The Toronto Maple Leafs are still alive in this series. On Wednesday night, they had a 2-1 win in Game 4 against the Florida Panthers. It was a gritty, resolute (and, of course, decisive) playoff victory. Now the teams are back in Canada.
The Maple Leafs have avoided one do-or-die situation, and now face three more if they are to survive this second-round series. In the game, the team delivered the kind of performance fans (and possibly their coach) have been waiting for for the past week or so. This team has shown their commitment to success.
In an exciting game, Maple Leafs showed themselves well. And in this post, I will talk about three main points. Could this win help turn the tide in the series? There is still a long way to go, but the first step has been a success.
First Takeaway: A Maple Leaf Heart Came to Life (Finally)
Finally, the Maple Leafs’ offensive firepower came into play. Mitch Marner and William Nylander both led the charge with their first goals of the series. Marner scored with a long-range shot that eluded everyone and slipped under the arm of Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky. Earlier, Nylander bounced one off the post and then bounced off Bobrovsky’s back into the net.
Both goals helped these players (and the Maple Leafs offense in general) get some much needed goals. While it was for the sixth straight game with just two goals from Toronto, this time was enough for the team. Overall, the Maple Leafs have shown their determination to fight back and have made their way back to this series.
Related: With Joseph Wall in goal, the Maple Leafs’ future is now
Second takeaway: The Maple Leafs defense showed up and shut down
In Game 4, the Maple Leafs’ defensive effort was stellar. Specifically, the team has shown a commitment to blocking shots. In the end, as a group the team sacrificed their bodies to protect rookie goaltender Joseph Wall in his first start of the NHL post-season.
Perhaps the team members are simply tired of hearing that their defensive efforts simply weren’t good enough. Whatever the reason, they emerged with a new dedication to playing solid defense against the young goalkeeper. The Maple Leafs’ defensive flexibility and Wall’s solid performance at the curl were huge factors in the team’s first round 2 victory.
Related: Maple Leafs Quick Scores: From Blame to Strategy and Production
Third takeaway: Did the maple leaf change the dynamics?
Obviously, it would take a miracle for the Maple Leafs to win their second round series. It has only happened four times in NHL history (out of the 203 times a team has had that many fewer games). Let me repeat, a team has lost three games and came back from being three games behind to nothing to win a series only four times. But one game is the beginning.
In my opinion, the Panthers have been talking a lot about not feeling any pressure in this series. In my experience, this kind of language comes from a team that has string compression in mind. Ionic, right?
The Panthers were getting a lot of play out of the running with the narrative that they were the underdogs in the series. That’s hard now when you’ve gone three games to nil (now one) and your next win forces the other team out from the sidelines. The underdog narrative doesn’t fit anymore — not anymore.
Has the weight of expectations changed, too? What will happen, for example, to the Panthers if they can’t get a win in this series? Now the maple leaf has risen to show that it has elasticity and is equally definable. Is it too little, too late?
bottom line
The win in Game 4 finally provided the Maple Leafs with a foundation to build on. The pressure will build for both teams as the series returns to Toronto. One win isn’t a streak, and the Maple Leafs need three more. They must constantly realize that every game is do-or-die from this point on. It must be a challenge. One mistake could end it all.
In the meantime, let the Maple Leafs celebrate a hard win. They also now know what they need to do to win Game 5, and so on. He’s back at work.
I had a great friend who coached Canadian college hockey. He used to say that playing defense is simply hard work. Now the Maple Leafs’ hard work continues. They worked hard in Game 4, and they can do it again in Game 5.
The Maple Leafs’ road is filled with challenges as the team strives to keep postseason dreams alive. Wouldn’t coming back from a three-game deficit be a great story?
Related: Is It Time for the Maple Leafs to “Blow It Really Well?”