The result of game 7 is almost irrelevant at this point.

[throwitawaypokemon]

They have had two games to close the series. Yes, Keefe has said that the games required to close out a series are often the most difficult, so game 5 was understandable. But following up game 5 with the effort in game 6 is just pathetic. No shows from our best, most talented players have ultimately led to us losing one of our best players in Jake Muzzin, Foligno feeling he has to come back before he's ready, and no opportunity to rest and get healthy before the second round if we get there.

Relying on old depth players like Jason Spezza to lead us while our stars like Matthews and Marner take the backseat is just super pathetic. These last two games have told us a lot about what we have.

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[Westlander]

Part of me feels that way too. Winning now wouldn’t be so much a cause for celebration as just avoiding being a total embarrassment.
But you never know, sports can turn on a dime.

 

[DarkKnight]

Championship teams finish them off, no matter if we win Game 7, this has been incredibly disappointing to watch.

The ONLY caveat, perhaps we just need to finally win a series for these guys to exhale. Is it the monkey on our backs or are we chimps for thinking this team is going anywhere?

Ive never seen a team that brings you to the same place every f***ing year. We literally follow one of the most tortuous teams in all of sport. Last night, I hated the whole game, even when we came back I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t deeply concerned.

We deserved to get blown out last night, the only thing that saved us Mtl was so dominant they finally and inevitable ran out of gas and weren’t rewarded. Easily one of the worst big game performances I’ve seen, and that’s saying something with this stupid franchise.

Win Game 7 and we fight another day, but truly great teams don’t do this...AGAIN.

 

[VanW27]

Part of me feels that way too. Winning now wouldn’t be so much a cause for celebration as just avoiding being a total embarrassment.
But you never know, sports can turn on a dime.

Agreed, the team and particularly its 2 healthy 11 million dollar players have already embarrassed themselves - a win in game 7 is just about saving face at this point.

A dominant performance by Mathews/Marner in game 7 followed by a strong showing thru at least 2 more rounds and the narrative would completely change. It could happen but seems incredibly unlikely at this point.

 

[throwitawaypokemon]

Championship teams finish them off, no matter if we win Game 7, this has been incredibly disappointing to watch.

The ONLY caveat, perhaps we just need to finally win a series for these guys to exhale. Is it the monkey on our backs or are we chimps for thinking this team is going anywhere?

Ive never seen a team that brings you to the same place every f***ing year. We literally follow one of the most tortuous teams in all of sport. Last night, I hated the whole game, even when we came back I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t deeply concerned.

We deserved to get blown out last night, the only thing that saved us Mtl was so dominant they finally and inevitable ran out of gas and weren’t rewarded. Easily one of the worst big game performances I’ve seen, and that’s saying something with this stupid franchise.

Win Game 7 and we fight another day, but truly great teams don’t do this...AGAIN.

Good post. I don't think winning a round is somehow going to flip a switch for this group though

 

[Future]

Marner and Rielly need to be gone. Can’t even look at their faces anymore without getting some form of PTSD. Loser energy.

 

[VanW27]

Marner and Rielly need to be gone. Can’t even look at their faces anymore without getting some form of PTSD. Loser energy.

I thought Rielly was far and away the Leafs best player thru the first 2 periods while the rest of the team waited for the last 10 minutes before deciding to show up.

 

[The Apologist]

I thought Rielly was far and away the Leafs best player thru the first 2 periods while the rest of the team waited for the last 10 minutes before deciding to show up.

Rielly is this year's scapegoat. Get with the program.

 

[throwitawaypokemon]

Marner and Rielly need to be gone. Can’t even look at their faces anymore without getting some form of PTSD. Loser energy.

I think Marner is a star player, but a complimentary luxury more than a necessity. But Rielly was really good last night

 

[LadyLala]

Even if by some miracle we happened to win game 7, the feeling of failure has already set in. Did I expect them to sweep the Habs? No, never thought that.. but game 7? Didn’t expect that either. They fooled me, I admit it. This is beyond disheartening.

 

[throwitawaypokemon]

Even if by some miracle we happened to win game 7, the feeling of failure has already set in. Did I expect them to sweep the Habs? No, never thought that.. but game 7? Didn’t expect that either. They fooled me, I admit it. This is beyond disheartening.

Girl, preach. This is the way I feel. The doubt has already taken root in their minds.

 

[LeafGrief]

Unless they find their IT factor in their sock drawers this morning, there's a lot of truth. I've been telling myself that they'll start to believe like Neo in the Matrix if they just win one series, but this series is finally beating that delusion out of me. Dubas has tinkered around the edges in every way imaginable, at this point it is completely 100% crystal clear that the issues lie right with the core and that is where changes must come. Re-jigging the bottom six with some other combination of grit/skill/leadership won't mean shit. We've finally got a defense to be proud of and a goalie standing on his head in the playoffs and it's our core forwards who aren't getting it done.

As with every time I post about the Leafs sucking in some way, I would love to be proven wrong. They still have game 7 to rewrite their narratives. They still have further rounds if they do win. But the benefit of the doubt is long gone as I mourn this series and mourn this core. I thought they were good enough, but I was wrong. Please, please prove me wrong.

Rielly is this year's scapegoat. Get with the program.

I think Marner will be this year's scapegoat. Rielly was regular season, but he's been terrific in the playoffs. Marner vice-versa, and I think we're going to be mad about these playoffs for a long, long time.

