Oh NO, Jake!

As I watched the game, it was tense. When Muzzin went down, all of the blood rushed to my head. As a Maple Leafs fan, I know how important Muzzin is. Without him, how many minutes will Reilly have to play? 30-35 minutes? 

Other defensemen are going to have to step up. Cody Ceci is going to have to take more responsibility and play with intelligence. Tyson Barrie will have to take on more minutes and play more responsibly in the defensive end. Barrie will have to think defensively first. Barrie has done better in the defensive play in this series. He still has to take it up another notch.  

Whether it is Rosen or Sundin, Reilly will have to take them under his wing and mentor them. Both are very young and will make mistakes. This is where Reilly, Ceci, and Barrie have to become leaders and bail them out.  Sundin is the closest to being an NHL calibre player. He has had some NHL experience and played well at times. Sundin will need a veteran with him, more than likely, Cody Ceci. Sundin is probably a better defenseman, but Ceci is a vet who can settle him down. For the Leafs to succeed, this will have to be a team mission, which means the forwards will have to come back to help out. 

Andersen has been a wall and will continue being a wall. He might have to be a house. Andersen will be asked to bail out his teammates again and again. Can he do it? Well, yes, but the better question is, will he?

Last Word

 

The best forward on the ice has been Matthews. He has to continue to perform. It was nice to see JT lend some support. The stars have to step in as it comes down to a best of three.

Randy