The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost their fifth game in a row, this one to a divisional rival ahead of them in the standings, while the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins both won. If it wasn’t already low, the belief that this Maple Leafs team has what it takes to make the playoffs is closer to rock bottom than ever after a 7-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
The optics of this game were just plain awful, in hindsight. Several players spoke about the importance of this game along with head coach Craig Berube, and the result was another effort that saw them outshot by double the amount they managed. They only scored the amount of goals they did because they were able to pounce on Sabres netminder Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen before he left with an injury, and backup goaltender Colten Ellis wasn’t tested whatsoever.
The Leafs got goals from Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, Bobby McMann, and Max Domi, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a hat trick and five-point night for Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin. In goaltender Joseph Woll’s defence, who allowed six goals on 30 shots, each of the Sabres’ first two goals were banked in off of Maple Leafs players, but at this point, nobody on the team is safe from criticism. They blew the benefit of the doubt with their poor play throughout the entire homestand.
With the Maple Leafs continuing to forfeit ground as the rest of the teams in their division play their best hockey of the season, the outlook on a potential playoff berth seems bleaker than ever. They have four games on the road to try and make up some ground before a much-needed Olympic break, but at this point, the team might be faced with some tough questions about how to approach the rest of the season even if they win all four of those games.
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