The loss to Vegas just reinforced what we already knew about this Maple Leafs team: Leafs Morning Take

For the first time since February 10^th, the Maple Leafs lost a game on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.

In the opener of their five-game homestand, Toronto dropped a lopsided 6-2 decision to Vegas, whom they smoked 7-3 last Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. Firstly, the Golden Knights deserve a lot of credit. They played an excellent road game. Secondly, the outing just reinforced some of the things we already knew about this Leafs team. They need some defensive help, and we’ll see if Brad Treliving can provide that between now and next Friday at 3 PM ET. T-minus 9 days from the trade deadline. Time flies.

We kicked off the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take by a dissecting a couple of clips. For the umpteenth time over the last little while, Jake McCabe cut his nose. Time to put on a bird cage, or something. Meantime, Nick Cousins was up to his old antics for the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. He pulled an Undertaker after embellishing an injury. Indisputably, Cousins has adopted the modern-day Matt Cooke handle.

Presented by Door Dash, The Appetizer focused on everything surrounding the loss to Vegas. Most specifically, we shot on the Rielly/Brodie pairing. They had a rough night. On top of that, the goaltending was a big story. Adin Hill severely outplayed Ilya Samsonov. Joseph Woll on Thursday night, right? Also, we broke down John Tavares’ rough night at the office. The captain’s clearly playing through something right now.

Meantime, thanks to Charm Diamond Centres, we took our weekly look at the Atlantic Division standings. Toronto’s eight points back of both Florida and Boston. Additionally, they’re now just two points up on the red-hot Red Wings for third in the division. Detroit’s won six in a row.

Lastly, for our weekly Great Clips segment, we were asked about what the odds would be for Ryan Reaves to get in a scrap on Saturday night against the New York Rangers. Google Matt Rempe, and you’ll have your answer.

Join us at 11 AM ET for the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take as preview Leafs and Coyotes. Arizona, who’s dropped 13 in a row (0-11-2), is 10-1-1 in its past 12 visits to Scotiabank Arena. Also, Alex Kerfoot will make his return to Toronto. Get the tissues ready. That video tribute will be something.