A Pair of Former Maple Leafs Have Slammed the Leafs' Core Following Shutout Loss
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski - USA Today Sports
After yet another disastrous showing with the series on the line, a pair of former Maple Leafs forwards have officially slammed the Leafs' core's performance.
The Maple Leafs slumped to another defeat with the opportunity to advance to the second round of the playoffs once again slipping through their fingers. Their on-ice performance was tough to watch, but maybe even worse was how the core players performed.
Their no-show didn't escape the clutches of the media or the organization's former players, and with the series shifting back to Ottawa for Game 6, it's high time for them to finally show up.
First it was Jay Rosehill who tore through their performance, pointing out that the core players never come to the plate at the biggest and most important moments.
"Every other time of the year, they're great, but when that time specific time comes to step on their throats and bury the dagger... no where to be found. There's no way around it, it's not my opinion, it's a fact. They're 1-13 in deciding games. That's where your stars come up and win the game, they're 0-30 on the power play, all that talent... and our star players never do it, and I mean never. I'm not saying they won't or they might/might not or they haven't a few times. They never do it. That's the only difference."
Kris Versteeg then joined the JD Bunkis Podcast and had the same feelings as Rosehill, but added that it also falls on the coaching staff for their lack of accountability when they see the same mistakes.
"It's not only the players' fault, it's the coaches' fault for no accountability there to do the right things in order for those small details to add up to hurt you. Maybe if you put Mitch on a different line for a couple of shifts, or if you play Auston on a different line to get them a little more physically engaged. It's just monotonous. It's the same thing over and over... but, if you want to win a Stanley Cup, you gotta make guys uncomfortable."
They will get a third opportunity to close things out on Thursday night, but something needs to drastically change from within to squash their 1-13 record in elimination games.
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AVRIL 30 | 2891 ANSWERS A Pair of Former Maple Leafs Have Slammed the Leafs' Core Following Shutout Loss How many goals will the core players combine for in Game 6? | ||
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