TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have just 48 hours to demonstrate they are not the team many observers believe them to be.
They need to show some life and heart from within their core group.
While it might be slightly premature to declare the 2024-25 season over, the team`s performance in Wednesday night`s 6-1 Game 5 loss to the surging Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena – characterized by players “standing around and watching” – certainly invites harsh criticism.
The game began poorly with a sluggish start. It was marked by significant errors from key players. Most disheartening was the nine consecutive unanswered goals scored by the Panthers, burying the struggling and confused Leafs under a landslide of offense.
The Maple Leafs delivered an effort in the most crucial home playoff game the franchise has seen in 23 years that would typically provoke widespread frustration and criticism, even during a routine regular-season game in November against a weaker opponent.
Considering the historical pattern of this core group over nine consecutive seasons (“run-it-back springs”), perhaps this dispiriting loss was sadly predictable.
Tristan Blackwood