Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.12

www.afootinthecrease.com

Just when you start to think that the Toronto Maple Leafs are starting to get rolling and might, just might be a team that can compete consistently night in and night out, they turn in a game that reminds everyone to put those thoughts on hold for a little bit longer. You see, over the past four seasons, the Maple Leafs have become masters of excelling when all the pressure is off. The names have changed in that time but the same problem still lingers today: every time the team plays its self back into a position where there is something on the line, they can’t quite get over the hump.

Case in point against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night, a win would have put the Maple Leafs right back into legitimate contention for a playoff spot, within four or five points depending on the results of other games that night. Well right from the drop of the puck, it was clear that the Maple Leafs were not in the game. In a game with something riding on it, the Maple Leafs turned in one of their worst efforts of the season.

Before the Buds will ever entertain thoughts of making the playoffs, they will need to find a way to look like the team that they resemble when there is nothing to lose when there is actually something to lose. In other words, they need to learn how to play under pressure.

It seems that over the past four seasons, the Maple Leafs consistently fail when they reach the threshold where one more win would get people talking again that maybe this team could get back into a playoff race. After Saturday’s dismal effort against the Bruins, the Maple Leafs now sit seven points back of a playoff spot. All of a sudden the pressure is off so it would not be a surprise in the least to see them play loose and relaxed over the upcoming week and reel off a few wins to get them back to within four or five points. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.