Nick Robertson could provide the boost that the Leafs have been direly needing: Leafs Morning Take

For a random Monday night home game in early November, tonight’s clash with the Tampa Bay Lightning sure feels like a big one for Sheldon Keefe and company.

The winless skid is up to four games (0-2-2), but who’s counting?

To be fair, everyone is. That’s the problem.

Carter Hutton filled in for Jay Rosehill on the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Right off the hopper, we discussed the big news of the day and that’s Nick Robertson’s recall from the American Hockey League. Judging by the lines at the morning skate, it appears that the 22-year-old will make his season debut alongside Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok on the third line. It goes without saying but this is a big moment for Robertson’s career. It’s make or break time. He needs to find a way to stick at the NHL level.

Presented by DoorDash, The Appetizer focused on Saturday night’s ugly 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Firstly, I had Hutts break down Joseph Woll’s outing. The rookie made 35 stops on 40 shots.  After that, we shifted the conversation to Toronto’s defensive woes, and unsurprisingly, that ended up being a long conversation. The Leafs have no identity right now. It’s been tough to watch.

Meantime, brought to you by the Wendy’s Daily Faceoff Survivor Pool, we previewed the Leafs/Lightning game. Despite not having Andrei Vasilevskiy to start the year, Tampa has found a way to stay afloat. They’re 5-3-3 through their first 11 outings of the season. Of course, the Leafs grabbed the opener of the four game season series, 4-3 in OT on a John Tavares goal, back on October 21^st at Amalie Arena.

Hutts will be back for Tuesday’s show. Join us at 11 AM ET for a full recap of Toronto/Tampa. Also, we’ll look ahead to Wednesday’s tilt against the Ottawa Senators.