TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs have just 48 hours to demonstrate they are not the team everyone believes them to be.
It is a critical moment for the core of their dressing room to show some signs of life.
While it might be slightly premature to write off the 2024-25 Maple Leafs season entirely, their performance Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena certainly allows for preliminary conclusions. They were completely overwhelmed, losing 6-1 in Game 5 to a Florida Panthers squad that only seems to be gaining confidence. The Leafs appeared passive, merely “standing around and watching,” as one player put it.
The game started sluggishly for Toronto. It was followed by a series of significant errors from their star players. The Panthers then unleashed an avalanche of nine consecutive unanswered goals, burying the battered and bewildered Leafs like shovels of dirt on a grave. This overwhelming scoring run highlighted the stark difference in urgency and execution.
The Maple Leafs entered the most crucial home playoff game of the franchise`s past 23 years and delivered an effort level that would typically provoke exasperation and talk-radio rants even during a quiet regular season game in Columbus.
Yet, given the consistent pattern displayed by this core group over the past nine playoff appearances, perhaps this disappointing performance wasn`t surprising after all. It seemingly followed a predictable script.
