Unbeleafable

 Game 16: Sens vs. Leafs

Simon B

    Normally, when I write my post-game review after Leafs games I explain the game as it goes on but since I don't support a normal team I'm going to go a bit off-script and ignore the notes I took during the game.

    Let's rip the band-aid off. The Toronto Maple Leafs BLEW A 5-1 LEAD AND LOST IN OVERTIME! I've been part of this cursed fanbase for so long I've gotten used to seeing them blow leads but this time, it's different. "They've turned a corner." "They're not the team they used to be." "they're built to win," NEWSFLASH: Teams that BLOW LEADS 5-1 LEADS TO THE WORST TEAM IN THE DIVISION don't usually go very far.

    The thing that bugs me most about this game isn't that they lost. Every team loses games, even stinkers against bad teams. However, the way they lost this one is what really hurts.

From Great to Unbearable

    If the Leafs looked bad to start to finish, I would've been disappointed but it's ok to have an off night here and there, it happens to all of us. But they weren't bad at all to start this game.

    For the first 39 minutes of the game, they were going through the Sens like pylons. Matthews got a pair, Thornton, Engvall (1st of the season), and Boyd, all got in on the fun. Toronto was on cruise control and looked like they were going to blow Ottawa right out of the building. Andersen looked solid and all was well. Until it wasn't. Nick Paul scored a short-handed goal to make the score 5-2 with 9 seconds to go in the second period. From there, it was as if all 18 Leaf skaters forgot they were playing an NHL hockey game. 

    Artem Zub came out of the penalty box and got sprung on a breakaway to score his first career goal then Connor Brown buried a one-timer to pull the Senators back to within one. Then with about 2 minutes to go, with the goalie pulled, Nikita Zadorov tied it up 5-5 to send the game to overtime.

The Salt in the Wound

    When the game went to overtime, it was one of those times where you know it's not gonna end well. As a Leaf fan, that feeling is so familiar it's almost numbing. My gut was right. Kikita Zadorov put in his second of the game to end a heart-wrenching loss to the division's worst team.

    Man cheering for this team is hard sometimes. I often get told "just give up on them" and that thought always seems tempting but like all leafs fans, I'll be glued to the TV next game as usual. That loss hurts yes but as Sheldon Keefe said in his post-game conference, the Sens didn't win that game, we lost it.

The Wrap

    Well, that's it isn't it? There's not much point in writing a long post if the story of this game was that simple. Toronto and Ottawa meet again on Wednesday and I'm expecting a dominant win by Toronto. If this loss doesn't motivate them to come out and run over the Sens, I don't know what will.

    There was a trade just before the game: Alex Galchenyuck is coming over from Carolina in exchange for 2 prospects (Egor Korshkov and Denis Worofsky). I'll talk about that trade in an upcoming post.

    I'm also going to start a "Who's the GOAT?" series about the greatest athlete of all time for each of the sports that I follow so be sure to stay tuned for that.

    If you have any other sports topics you'd like to read about, let me know in the comments or send me a message in the "Contact me" section in the sidebar!

    Thanks for reading! I'd love your comments and questions.

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*Images courtesy of TSN and the NHL on YouTube