Leafs Let Third Period Lead Slip Away

For the second game in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs held a third period lead, tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, but were unable to seal the deal on a victory. The Canadiens, on the strength of a performance worthy of the game’s first star from Captain Saku Koivu, scored two late goals giving the Habs the win and sending Leaf fans home with a bitter taste in their collective mouths. That is two times now that the Leafs have been right there with victories staring them in the face but have ultimately squandered these late leads, a trend that Coach Pat Quinn will undoubtedly do his best to ensure does not continue.

A good start for Quinn would see him break up the pairing of Aki Berg and Wade Belak on defense, a tandem that was on the ice for four of the Canadiens’ goals. As the game wore on, Quinn began using the aforementioned pair more sparingly in favour of Kaberle and McCabe. In the end, McCabe and Kaberle played close to thirty minutes each and with back to back games coming up for the Leafs on Monday and Tuesday, McCabe and Kaberle could start to wear out themselves.

Toronto’s young guns had another strong showing with both Matt Stajan and Alex Steen registering their first goals of the season. It seemed like every time they were on the ice, they were making something happen. They were effective on the on penalty kill and Stajan’s goal came on the power play. For their effective play, Quinn rewarded them by putting them on the ice with a minute left in an attempt to tie the game.

The Leafs have no easy games on the horizon as they take on the Senators and Flyers this coming Monday and Tuesday in back to back matchups. Rest assured that if the Leafs do not manage a win in either of their next two upcoming games, the collective fingers of the Leaf Nation will surely be pressing the panic button.