Panthers-Leafs Post Game
I’m leaving the game notes I posted up but I stopped taking any down at the end of the second period. The game was over after 40 minutes and I’ll keep this post-game wrap up short, mentioning only the biggest things that are cause for concern.
The same sort of game as the last time the Leafs played the Panthers: Florida is not a bad team but they’re a team the Leafs aught to beat, especially with the standings as close as they are right now. Despite this, the Leafs haven’t shown up for either of the past two games against the Panthers. They took them too lightly after their big win over the Rangers and the result was an embarrassing loss to a team 9 points and 7 spots below them in the standings.
When the tough got going, the Leafs… fell apart: Everyone has a bad period from time to time. What the Leafs needed to do after their poor showing in the first 20 minutes was tighten up their game and keep it simple from then on out. Instead, they continued to make mistakes and in fact mostly got worse as the game wore on. Mistakes are not leading to a simple, careful game, they are leading to more mistakes.
I don’t mind the Leafs losing games but their emotional fragility is disturbing. They can’t afford to fold when adversity sets in because it’s going to come knocking time and time again. If they think they’re good enough to trounce teams like the Rangers often enough to make the playoffs, they need a big wake up call.