For the Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1 of their first-round series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning was as close to a worst-case scenario as you can get.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1 of their first-round series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning was as close to a worst-case scenario as you can get.
TORONTO – It could not have possibly gone worse.
Every question mark that hung over the Toronto Maple Leafs' heads heading into their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night came crashing down upon them in spectacular fashion.
You name it – it bit them.
The goaltending faltered, as Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll surrendered seven goals on 34 shots, with Samsonov getting the hook to start the third period. The club's inability to start games on time dealt them an early two-goal gut punch from which they never recovered, thanks in large part to some truly horrific net-front coverage.
And, to top it all off, Toronto's overall lack of discipline gave the league's third-ranked power play a whopping eight opportunities to cook with throughout the course of the game. Even the player whose sole mandate was to not give the officials an excuse to target him – Michael Bunting – earned himself a match penalty, game misconduct and hearing on Wednesday.
The Maple Leafs' 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their own building was as close to a worst-case scenario as NHL hockey games get. There's no sugarcoating it. But if anything can offer them solace in these trying times, it's the fact that there's nowhere to go but up.
"We just had a lot of hesitation in our game," explained Maple Leafs forward Ryan O'Reilly, whose playoff debut in the Blue and White likely looked different in his head.
"We were just thinking too much. You could tell right at the start, with their speed, we just let it get away from us, honestly. And we were in a hole since then."
Samsonov, on the other hand, had a more succinct summation of the night's outcome.
"I will be better," the typically good-natured netminder told reporters.
"I played like s--t today."
That about sums it up.
The Lightning were simply the better team on Tuesday night in nearly every facet, accomplishing the inverse of what Toronto managed to do in actually shrugging off nearly every red flag that doubters had stapled to them heading into the series.
Tampa's speed was electric in all three areas of the ice against a roster that, on paper, boasts superior depth; their puck-hunger was downright unquenchable.
Even after losing arguably their top two defensemen in Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak to respective injuries midway through the second period, the Lightning still managed to stifle practically every Maple Leafs surge with relative ease until the final horn. They wreaked havoc in the neutral zone, in particular, by preventing their rush-heavy opponent from entering their end with any momentum.
Funnily enough, Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had plenty of questions surrounding him ahead of Tuesday's contest, wasn't even particularly dominant. He was fine – mainly because that's all he needed to be.
What was left in the aftermath was a Maple Leafs team searching for answers, a group trumpeting the need to "learn" from their defeat in Game 1 in order to properly tackle Game 2 despite a half-decade of prior identical performances to draw from.
The time for learning is over. Every student must graduate at some point, and these Leafs are dangerously close to sticking around long enough for a PhD. Tangible results are the only thing that will cut it these days. And, once again, they didn't come.
"It's hard to explain," said captain John Tavares, asked to answer for his team's performance in front of a crowd starving for any mere morsel of post-season success.
"We're disappointed with the way tonight went, no doubt."
All is not lost, though. There's a reason why playoff series are best-of-seven. One short year ago, it was the Lightning who stumbled out the gate in Game 1, losing 5-0 to this same opponent in this same building. The Leafs team that hit the ice in April 2022 was demonstrably worse than this one. And, in the context of this season, Toronto's performance on Tuesday night was entirely uncharacteristic. This is a very good hockey team. There's no doubting that.
Changes must be made, though.
Michael Bunting facing a possible suspension means super prospect Matthew Knies will likely draw in, perhaps giving the bottom six a skill and speed element it lacked in this outing. Timothy Liljegren should rejoin the blueline, too – although the chances of that happening will always be uncertain, given the coach's undying affinity for Justin Holl. And perhaps reuniting Calle Jarnkrok with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will ignite the spark that carried that line to sterling results over the course of the regular season.
Either way, Sheldon Keefe sums it up best.
"That's the nature of a playoff series," the coach said.
"It's on us to respond."