With their loss against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs losing streak hit six games. Even worse, all six games were lost in regulation, meaning the Leafs haven’t taken a single point since their win over the Los Angeles Kings two weeks ago. Not even the return of number one goaltender Jonathan Bernier could stop the Leafs current free fall. Perhaps more concerning, they have not won a game in regulation at home since before the Olympic Break.
In the process the Leafs have fallen from 3rd in the Eastern Conference to 10th place, and out of the playoffs. According to Sportsclubstats.com, their playoff chances sat at 89% after the win over Los Angeles and are now down under 25%. It is becoming more an more likely that there will be No Buds in this spring’s playoffs.
With only eight games to go, and their competitors for the final playoff spot having 10 or more games left, the Leafs need to start winning and start winning now if they are to make the playoffs. If they don’t this late season collapse will go down as very similar to the one they suffered in the 2011-2012 season, one that former general manager Brian Burke labelled as an 18-wheeler driving straight off a cliff.
The Leafs will be scoreboard watching tonight, before their first chance to end the streak, tomorrow night in Philadelphia when they take on the Broad Street Bullies. The Flyers lost 3-1 last night to the New York Rangers.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Hockey writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
