Not Again
Oh Good Lord! Not again…
Diehard Leaf Fan watching the game last night, the camera panned the fans and so many had the same look on their faces as I did watching. Former whipping boy Phil Kessel takes an all too familiar shot to put the Penguins ahead. With Pittsburgh missing some of their regulars, I thought we SHOULD be OK.
Who forgot to tell the Pens call ups, that the Leafs needed the win to make the playoffs. The Leafs looked slow and were not playing the same as they had for much of the year. Fear was coursing through my veins. With the number of American League players on the Pens roster, I thought the Leafs needed to be forcing the play, but Pittsburgh was for the most part the aggressor. Some of the Leafs were shying away from the physical Penguins.
I had no expectations that this years’ Leafs would ever have a chance to make the playoffs. But I was again willing to be patient if I could see improvement in their play. For years I have used the creedo, “As long as they entertain me!” Well the team this year has definitely done that, there have been very few games where I thought they were not “Entertaining me.”
Yippee!!! We’re in! Sounds great, but in all reality, this is just adding to the experience for so many of this years’ team. Valuable experience that can hopefully build the playoff toughness necessary to succeed in the future. I can’t help but admire the maturity of Matthews, the playmaking of Marner. Nylander has taken a big step forward, his quick shot and ability to locate open teammates makes his value to the team better each game. Leaf Management… Get Zaitsev signed ASAP to that long term deal I keep hearing about. Also, who knew that Kadri could listen and improve so much, this is the player Leafs were hoping for when they drafted him as high as they did. At the time of this writing I have not heard anything about Andersen, I hope he is not going to have soft melon for his career. Teams will exploit that if needed.
Now, not asking for too much, We need a win tonight so we can play Ottawa!
