Toronto Maple Leafs Have Been Their Own Worst Enemy

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the brink of elimination after becoming their own worst enemy

The Toronto Maple Leafs recent Game 4 loss to the Bruins highlighted everything most already knew about the team. The defense simply isn’t good enough to achieve playoff success. A pair of poor pinches in the offensive zone by defensemen Jake Gardiner and then Travis Dermott led directly to Boston goals, sinking any hopes of the Maple Leafs tying the series at 2-2.

Although Toronto had success in Game 3 with keeping the puck in the offensive zone, the Bruins came ready to counter-attack aggressive Maple Leafs defenders.

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To make matters worse for Toronto, Boston was without their best player, as Patrice Bergeron was a late scratch for Game 4. With the Maple Leafs playing on home ice and no longer having to deal with the opposition’s best player, Game 4 was as close to a must-win contest a team can get in the playoffs.

The Maple Leafs seemed to allow the ideal situation to slip through their fingers as soon as the opening faceoff. Less than 30 seconds passed in the game before the Bruins found the back of the net and put Toronto on their heels immediately. For a team trailing 2-1 in the series and playing at home, a quick opening goal is absolutely unacceptable as it felt Toronto was playing behind the entire game even after they tied the contest seven minutes later.

The Maple Leafs entered the postseason with a high-powered offense but with the exception of their Game 3 victory, the club has only managed to score five goals in their three losses. For a team that is so dependent on producing offensively, Toronto has been exposed as a one-trick pony incapable of finding other ways to win.

The team has been unable to grind out a victory through hard work and determination while their defense has been taken advantage of by the Bruins’ top line. Some will point to the trade deadline where the Maple Leafs were unable to acquire additional support for their blue line and question if it was a missed opportunity.

With the club set to lose quality unrestricted free agents this summer in James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, and Leo Komarov, it’s easy to wonder if more could have been done to improve the defense. It’s unlikely the Maple Leafs will ever have this much offensive firepower throughout the lineup once their young stars get new contracts.

Therefore, this could have been the club’s one and only shot of going all-in to acquire a stud defenseman. Ryan McDonagh’s three points and 23 minutes of ice time with the Tampa Bay Lightning through four playoff games would look awfully good in the blue and white right now.

The Maple Leafs have been their own worst enemy in the opening round of the playoffs from the Nazem Kadri suspension in Game 1, to allowing four goals in the first 15 minutes of Game 2, to playing poor defensively against a Bergeron-less Bruins team in Game 4.

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If the Maple Leafs are unable to extend the series past Game 5 in Boston, the team will have nobody to blame but themselves for their disappointing play. The Bruins have unquestionably been the better team. But an argument could be made Toronto still hasn’t played 60 minutes of hockey they could be proud of regardless of the outcome.

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