The noise around the Toronto Maple Leafs has grown louder by the day.
There was no panic after a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 4, as Toronto controlled the majority of play and felt confident they would close things out at home in Game 5. But that next game has changed everything.
The Maple Leafs were shut out 4-0 by the Senators, putting forth a very uninspiring performance with an opportunity to advance into the second round. Ottawa has now cut the series lead down to 3-2, and doubt has certainly crept into the fanbase heading into Game 6.
Former NHLer and noted Maple Leafs supporter, Paul Bissonnette, went on Leafs Morning Take on Friday and shared his honest thoughts on the Core 4’s performance in recent losses. The Leafs Nation shared the clip on X (formerly Twitter).
“They laid an egg, yeah, they took a dump. I don’t know, I wasn’t crazy about the effort, but they, they got another opportunity tonight to prove us wrong and show us that it’s different. Yeah, they kind of put themselves in this situation. I didn’t think they were too bad in Game 4, though. I thought they were solid. I thought it was probably their second-best overall effort in the series so far, obviously game one being their best,” Bissonnette said.
“So the, I don’t know if tonight doesn’t go well, you have to just assume it’s just like a mental block of these elimination games where you know, you try to, you would imagine, at their level, and their profession, you could ignore the outside noise. But maybe that’s not the case, maybe, maybe they do look at their phones, I guess,” Bissonnette added.
The Core 4 of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares all went pointless and combined to be a -14 rating in the Game 5 loss.
The Maple Leafs can quiet all the noise with a Game 6 win
The Toronto Maple Leafs remain in control of their own destiny.
Despite the panic and drama around Leafs Nation, their team still holds a 3-2 series lead and has plenty of reasons to feel optimistic ahead of Game 6. All it takes is one win for Toronto to secure a date with the Florida Panthers in Round 2.
We still have yet to see the big boys make their mark in the biggest moments; however, they get another opportunity to prove everyone wrong on Thursday.
The Maple Leafs get their third shot at eliminating the Ottawa Senators in Game 6 of their first-round series on Thursday night. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at the Canadian Tire Centre.
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Edited by Jackson Weber
