Leafs @ Lightning - Apr. 21st, 8:00pm - TSN4, TSN 1050

[Frank E]

I stopped watching at 3-0.

It's probably a good little wake-up call before we get to meaningful games here in a week or two.

[Bender]

It's astounding to me that we have an even season series with the Lightning, one where we spanked them 6-2 with their starter in net, that they've been struggling recently, we just ripped 11 of 13(?) and the consensus is based on this game, where we have our third stringer in net and no Matthews or Muzzin is the basis for trouble in the playoffs.

I mean honestly how can you be surprised.

I guess I consider this a more well adjusted segment of the fanbase, but I guess you can't outrun the "If they lost the last game they're garbage" segment.

[Omallley]

I stopped watching at 3-0.

It's probably a good little wake-up call before we get to meaningful games here in a week or two.

I stopped at the same moment. And I couldn't agree more. I'm not worried the sky is falling, and getting a bruising like this before the playoffs start? That's motivation for May's series.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/ScoutingTheRefs/status/948323290304647174
This is from 2018. This was the game sheet for the result that night.

The more recent record in Skilliter games has been less egregious (the Leafs are better than they were in '14-18). Including last night: 7-7

[CarltonTheBear]

I stopped watching at 3-0.

It's probably a good little wake-up call before we get to meaningful games here in a week or two.

I didn't watch any of it but I feel like Keefe hit the nail on the head with his "the game meant more to them tonight than it meant to us" comment. The Leafs have been playing pretty dominant hockey since the deadline prior to last night, as evidence by their 0.833 points percentage. That stretch of hockey has also pretty much locked up 2nd place in the Atlantic/home ice in the 1st round for them. They were at game 78 of 82 and didn't bring their A effort (or even their B effort) to a meaningless regular season game. Meh.

Tampa on the other hand has been struggling since the deadline, playing barely above .500 hockey, which has led them to still be battling for playoff positioning with Boston. They had significantly more to prove in this game, especially on their own home ice, and to their credit they definitely appeared to do that.

Would I have liked to see them crush Tampa, sure. It wouldn't helped at all with the "sky is falling" crowd though since they would have just pretended that game didn't happen like all the other times we've beaten top teams in the league this season.

[bustaheims]

I stopped at the same moment. And I couldn't agree more. I'm not worried the sky is falling, and getting a bruising like this before the playoffs start? That's motivation for May's series.

I feel the same way. Can't live and die game to game. It's a long season, the team was without its starting goalie, best player, and a key defenceman (who, admittedly, hasn't been playing well of late), with not much of meaning to play for.

Also, getting spanked like that - definitely motivation for the 1st round. Honestly, at this point, the rest of the regular season doesn't mean much from a team accomplishment perspective. They can't pass Florida (even if they won last night, it would have been extremely unlikely), they've basically locked down 2nd in the division, they've already set franchise records, etc. Outside of some individual things and some experimenting with line combos, etc., the biggest goal for the team in the next week and a half is to get through unscathed. Everything else is gravy.

[princedpw]

Looking at the box score, it appears Tampa scored 5pp goals. Toronto has had one one the best penalty kills in the league. There's not a lot of reason to believe this game is predictive of what will happen in the future.

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

The MLHS takeaway paragraph pretty much nails it.

[L K]

The only thing I will say is that three of our last 4 games should be tough.

Florida is only playing for home ice in the Cup Finals if Colorado makes it through the East but they are just a good team.

Washington is playing to get out of playing Florida/Carolina as a wildcard team so positioning still matters.  Then they get to play Detroit and then finish up in a Game 82 where Boston could be trying to determine whether they play Florida or Carolina.

Tampa finishes out with Nashville, Florida, Columbus x2, Islanders

Boston finishes with Rangers, Habs, Panthers, Sabres, Leafs

2nd in the division is probably still locked up. 

[Heroic Shrimp]

If you think this Leaf team sucks based on last night, let me tell you about the hapless Leaf team I remember from decades ago. In the first round they lost games by scores of 6-2, 6-3, and 7-3! Man, did they suck so bad.

Oh, they also won that series, and also the next series, and ended up finally bowing out in Game 7 of the 1993 Conference Finals. Bunch of losers.

[Joe]

I also remember a leafs team that won the season series 7-1 against the blues (you know when divisional play mattered) and got destroyed in 5 games in the first round against the very same St. Louis blues.

[bustaheims]

I also remember a leafs team that won the season series 7-1 against the blues (you know when divisional play mattered) and got destroyed in 5 games in the first round against the very same St. Louis blues.

Also a Leafs team that couldn't beat Ottawa in the regular season and then swept them in the playoffs. In fact, basically ever year the Leafs beat the sens in the playoffs, they struggled against them during the season. Ultimately, once the playoffs get going, what happened in the regular season is much less meaningful.

[Nik]

Responding to the "A-ha! This loss proves the Leafs will struggle in the playoffs" gang with reasoned, fact based arguments is like the people on twitter who "dunk" on Trump supporters by pointing out hypocrisies. If they cared about intellectual consistency, they wouldn't be who they were in the first place.

[Bender]

Responding to the "A-ha! This loss proves the Leafs will struggle in the playoffs" gang with reasoned, fact based arguments is like the people on twitter who "dunk" on Trump supporters by pointing out hypocrisies. If they cared about intellectual consistency, they wouldn't be who they were in the first place.

This is one of my favourite posts I have ever read.

[Heroic Shrimp]

Responding to the "A-ha! This loss proves the Leafs will struggle in the playoffs" gang with reasoned, fact based arguments is like the people on twitter who "dunk" on Trump supporters by pointing out hypocrisies. If they cared about intellectual consistency, they wouldn't be who they were in the first place.

Well put! Although, to be fair, dunks are more for the entertainment of like-minded others than to be actually processed by the dunkee.