The Toronto Maple Leafs secured a point to pull ahead into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division, but it wasn’t in the fashion that they were hoping for. Only a few weeks after blowing a 2-0 lead to the league-worst San Jose Sharks, the Leafs kicked off their California swing with a rematch in North California, this time taking home a 6-5 shootout loss . Head coach Craig Berube said that his team’s effort from top to bottom wasn’t good enough.
It’s true that Woll arguably had his worst performance of the season, allowing a couple of easy goals as the Leafs tried to build momentum, with the worst being a borderline own-goal after he tried to clear the puck and banked it off Sharks forward William Eklund and into his own net.
Team captain Auston Matthews was asked following the game how much the travel at this stage of the season plays into slow starts and poor efforts like the one on Thursday night and brushed off the question, saying that it’s something every team has to deal with.
“Yeah, I mean the schedule is what it is. There’s nothing you can do about that. We’ve gotta find a way to compete and play each night despite what comes at us. I don’t think that’s something we can or should use as an excuse.”
The Leafs are staring down the barrel of the final ten-game stretch of the regular season, and unlike previous seasons that have seen the playoff matchups decided by the time the trade deadline rolled around, the Atlantic Division is wide open. The Leafs have a one-point lead over the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, who are tied at 89 points apiece, and with two more games against Florida and one more against Tampa Bay, the points are as crucial as ever. Matthews is fully aware that there’s not going to be any shortcuts to first place and that just because they’ve had a heavy road schedule lately, it doesn’t justify slow starts.
“In the end, we’re playing every other day. It’s been that way all season, especially after that break we had. You just gotta get yourself ready to play every night.”
