get all worked up about. Let the Canadiens have their triumphant pre-season victory, I can only see that making the Leafs hungrier next time they square off in the regular season when it counts. Babcock will have this in his back pocket to remind his players about the score, effort level and how they felt after getting lit up so badly. It’s all part of the process to building up to a contender, it takes time, patience, and if you’re still a Maple Leafs fan, I know you have patience!
Frederik Andersen was certainly hung out to dry in last night’s pre-season game; but he actually made quite a few solid saves in the first period just to keep the score close. The Leafs will have to do a much better job helping out Andersen, they need their young goalie to get comfortable in the blue and white so he can get his confidence up to where it needs to be and win them some games they shouldn’t. He’s certainly capable of doing so, and he will prove his worth to his teammates and fans before you know it.
Auston Matthews had the lone goal for Toronto when he sniped a beauty over the shoulder of Carey Price, using Montreal newcomer Shea Weber as a screen. It was Matthews’s first goal in the Maple Leafs jersey and a dandy at that. I had just put the kids to bed and couldn’t contain myself with a “oh baby… followed by standing up and ordering my wife to “check out this goal…. It was our fourth anniversary yesterday and I don’t think she was as hyped up about the goal as I. Nevertheless that was the last moment of glory for our Leafers that night.
So with regular season around the corner, where is Toronto going to end up in the fold? Here is a list of the bottom dwellers from last season (21-30th place).
Colorado: 82 points Montreal: 82 points Buffalo: 81 points Arizona: 78 points Winnipeg: 78 points Calgary: 77 points Columbus: 76 points Vancouver: 75 points Edmonton: 70 points Toronto: 69 points
Could the Leafs make the playoffs? Anything is possible, but my thoughts are they give a solid effort all season and end up missing the playoffs in the last couple weeks of the year. Without a doubt some of the teams listed above could also move up. Colorado has a new coach, a healthy Varlamov, Rantanen should be impactful and a number of players eager to impress new head coach. Montreal also improved with the additions of Shaw, Radulov, Weber and a healthy Carey Price. Buffalo, Arizona and Winnipeg could go either way and I feel the Leafs will certainly move ahead of Columbus, Vancouver and Edmonton.
In the East you had the Islanders, Flyers and Red Wings in the playoffs last year. It’s certainly possible for each of these teams to slide down the ranks, although I think the Flyers should be able to maintain a playoff spot if they can keep a healthy roster. The Red Wings and Islanders are two big time candidates to slip out of a playoff spot. It’s been 25 straight years for the Red Wings, but they have lost Datsyuk, both Zetterberg and Kronwall are slowing down big time and they are relying heavily on Larkin to carry the load, as well as Mrazek who stood on his head for the first half of last season.
The East could have a love of movement this season.
Toronto will play in Hamilton tonight versus the Red Wings, and then finish off their pre-season schedule against the Wings on Saturday night.
As happy as I was for pre-season to arrive, I will be just as happy for it to be over and get the regular season started.
Have a great weekend and happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks for reading.