Consecutive losses in Western Canada haunt Leafs
January 3rd, 2010 | by jays1992 |
Back to back 3-1 losses in Alberta this week have continued a Leaf slide that has undone much of their good work in December, as they find themselves mired in 14th place in the East.
Optimistic Leaf fans (if there are any left) can point to the fact that they are only six points out of that final playoff berth after last night’s loss.
This club has muffed on a couple of chances to climb out of their early season hole and now has to find another great streak of success to get close again.
To make matters worse, two regular centers went down last night as Wayne Primeau and Mikhail Grabovski went down to undisclosed injuries.
In a game that was expected to be a physical encounter with Calgary, we are reminded of the toughness element that was supposed to be a trademark of this team. On this night, as in a number of their recent starts, this has gone missing. A team that was fighting, at the drop of a sneer, at the beginning of training camp, is now looking like the passive group that missed the playoffs last year.
Colton Orr, who got beaten badly in his last tilt against Ottawa’s Matt Carkner, hasn’t dropped the mitts in eight games and the rest of the club has pretty much followed suit in a stretch of games that has seen the Leafs gain two wins in their last eight contests.
There seems to be a direct correlation here about this club’s willingness to compete.
It is made worse by a fragile psyche which sees them almost surrender when they give up the first goal of a game.
The struggles of the special teams are well-documented, too. Last night the power play went 0 for 5, while they gave up one goal against in three opportunities for Calgary.
This adds up to a recipe for failure…one that will doom another season if it continues much longer.
Tags: Colton Orr, Mikhail Grabovski, Toronto Maple Leafs, Wayne Primeau
