Emotions are going to run high the next day or two.
The Maple Leafs are going to feel it, and hear it, from a fan base that doesn’t want to be fooled again.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are playing with house money. If they lose Game 7 on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena, no one will blink an eye. They’ll get a deserved pat on the back for winning the Stanley Cup twice in a row. No one will think less of them for bowing out early.
But if the Leafs lose? oh my. That would be six first-round exits in a row, and 0 for 9 in elimination games with the opponent on the ropes in the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner era. (You could say 0-for-seven and 0-for-10 if you counted the Phil Kessel-era 2013 loss in Boston, but let’s not add to this group’s misery.)
Fans would be livid, calling for heads.
But in the event of a loss, cooler heads within Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment will prevail. General manager Kyle Dubas won’t be firing Sheldon Keefe. President Brendan Shanahan won’t be firing Dubas. And ownership won’t be firing Shanahan.
And wholesale change — firing all three — would be absurd.
Nope. This core is strong enough that MLSE can already pencil in another first round in 2023, with the ensuing high ratings for broadcasters that are 75 per cent of the ownership group.
There will be tinkering, for sure, but their core players have shown up. In order, Matthews, William Nylander, Marner, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly are their leading playoff scorers. There will be a question or two about goaltending.
A loss would be maddening, for sure. The loser or choker label on the core would be hard for them to take. The pressure will only mount for them to win a series. But that would be a year away.
To the Seven Musings.
one. Never would have thought the goaltending numbers would be absurdly bad. Andrei Vasilevskiy’s save percentage is .885, 19th among the 26 goalies who got into a game in the first round. Jack Campbell’s is .893, two spots better.
two. Whatever happens, the Leafs’ decision on goaltending this summer will be an interesting one. Campbell is an unrestricted free agent. Can’t see him signing for less than Petr Mrázek’s $3.8-million (US) average annual salary. That’s got to be the benchmark.
3. Mrázek is practicing in full, though Erik Källgren continues to back up. Got to wonder if there will be a summertime market for Mrazek.
Four. The Kings have done very well scouting the Leafs in multiple trades which brought Campbell, Jake Muzzin and Kyle Clifford to Toronto. Trevor Moore, Carl Grundstrom and Sean Durzi are all playing major roles in the Kings’ resurgence.
5. Ilya Mikheyev has two empty-net goals this series. Those are his only goals from him in 18 playoff games. The Leafs need him to do a bit more. He’s a pending UFA too.
6. Had the Leafs won Game 6, they would have had no shortage of overtime shot-blocking heroes, among them Mark Giordano and Ilya Lyubushkin. Giordano and Alex Kerfoot made a couple of egregious giveaways that turned into a 2-0 Tampa lead.
7. Being able to say: “It’s on ESPN2” has made finding NHL games so much easier in bars in the United States.
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