Murray made that game harder than it should have been. he needs to get the cobwebs cleared and find his rhythm. He simply cannot be between the pipes for us in the playoffs if he's going to put in performances like this.
Marner is just ridiculous. The talent and the motor are just unbelievable, and Nylander is right there with him.
I see the Acciari train is gaining passengers. I've wanted him since the Bruins series, where he stood out and was easily one of their stronger performers. The guy is an old-school player and just brings the kind of playoff effort that we are going to need. As happy as I was to get ROR, I was even more pumped that Acciari came with him. Anyone calling him a "throw-in" to the ROR trade is completely off. They are both both "must re-sign" UFA's for us.
McCabe has shown his value pretty much from his 1st game. He just brings it every game, every shift, and Lafferty is looking like he's settling in and has some wheels. Both are guys you can go into battle with.
Glad to see JT get a pair and hopefully the fire is starting to burn for Matthews. They both looked engaged and ready to go. Good to see.
Reading the comments, I don't get what folks are grating on ZAR for, honestly. It's not like he's being paid $3.5m. He's a 4th line player, who's had a revolving door of 4th liners to play with, including a bunch of Marlies with little/no NHL experience. He and Acciari provide a strong 4th line forecheck and will be invaluable in the playoffs with a forecheck that punishes and wears down Tampa's defense. We are still overplaying Holl, Kerfoot is on the 1st line, and we have a wild card in net in Murray but ZAR is a worry? I don't get it.....
I don't hate Edmonton and they are a team that isn't to be taken lightly. This was a needed win, as it was an embarrassing drubbing when we played them last week. The uneven refereeing could have easily seen this game go off the rails, but our boys pulled it together and put it through.
On to the next game.
Go Leafs Go!