 

[egd27]

Winning now wouldn’t be so much a cause for celebration as just avoiding being a total embarrassment.

Well put. They have done nothing to change opinions about who they are in this series.

 

[wingman75]

Even if by some miracle we happened to win game 7, the feeling of failure has already set in. Did I expect them to sweep the Habs? No, never thought that.. but game 7? Didn’t expect that either. They fooled me, I admit it. This is beyond disheartening.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

I kinda agree here. Even if they win this and beat Wpg, there's no way in hell they can beat the leftover American teams (maybe NYI). Those teams are faster, stronger, and just play harder playoff hockey.

The makeup of the team is all wrong. It's easy to blame star players of course and I agree that Marner's game is not built for the playoffs, you can have playmakers but you can't have pure playmakers to rely on for offense and then pay them $11 M. I think it would require the roster to get overhauled to the point of needing a re-tool. Obviously the coach would have to go too, he can also blame roster buildup and he wouldn't be wrong but when you come into two separate series as the favourite and lose both in rd 1 then you gotta go.

 

[throwitawaypokemon]

I kinda agree here. Even if they win this and beat Wpg, there's no way in hell they can beat the leftover American teams (maybe NYI). Those teams are faster, stronger, and just play harder playoff hockey.

The makeup of the team is all wrong. It's easy to blame star players of course and I agree that Marner's game is not built for the playoffs, you can have playmakers but you can't have pure playmakers to rely on for offense and then pay them $11 M. I think it would require the roster to get overhauled to the point of needing a re-tool. Obviously the coach would have to go too, he can also blame roster buildup and he wouldn't be wrong but when you come into two separate series as the favourite and lose both in rd 1 then you gotta go.

As painful as it would be, freeing up cap space by trading away one of our stars and using that money to bring in two top-six forwards will just have to be done.

 

[Ciao]

I dont think the team as a whole understands the moment.

It must be heartbreaking for Jason Spezza, who does understand where they're at and has sacrificed all he has to be with them on this journey, only to find that the young stars don't have their heads in the game.

Probably disappointing for T.J. Brodie, too, who is a seasoned vet who gets it and is pulling out all the stops as is fitting for the occasion. He must be wondering when some of his teammates will pull their heads out of their asses to see what just happened.

 

[cookie]

I’ve never seen a skilled team mishandle and pass the puck as poorly as this squad. It’s understandable if you’re bracing for a hit but there are so many unforced errors that you can’t help but wonder if it’s the nerves or maybe it’s the mindset. I still can’t unsee Marner’s face in the penalty box-he looked like was had soiled his pants and was ready to cry. It shows that he cares, sure, but that penalty itself is so out of character. There was no actual pressure from anywhere close to him and yet it’s puck over the glass for a 5-on-3. Then there’s the little things like dermott and Rielly not making full use of their skating to get a better chance in the slot against Price.

I do not have high hopes for next game when the main reason why the leafs even stuck around as long as they did was due to exceptional goaltending and making full use of score effects.

 

[wingman75]

I agree with this statement, IF they lose to WPG in anything less than 7 games.

The unknown piece as others have stated, will winning 1 round loosen these guys up and let them just go out an play? I don't understand the mental issues they have in doing that now, but clearly there is something blocking them.

Let's be real though, based on what we have seen, pretty good chance the off-season starts on Tuesday.

 

[Ciao]

As painful as it would be, freeing up cap space by trading away one of our stars and using that money to bring in two top-six forwards will just have to be done.

I won't be that painful, trust me.

Someone might smile when he does that.

 

[Future]

I thought Rielly was far and away the Leafs best player thru the first 2 periods while the rest of the team waited for the last 10 minutes before deciding to show up.

I really don’t get this team. We could see what was happening after the first 5 minutes. Is no one on the bench SCREAMING at this team to wake the f*** up? Whether it be a coach or the players. They all need to hold each other accountable. Instead they just let it spiral for 40 minutes until they finally started to compete.

 

[ToneDog]

Laid an egg in game 5 last year after their game 4 comeback. Now they face game 7 coming off two OT loses. Last call for 34 to step up and put a couple behind Price because with JT, Foligno, and Muzz out, it will be an uphill climb.

 

[MSZ]

I dont think the team as a whole understands the moment.

It must be heartbreaking for Jason Spezza, who does understand where they're at and has sacrificed all he has to be with them on this journey, only to find that the young stars don't have their heads in the game.

Probably disappointing for T.J. Bridue, too, who is a seasoned vet who gets it and is pulling out all the stops as is fitting for the occasion. He must be wondering when some of his teammates will pull their heads out of their asses to see what just happened.

TJ left Calgary because he saw the exact same issue in their dressing room, but at least that core have won one playoff round before.

 

[LeafGrief]

Fool me three times, here's your Leafs jersey.

 

[Mickey Marner]

The problem is that their switch only flips off. Too many times for too many years we've seen them completely tune out of a big game and get brutally embarrassed, yet somehow they don't even seem to care. I honestly wonder if some of these guys can even feel shame. It's clear that the only guys who actually want to be here are the vets like Spezza and Brodie. I'm conflicted because I want them to win tomorrow, but I also think it's probably for the best in the long run if they lose. This roster clearly needs some wholesale changes and one more embarrassment might just be enough to get them.