It was never going to be easy.
The Florida Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup champions for a reason.
Having said all that, even though they dropped both games in Sunrise, the Leafs are in a decently good position heading home for Game 5 on Wednesday night in Toronto.
That’s where the conversation started on the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take as Carter Hutton stepped in as co-host for Jay Rosehill.
In my ways, Florida’s 2-0 shutout win in Game 4 was a signature playoff victory for that franchise. They played heavy and they drove the pace of the game. Now, it’s incumbent on the Leafs to make the necessary adjustments and find a way to push back. In addition, the Leafs need to stay disciplined. By taking four minor penalties in the first period, they doomed themselves. They were all dumb penalties, too. After that, it felt like they were playing catch-up the rest of the night. They exerted so much energy on those kills, too. That’s far from ideal, especially when you’re playing a team like the Florida Panthers. You can’t give them SIX power play opportunities.
Meantime, as is the case anytime the Leafs seem to drop a game in the playoffs, they just need more from the big boys. Mitch Marner was very quiet on Sunday night. In fact, he’s only mustered three shots on goals over the past three games. All in all, the next few games could wind up being legacy defining for this group and a lot of their marquee players. They need to find a way to push through, or at the end of the day, we could be witnessing the final stretch for the Core Four in Toronto.
Lastly, we addressed the Max Domi hit on Aleksander Barkov at the end of the game. We didn’t think a suspension would be coming, and one won’t be. On Monday morning, the NHL slapped Domi with a $5000 fine.
Jay Rosehill will be back in the mix for the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Join us at 11 AM ET as we go over the latest news and notes from Leafs practice and begin to preview a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night in Toronto.
You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube channel HERE. Additionally, we’re available in podcast form, too —wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re at it, be sure to leave us a 5-star review!