It’s mildly disturbing to see the Leafs respond that way after a good chunk of the team was blasted by the starting goalie following Saturday night’s OT loss against Seattle.
On top of that, the city’s baseball team is off to the World Series for the first time in 32 years. You would think there would be a little pep to their step —but no.
Zack Phillips subbed in for Jay Rosehill on the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Full disclosure, this episode featured a lot of ranting. That’s when you know the Leafs are in a bad spot. To start things off, we reacted to Auston Matthews wearing the Vlad Jr. jersey into the game. Additionally, we gave some love to the Blue Jays before breaking down the updated start times for the Leafs’ next three games.
Then, we got into the meat and potatoes of Toronto’s ugly 5-2 loss to New Jersey. Jack Hughes netted a hat-trick. He was everywhere. It was Sheldon Keefe’s first win against his former squad. Once again, the second period was a disaster. We questioned the goalie interference challenge. It went from 1-0 Leafs to 2-1 Devils in the blink of an eye. From there, the Leafs chased the game for the rest of the night. There were too many odd man rushes. Defensively, they stunk up the joint. It just wasn’t good enough. Rubbing salt to the wound, Brian Halonen popped Simon Benoit with a big right in their late-game scrap. It was that kind of night. Believe it or not, we did discuss a few positives. Matias Maccelli scored his first as a Leaf. Quietly, Toronto’s second line has looked much better lately. So, that’s good.
Following that recap, TSN Hockey Analyst Frankie Corrado dropped by the podcast to help further the conversation. He weighed in on the loss, Toronto’s turbulent 3-3-1 start, and what he’s seeing from Matthews right now. Additionally, he gave his thoughts on where they go from here, his view on the Stolarz outburst in the media after the Kraken game, and the weird goalie interference challenge.
Lastly, we got to the Ninja Crispi HOT TAKE OF THE WEEK. According to Producer Vick, who’s been on fire with these takes to start the campaign, losing Tanev is worse than losing Mitch Marner. Hey, that’s tough to argue. He’s the backbone of Toronto’s blue line. Everyone needs to step up in his absence.
Up next for Berube and the Maple Leafs is some much-need practice time. Jay Rosehill is expected to be back in the mix for the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We’ll start to preview this weekend’s back-to-back with Buffalo. Plus, former Leaf/NHL Network Analyst Brian Boyle will drop by the show.