Coming off one of their better 60-minute efforts of the season against Columbus (not saying much, granted), Craig Berube ran three new lines to start this big Saturday night clash in Montreal.
I’ll give Berube credit for hyping up the importance of this game after Friday’s practice, making no bones about calling it a big one for his team.
Berube: “It is a big game. We talked about it this morning. It is obviously a big divisional game. It is always a big game against Montreal, and it is a big game for us in terms of where we are at and where we are heading. So, it’s a big game.”
Past coaches in Toronto routinely downplayed these types of regular-season matchups instead of trying to spark some emotional investment from the players. You could hear it in the player interviews before the game that there was a lot of build-up to this one internally. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Leafs came out with some jump and physicality to start the game.
Where Berube lost me is the ill-conceived line changes: Dakota Joshua with Nick Robertson and Max Domi (in what world)? There are two right-handed wingers in the whole lineup, and they’re on the same line (Calle Jarnkrok and William Nylander, with Jarnkrok on the left)? Popping Sammy Blais in for this one makes sense against his hometown/former team, but dropping Jacob Quillan, thereby forcing Steven Lorentz back into the middle and splitting up Lorentz and Scott Laughton to start — the one duo that has been really dependable for the team when healthy — at a time when the lineup is in such flux with injuries?
Some real head-shakers.
Obviously, the Leafs made a Habs team that had lost five in a row look like world beaters in the second period of this game. Embarrassing is the only way to describe it. It had to be the worst Leafs fans felt watching their team since the first period of Game 7 against Florida, which was similarly completely tilted against the Leafs to an embarrassing degree. While the 2-0 scoreline was a little flattering to Montreal after 20 minutes, the 5-2 final was generous to the Leafs, as score effects set in, and Joseph Woll was the only reason those score effects didn’t kick in with the score at 6-0.
Injuries play a major role in the Leafs’ current situation, and the team definitely isn’t getting enough out of the secondary pieces on their roster (the Joshuas, Domis, and Maccellis are nowhere close to the level required). Still, most disappointing for me is the veteran leaders’ baffling contributions to many of the Montreal goal sequences. What was Jake McCabe doing at the offensive blue line to kickstart the 1-0 Montreal goal? What was Morgan Rielly thinking leaving the puck to rim around to the other team on the 2-0 Montreal goal? Prior to the 4-0 put-away goal by Josh Anderson, William Nylander was right on top of a contested puck behind his own net and literally left it behind to skate away from the battle.
Only a handful of Leafs players can fly home with their heads held high tonight — Joe Woll for obvious reasons, Scott Laughton for continued honest efforts, OEL for his continued production and physical engagement, John Tavares based not on tonight’s performance but on overall merit this season, I’ll include Easton Cowan for doing his best and giving honest efforts as he learns the league in a losing environment right now, and I’ll throw in Dakota Mermis for the courage/pushback shown in the third period. The rest, including the coach (who also blew a pretty good challenge opportunity on the 1-0 goal), need to look themselves in the mirror.
The Leafs are now 2-6-0 against their division, and it’s getting late early.
Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts
Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts
