Three Takeaways From Maple Leafs Big Win Over The Defending Champs
By Jim Lynch
2. The defending champs reminded everyone why it’s hard to win every year.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have played a lot of playoff hockey the past few seasons. They have won eight straight rounds of playoff hockey and that streak is going to come to an end eventually. This was the first postseason the Lightning have entered having played a full 82 games over the course of the past three seasons.
Maybe that long season on top of a lot of playoff hockey has finally caught up to them. Maybe the salary cap moves they have had to make in order to keep certain players has left the team worse off than in past seasons. No one would be that upset to see this team bow out of the postseason early after winning back to back cups.
The Leafs look hungry. With so much talent on their roster itching for a playoff run, it makes sense that this Leafs team could be destined for a quick series against the Lightning. But the thing is with this team, I don’t think they are done just yet. This series is far from over.