JT

 Round 1, Game 1: Habs vs. Leafs

Simon B

First and foremost, I'd like to send my thoughts out to John Tavares, his wife Aryne, and his two young kids. A scary injury like the one we all saw last night was extremely difficult to watch as a fan so I can't even imagine the scare they must've gotten when they saw it.

This kinda felt right, didn't it? The Leafs losing game 1. Everyone in Tronto sports media is saying that the Leafs would be able to deal with the Habs in 4 or 5 games. Montreal would put up a good fight but they are no match for this new look Leaf team. I still think the Leafs are winning this series but after game 1, it's clear that Toronto isn't just going to mow down the Habs the way people said they would. I'll explain why a bit later on but first let's look at the lineup.

This was the lineup that Kyle Dubas has been trying to put together dating back to October 2020 when he signed Simmons, Thornton, and Brodie. The idea behind it is pretty simple: high-flying offensive power with a little bit of grit sprinkled in on each line (Hyman on the first, Foligno on the second, Kerfoot on the third, and the fourth line of grizzly old men in Thornton, Simmons, and Spezza). 

There was one interesting nuance in this lineup though. Reily Nash made his Leafs debut last night on the third line with Kerfoot and Mikheyev. Nash was acquired from Columbus at the deadline but at the time he was injured. I thought that they would try to get him in a regular-season game at least once but I guess he wasn't cleared to play yet. I just don't understand why THAT was the game to play him in. I think that if the Leafs get up by two games in the series, that would be the time to play him because there's less pressure so it's easier to get acclimated with the team.

The Bad

There are three bad things from this game from a Leaf's perspective: You lost your captain for the rest of the series (and possibly the whole playoffs depending on the injury), you're down 1-0 in the series and the way Montreal played. 

Obviously, the elephant in the room is the Tavares injury. I have to say that was probably the scariest moment I've seen in the playoffs since the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty in the 2011 playoffs. It's clear here the Corry Perry has absolutely no intention of hitting Tavares like that. He's trying to get out of the way as much as he can but the game is at such a high speed that there's just nothing he can do. It was so good to see the thumbs up from JT as he was being stretched off the ice too, I'm the last person that should try and assess the injury so I went online and watched a few videos and I think Dr. Brian Sutterer explained it the best. So far all we know is that Tavares is responsive, alert and he spent the night in the hospital where he got a negative CT scan and passed his physical tests.

The fight afterward between Foligno and Perry was all just out of courtesy. I know fighting for courtesy, pretty counterintuitive. It's hockey culture: you take down our guy, I'm gonna give it to you. Normally that's ok but in this situation, I think it was a bit much. Perry had no intent on injuring JT (who he is apparently good friends with off the ice) so I don't really see the point. but no one got hurt and everyone moved on after that.

The second was the way Montreal was playing in general. The first 10 minutes of the game, they were hitting the Leafs like crazy. I mean wearing them down so that they couldn't do anything. At one point in the game, the hits were 39 to 15 for Montreal. over a one or two-game stretch, that's a good way for the unfavored Habs to beat Toronto but I don't see a scenario where they can sustain that sort of physical play throughout a 7-game-series. I just thought the hitting was a bit excessive. Believe me, I get it, it's playoff hockey, it's dirty and rough but are those hits 100 feet away from the play really necessary? 

The Good

It was a pretty rough night all in all for the Leafs. When JT went down, I knew that they would not play as well until the next period and I was right. They were clearly not focused 100% on the play and with good reason. A buddy just git clocked in the head and none of them know if he's alright yet. They regrouped at intermission and full credit to them, they came back out with new life and energy. In the intermission interview, Wayne Simmons said "we gotta win 'em for Johnny" and I think that's the mentality that the Leafs needed. Not only in the second to tie it but for the rest of this series too. If they go into the game with the mindset that they're trying to win for their captain, I think they'll win. 

Turning Point

The power play was once again just horrible. And to make matters worse, they allow a shorthanded game-winning goal?! When Paul Byron scored (what I have to say was a pretty impressive goal from his knees) just past the mid-way point in the third, I knew the game was over. Hockey clearly wasn't on the minds of any of the Leaf's players and they just needed a full regroup. They want to know how Johnny's doing and rightly so. 

The Wrap

You know in like old westerns when they're in a saloon or a bar and one guy punches another? The guy who got punched is hurt and it takes him a moment to get back up but once he's up he's got fire in his eyes and the first guy knows he's about to get it? That's what I feel like might happen here. The Leafs were really rattled by this game and quite frankly were beat pretty well physically and mentally. They were still down for the rest of this game but I think that they'll come back with some newfound energy and really give it to Montreal. Do I think they're going to win 4 straight? Absolutely not but I'm still sticking to my initial prediction: Leafs in 6. If they lose game two though, they're in trouble.

Game two goes Saturday Night at 7:00 eastern.

BREAKING: As I'm about to click post on this article, it was just announced that John Tavares has been discharged from the hospital and has safely made it to his home with and is with his family. The team has said he is out "indefinitely".

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