Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.7

www.afootinthecrease.com

Two weeks ago when the Maple Leafs departed the hostility that had built up in Toronto after the team had gone winless in seven games to start the regular season, their five game road trip was seen as a saving grace of sorts. It would give them the ability to work out their kinks free from at least some of the constant criticism they had been receiving in the media.

Fast forward two weeks and now with the road trip in the books and a 1-1-3 record to show for it, did the Maple Leafs take enough strides to consider their five game sojourn a success?

Well certainly more than just one win would have been nice but when you assess how the team played in its first seven games and then compare that to how the team played during the road trip, there really is no comparison. And that’s a good thing.

Finally the Maple Leafs displayed elements of hustle, grittiness, energy and hard work, all of which were in far too short a supply before the road trip began. If they lose games playing in that type of fashion, I have no problem with it because at the end of the day, they simply lost, nothing more nothing less.

It’s when there is no apparent effort or hard work that you aren’t even giving yourself a chance and that to me, is what is unacceptable.

When the Maple Leafs return home on November 3rd against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they will likely do so with Phil Kessel in the lineup. In order to have success though, they must exhibit the kind of play they did on the road trip at home and not merely rely on Kessel, not that any one player would be the difference at this point.

Frankly compared to top teams’ rosters around the league, the Maple Leafs just do not stack up yet. If they are going to win games, it will be the hard work and resiliency they showed on the road trip that will make the difference. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.