The Leafs aren't the only top team in the East who struggles against inferior opponents, but they're the only one who takes heat
The word ''embarrassing'' is about the only one that can be used to adequately describe the effort put forth by the Leafs on Monday against the Arizona Coyotes, who more closely resemble an AHL or ECHL club than they do an NHL franchise. Let's just get that out of the way right now. However, despite the fact that the Leafs tend to "play down" to inferior competition, they're still a top team in this league, make no mistake about it.
While everyone else seems intent on dunking on the Leafs, The Athletic's Cam Charron had an interesting perspective about Sheldon Keefe's group on Tuesday. Charron likens the Leafs to another Eastern Conference club - one who is seldom knocked for the level of intensity and competition they bring into each and every game. The Carolina Hurricanes.
Believe it or not, the Leafs and Canes are actually a lot alike in terms of how well they play against playoff teams versus how they fair against non-playoff competition. Charron pointed out on Tuesday that the Leafs played at a 110-point pace against playoff teams last season, 1 point better than the Hurricanes, who finished at a 109-point pace in that same category.
The similarities don't stop there, as the Leafs played to a 119-point pace against the league's non-playoff teams to Carolina's 122-point pace. Charron struggles to understand why the Hurricanes are not held to the same standards as the Leafs in terms of public accountability. After being exposed to his point of view, I can't say I disagree.
At the end of the day, I don't think anyone's really worried that the Leafs are going to miss the postseason - especially in a division with Detroit, Ottawa, Montreal and Buffalo. Having said that, the regular season is where you work to building winning habits that you can take with you into the playoffs. The Leafs taking nights off against lesser competition is certainly something that can hurt them come playoff time.
We all know what it's like to have an off day. A day where you don't quite feel like yourself and where the world outside your door does not receive your best effort. However, as we have seen with the Leafs, those nights aren't just limited to the regular season. Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens in 2021 is one of those nights. The Leafs just didn't have it. You could also make an argument that they weren't up to the task in Games 2 and 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The point in all of this is that, as John Tavares said follow last night's loss, that the Leafs need to find a way to find that fire when they're not on their game - and the need to do it a lot earlier than the third period. Off nights are going to happen, but it's about identifying when you're having an off night and doing whatever you can to keep your feet moving and snap out of it. That means everything come playoff time.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 18 | 161 ANSWERS The Leafs aren't the only top team in the East who struggles against inferior opponents, but they're the only one who takes heat Who is the better team between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs? | ||
| Leafs | 58 | 36 % |
| Hurricanes | 64 | 39.8 % |
| They're equally great | 19 | 11.8 % |
| They're both choke artists | 20 | 12.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
