Leafs Postgame: Goodbye Brooklyn

Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY SPORTS

What a game, what a night. The Toronto Maple Leafs needed a convincing, energy-injecting, statement game tonight, against a team who needed the points just as bad, and did they ever get it in the form of a 7-1* win over the New York Islanders at the Air Canada Centre.

I’m not going to spoil it for you tonight. Watch the Game in Six and enjoy. It’s more fun.

Relentlessness. Simply put, they were all in on this game from opening puck drop until the final buzzer, whether it meant a board battle, trying an extra move, taking a few extra shots, or pushing back when adversity came their way. Games like tonight, maybe not with the same lopsided results, are the future of this team. This is what they’re growing towards, and it’s going to be incredible to see more frequently.

Frederik Andersen posted a 33-save shutout tonight. I don’t care what the scoreboard says. The penalty shot that Jason Chimera was awarded is one of the single worst calls I’ve ever seen in a hockey game. We can all move forward from it now, but Chimera should’ve never had the chance to take a second crack and score a goal in a non-game situation. It’s a shutout to me, and Andersen was great.

Tomorrow’s game is going to be just a little bit harder. They’ll be taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets, in Columbus with less than a day between puck drops. It’s a “whatever happens, happens” game if I’ve ever seen one, but it’d be nice to pull a point or two off a team that’s lost 6 of it’s last 9; a very nice stretch of deficiency for the Leafs to try to take advantage of.

Puck drop for that game is at 7:00 PM tomorrow.