The sky is falling! Well not really, but that is the typical reaction from Leaf Nation after a loss, especially the first one of the year.
The Leafs played absolutely horrible. They were dominated in the faceoff circle and the defence turned the puck over way to much. I must give credit where it is due; the Avs have a great young team. They forecheck very well, and they are very big on the backend, as four of six defenceman are over 230 pounds.
Phil Kessel continued his hot streak with his sixth goal of the year, but it was not enough.
The shocking play of Cody Franson, Mike Komisarek and Luke Schenn, was quite frightening. All three were slow to make decisions, and turned the puck over numerous times. Most notably would be Cody Franson leaving his man open in front of the net in overtime, leading to the game winning goal. I would like to see Jake Gardiner back in the lineup, Wednesday night.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - The Leafs will live and die with James Reimer. Was he horrible tonight? Not at all. But he did leave a lot to be desired, as his rebound control was suspect, and all three goals could have been stopped.
I must remind myself that this is a long season and these games will happen. The fact the Leafs were able to steal a point shows that they will not quit.
Ron Wilson once again cannot run a proper NHL power play. The Leafs have now gone 17 straight power play attempts without a goal. A similar trend of the last three years.
Up next for the Leafs are the Winnipeg Jets. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jonas Gustavsson play Wednesday night, while Reimer would play Thursday against the Bruins. Now it is time to see how the Leafs will react to losing.
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