The Maple Leafs’ challenge: to win… at home

Last night, there were four teams facing elimination: Toronto, New York (Islanders), Winnipeg, and Nashville.

We saw two teams (Toronto and Nashville) survive, but two others (New York and Winnipeg) join Washington and Tampa Bay, who headed for home.

So there were only 12 teams left.

I don’t know if I’m the only one to have come to such a conclusion (spoiler alert: no), but I really expected to see the Maple Leafs lose yesterday’s game.

But instead, they dug deep and found a sense of urgency. Matthew Knies gave his team the win in overtime.

They also took advantage of the fact that the Bruins really didn’t come out like we thought they would. The Maple Leafs controlled that game (without Auston Matthews, mind you)… and let’s just say that without Jeremy Swayman, it would have been a thaw.

Oh well.

Obviously, the job isn’t done in Toronto. There are still two wins to go… and ironically, the hardest part will be winning at home for the Maple Leafs.

It’s unusual to say this in the sports world, but the prices are too high (both to get in and to drink) for real fans.

It’s often the ties that fill the place, and that makes for a bad atmosphere in the arena. And, as Renaud Lavoie reminded us on the radio this morning, they don’t hesitate to boo the players quickly if the show isn’t good enough. What’s the advantage of the ice?

Jim Montgomery complained at the start of the series that his club was spending too much time in Toronto because of the schedule. But in reality, he shouldn’t complain too quickly, since the Maple Leafs’ victories in the series came in Boston.

It may sound cheesy, but the club will return home tomorrow night and could count on Auston Matthews… and we wonder if that’s a good thing. #OnlyInToronto #Don’tBreakAFormulaThatWorks

Obviously, if Matthews is healthy(we don’t know what’s wrong with him, so it’s hard to say), he’ll play. But would he be a positive factor?

In gusto

– Michael McCarron has the Preds’ confidence.

– Hum…

– He’s not?