Toronto Maple Leafs Implode In Horrific Loss to Florida Panthers

The Toronto Maple Leafs (31-23-14) made a slew of mistakes during their ugly 7-2 loss against the Florida Panthers (30-27-11) on Tuesday night and now find themselves out of a playoff spot.

Thoughts and Observations

This loss was riddled with mistakes, but I think the opening 20 minutes of this game tells you everything you need to know.

scored 18 seconds into the game,

blew a tire on the power play and it led to a shorthanded goal, it took the Leafs seven minutes to register a shot on net, the team had three first period power plays and only converted on one, and goaltender

was pulled during the first intermission with the score sitting at 3-1. A whole heck of a lot more happened in between those moments, but that’s the Cliff notes version, which probably saves you a ton of stress since I wouldn’t advise re-watching this agonizing game again.

‘s line was demolished, allowing two goals against in the first period and Kadri finished the night with a -5 rating, but it was the pairing of

and Zaitsev that were truly eviscerated by the Panthers. Both players were regularly out of position, or drifting in their own zone, and it led to what seemed like an endless supply of quality scoring chances for the Panthers. There were plenty of other mistakes, too, like puck watching.

Jonathan Marchessault continues to assault the Leafs and his two goals in this contest now gives him five goals and one assist in four games against Toronto. We like to joke around and refer to players as “Raptor killers” in the NBA, well, I think it’s fair to call Marchessault a “Leaf killer” at this point.

Andersen was pulled after just 20 minutes of action, but he didn’t get any help from his defence and, to be fair, there wasn’t much he could have done to prevent this game from getting out of hand. The Leafs defence has been shaky all season, but Tuesday night might have been the pinnacle when it comes to their poor defensive performances this season.

The only Leaf who showed a consistent level of play on offence was — no surprise here —

, who did all he could to try to jump-start the lifeless Leafs.

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I’m sure Mike Babcock’s decision to give the Leafs a full day off in the sun on Monday will draw a lot of attention between now and Thursday’s game against the Lightning, and I can understand why, but I don’t think we should put too much emphasis on it. Yes, this team is young. But these players are professional athletes and I highly doubt they’re just going to stay locked in their hotel rooms prior to game-time, so let’s not be naive here. However, it is on them to show up prepared and ready to play when coach rewards you with an extra day off. That wasn’t the case and the blame should fall solely on the players, not Babcock.

Stat of the Night

Overall, it was an ugly game with very few bright spots, but Nylander’s impressive ability on the power play provided us with a noteworthy stat, via TSN’s Mark Masters. The 20-year-old Swede has been outstanding on the man-advantage this season and I fully expect him to break the Leafs rookie record for power play points in a season.

What’s Next

The Maple Leafs will travel four hours northwest to take on the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa Bay on Thursday night at Amalie Arena. Fresh off a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, the Lightning have won four in a row, seven of their last nine, and sit one point ahead of the Leafs — and one point back of the Islanders —  for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been on a tear since Ben Bishop was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, posting a 6-0-1 record with a 1.38 goals against and .966 save percentage. On top of Vasilevskiy and Lightning’s stellar play, the Leafs have only won four of their last 14 games when playing in Tampa. I would expect a highly motivated Leafs team on Thursday night in what should be a competitive, playoff-like game.

Next: Report: Leafs Expected to Sign Grundstrom to ELC

What did you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs ugly 7-2 loss against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below