Poor Effort Leaves Leafs Down A Game In The Series

Many fans would have been willing to put money on the Leafs in game one of this series. Surely they would come out like a determined group of veterans, stick to their game plan and avoid lousy penalties that could cost them the game, right? Wrong. Instead, all the small things like forechecking, discipline and good skating that the team was doing very well down the final stretch of the season seemed to just mysteriously disappear. The Maple Leafs put forth a very poor effort and got away from their game plan allowing the Ottawa Senators execute theirs to perfection in the first game of this series.

Over the last few games of the season, the Leafs had really paid good attention to their discipline problems and had managed to curb their overwhelming excess of needless penalties. They really got away from that tonight at just the wrong time and despite some of the calls from the referees being questionable, the Leafs took too many penalties that were clearly their own decisions to commit.

The Leafs failed to generate enough scoring chances on Patrick Lalime who was making his return to the lineup after hurting his knee eleven days ago in Toronto. The Leafs managed only seventeen shots and maybe four good scoring chances, certainly not enough to give Lalime any kind of difficult time in his return to the lineup.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect that was lacking from the Leafs’ game tonight was their unwillingness to go into the corner and possibly take a hit to dig the puck out and clear it from the defensive zone. There were far too many guys, Kaberle, Berg and Johansson most notably, who were just gliding in and poking at the puck before pealing off to avoid being hit. In the playoffs where so much is at stake, this kind of play is intolerable as it makes it far too easy for the opposition to generate scoring chances.

The Leafs will be back at it for game two on Saturday night. It will be a must win game for the team as falling down 2-0 and heading back to Ottawa would put the Leafs in a very tough situation. Looking back on the Leafs uncanny ability to bounce back after poor efforts, look for the Leafs to come out with a much more determined effort on Saturday night.