Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.5

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0 -7 to start the season…or 0-6-1 if we want to stick to the facts and preserve the very smallest of moral victories – that late game collapse on opening night against the Montreal Canadiens that led to an overtime loss, the Maple Leafs only point recorded thus far. At this point, it seems just about everyone is running out of answers on how to correct what, so far, has been a season that began with promise and anticipation gone horribly wrong.

There has been the ranting and raving by Head Coach Ron Wilson; the somewhat more subtle methods of sending a message including scratching healthy players from the line up and reducing ice times considerably; reassurances by General Manager Brian Burke that he still believes in the group assembled; a pushing of the Staples-like ``Re-set Button``; even a day of fun last Thursday that included a shootout survivor drill, scrimmages and dodge ball. So far none of that has worked; in fact, it is arguable that the Maple Leafs have managed to get progressively worse.

With that in mind, the only option left is to hit the road Jack, and that`s exactly what the Maple Leafs will do as they embark on a five game road trip that will take them to Vancouver, Anaheim, Dallas, Buffalo and Montreal before finally returning home on November 3rd against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Getting out of the pit of negativity that Toronto has become is likely the that best possible option right now as everything the Maple Leafs have been doing, most of it wrong, continues to be magnified, only serving to further sow the seeds of doubt.

If the Buds can use this trip to refocus on so many of the fundamentals they have butchered since the season began by simplifying their game and not worrying about the suddenly hostile environment at Air Canada Centre, then it will be a success. They need to find a way to get back into good habits. Although if even this trip can`t snap the Maple Leafs out of it, paper bag masks anyone. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.