THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: Comebacks, Upsets and D.B. Sweeney Michael Bunting [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk3MDQxNDQ1NjgzNjAyNzUx/usatsi_20381212.jpg] Michael Bunting Michael Bunting is eligible to return from his three-game suspension on Thursday just in time for what could go down as the most seminal hockey game of this Maple Leafs era. Normally, this would be good news. Bunting is an undoubtedly good hockey player, a money-in-the-back 20-goal guy who brings a physical edge that can help sway the result of a game. But, frankly, it would have almost been preferable from Toronto's point of view for their winger to have earned a four-game sentence and spared them from the situation they are currently in. Do the Maple Leafs put Bunting back in the lineup for Game 5? Or do they stick with what's worked? Well, there are two ways of looking at it. The first would be to determine whether or not what the Leafs have trotted out in Bunting's absence has been working at all. Sure, Toronto leads the series 3-1 after orchestrating two of the greatest and most improbable comebacks in franchise history. And no one can take that away from them. But even the most casual observer can attest that this club did not play their best hockey on their trip to Tampa. In fact, the Maple Leafs were positively stomped by the Lightning in nearly every aspect other than the final score in Games 3 and 4, barely managing to break into the offensive zone for periods on end and allowing Tampa to completely dictate the pace of play before somehow staging the impossible thanks to sheer magic, high-end skill, and, well, more magic. Yet, the reality is that results are all that matter in the grand scheme of the NHL playoffs, and so far, the Maple Leafs have gotten them. But the process must be taken into account at some point when judging sustainability. No matter how confident the Maple Leafs are feeling right now, getting caved in for 50 minutes before pulling a rabbit out of a hat in the final 10 can't be looked at as a winning strategy. In pure hockey terms, Bunting helps the Maple Leafs win hockey games. His blend of physicality and offensive skill provides Toronto's bottom six – where he'd almost certainly slot in if placed back in the lineup – with an edge over Tampa's. Comparatively, Bunting is like a better Tanner Jeannot in this sense, only he's actually put the puck in the net on occasion this season and didn't cost an entire draft class worth of picks to acquire. But, of course, pure hockey terms are not all Bunting can be judged by. At the heart of it all, Bunting has no one but himself to blame for the position he and his team are now in. Entering the series, there was perhaps no player in the entire NHL whose leash was shorter with officials than the Scarborough native – fairly or not. Referees will slap a label on a player one day and never take it off. It's the sad reality of the sport, but it's a reality nonetheless. Bunting's label was that of Target No. 1. And yet, not even three full periods in, Bunting gave them the excuse they had been looking for, committing a completely avoidable headshot against Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak that has, to this point, knocked the latter out of the series and was well worth the three-game ban Bunting ultimately received. When the spotlight was its brightest and the stakes higher than ever, Bunting couldn't control himself. It cost the Leafs a valuable player at the beginning of a series that will define an entire chapter in this franchise's history. That, and only that, is what has placed Bunting on the lineup bubble. "It's not as easy or as simple a decision as it may have been earlier in the series," said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe about slotting Bunting back in. "We will take our time and sort through it. We have a group of guys who have played real hard." So, here's where trust factors into the equation. Keefe has an extensive history with Bunting, having coached him for two years both in Toronto and during their junior days with the OHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. It's hard to think of another person in professional hockey with a better understanding of who Bunting is than Keefe, meaning that if anyone is qualified to judge whether or not this player has learned his lesson, it would be him. "I know Michael Bunting as well as anyone," said Keefe the day after Bunting's suspension was announced. "I don’t have an issue in terms of trust in him when it comes to that. He has no history of such things." If those words were true and not just mere posturing in the media from a rival coach, then Bunting should be in Toronto's lineup for Game 5 when the festivities kick off at Scotiabank Arena. The Lightning will very likely be fixated on goading Bunting into another outburst, and if he truly has mastered the self-control he lacked in Game 1, perhaps those efforts will give the Maple Leafs a few extra man-advantage opportunities – assuming Bunting is allowed to draw penalties again. Nevertheless, though, there's still always the risk that the red mist sets in, and Bunting sends the game careening out of control to the detriment of his team. It's not an easy choice to make. But it's one that must be made before the puck drops on Thursday.
