John Tavares may be playing the best season of his career. He is bringing it every game. My source says, "JT has been the leader since the captain joined the team. What makes him the leader is he is willing to do what it takes to win."The Maple Leafs have been struggling of late, until the victory over the Flyers on Wednesday night. Defense has been a sore spot, whether it is missing assignments or making huge mistakes, adding up to many scoring chances and abandoning goalies to their own devices.
The forwards are too lazy. Instead of resorting to hooking or tripping minors, the forwards have to start hustling and helping out the defense. Their primary infraction is leaving the zone too quickly and not giving the defense options to pass the puck, which leads to blind passes and icings.
Offense has also been struggling; the pressure is on the big two. Matthews and Marner have to pick it up, as JT and Nylander have been doing their part. I never thought the offense would be a problem. Hopefully, the Philly game is a sign of good things to come.
Update
The Maple Leafs might be fixing their problems of late with wins over the Canes and Bruins. There were even some positive notes in the Vegas game. Marner might have played his best game of the year.
Randy
