Leafs need to find another gear for playoff success

Toronto's 4-3 playoff-like loss to the Bruins in Boston suggests the Maple Leafs need to find another level of performance if they are to contend in the NHL postseason. The Leafs are likely to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoff, with the winner of that series advancing to face the Bruins.

Video Transcript

OMAR: That felt like a game 7, didn't it? The Leafs had a huge game against the Boston Bruins. As far as measuring stick, this is probably the most impactful measuring stick game you can get. Boston has been literally the standard, the golden standard of hockey this season. And also, the Leafs have a lot of history with Boston.

So of course, they lost. But they lost in the most frustrating, most game seveny, it was 3-1 way with a brutal turnover. And when we think the game is going overtime, it doesn't. I don't know why that loss bummed me out so much. But it did.

And yeah, it's a random game in the middle of the season. It doesn't matter too much. I don't know, a lot of people have been asking me, hey, what do you think they're going to do in the playoffs this year? And every time I think, hey, this team feels different, something else happens. And it kind of reverses that stance.

Now, I'm not saying the team's a tire fire, they're horrible. I'm not going to mitigate what they've done this year. But I do think it is a little concerning that a game that everyone should have been up for, Matthews comes back, again, you're facing Boston. You're in Boston. I think this could have been a really significant message sender. And not only did they lose, but they also weren't really in control of play.

Again, I don't know. What do you think? How did you think about that one? I don't know. For some reason, as soon as it happened, I just didn't feel good about it. And I hope that changes. I really hope that changes.

Because if they do the thing this year, and again, the thing being win a playoff round, if they beat Tampa, which we all know is going to happen, we got to face Tampa, they're facing Boston. And this is the 10-year anniversary of the first collapse, the first one. And I kind of wish I saw something a little more that gave me some oomph that they could do it. But hey, there's a lot of hockey left to be played. But I don't know, that game was way too game seveny for me.