Leafs Fallen, But Something Wonderful is Budding
The Toronto Maple Leafs may be heartbroken at the moment, but they did more this year than any of their fans could have possibly imagined. After more than a decade of terrible hockey, where they made just one playoff appearance, while the front office and bench has seen a revolving door of Presidents and Coaches. Ask any fan of the New Jersey Devils, Lou Lamoriello is one of the great hockey minds, turning as he turned what was once called by Wayne Gretzky a “Mickey Mouse Franchise” into an elite NHL team that won three Stanley Cups and made five appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. With him now picking players, the Leafs will not only make it back into contention they will be an elite team within the next five years. Their man behind the bench Mike Babcock has had similar success, leading the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008. It’s not hard to imagine someday soon him lifting the cup over his head in Toronto.
Auston Matthews is the leader of a terrific core of young players at the heart of the Toronto Maple Leafs future
The core group of stars on the Toronto Maple Leafs are all rookies, led by Auston Mathews the likely Calder Trophy winner, given to the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. At the just the age of 19, Matthews led Toronto in scoring, with 40 goals and 29 assists. Auston Matthews had a terrific postseason with four goals, including one in the third period that briefly gave the Leafs a 1-0 in their elimination Game 6. Keep in mind, the Washington Capitals were expected to win this series easily, they were the regular season champions for a second straight season and led the NHL in both goals scored and fewest goals allowed. Toronto gave them all they could handle in their six-game series as all but one game went to overtime. A bounce here and a bounce there and the Leafs could have completed one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss at the Air Canada Centre, the Maple Leafs gave a terrific performance as the game was scoreless until the third period, thanks to a solid game from Frederick Andersen who made 34. The Leafs got on the board first, when Auston Matthews scored at 7:45. The Capitals answered five minutes later, on a goal by Marcus Johansson. The game remained tied and went into overtime for the fifth time in six games. In overtime the Capitals controlled the attack from the start out shooting Toronto 6-1, the game’s crucial moment came on an icing as the Leafs desperate to clear the zone sent the puck the length of the ice. The Capitals would score following the ensuing face off as Johansson scored for the second time in the game at 6:31 to clinch the series, as the Leafs were unable to replace a tired line.
Up next for the Capitals is their longtime nemesis the Pittsburgh Penguins, who eliminated them in the second round last season and have lost eight of nine playoff match ups. This includes several heartbreaking losses in Game 7, including 1992 and 1995 when they saw a 3-1 series lead evaporate. This is it for the Capitals it’s now or never.
Frank Fleming is the creator of the Sportsecyclopedia.com