Maple Leafs avoid urgency in Game 4 and their season is on the brink

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There’s ugly, and then there’s the Maple Leafs effort in Game 4 on Saturday.

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For much of the night at Scotiabank Arena, the Leafs played like they knew that if they lost, they still would have another game against the Boston Bruins in the best-of-seven, first-round series. 

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It’s a fact, and it’s also true that if the Leafs play in Game 5 on Tuesday in Boston like they did on Saturday their season will be over.

You’ve seen the lack of urgency from the Leafs in the playoffs before, and there it was again in all its glory in a 3-1 loss against the Bruins.

Boston holds a 3-1 lead in the series and can send the Leafs home for the summer with a win at TD Garden on Tuesday.

Don’t go commending the Leafs for turning it on in the third period, when they finally beat goalie Jeremy Swayman on a goal by Mitch Marner before the six-minute mark. Had the Leafs demonstrated that kind of desperation from the opening faceoff, we would probably be talking about a series that was tied 2-2.

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A couple of things have to happen in Game 5 to give the Leafs the best chance to win.

One, Auston Matthews, as long as he is healthy enough to play, has to be with Marner from the first shift.

Two, William Nylander can’t be stuck on a line with Pontus Holmberg as his centre. 

The things that Matthews and Marner do together aren’t matched by many duos in the National Hockey League. We get it: Coach Sheldon Keefe has liked Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi on a line with Matthews. The Leafs, though, have seven goals in the series. 

Crucial for the Leafs will be getting Matthews, who left the game after the second period, to better health. An illness bothered Matthews for much of the week, and in the first two periods on Saturday, he recorded just one shot on goal in 14 minutes 16 seconds of ice time.

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The Leafs initially didn’t say why Matthews departed the game, posting on X only that he would not be returning.

And while Nylander had some pep in his first game of the series, having Holmberg as his centre is akin to wasting Nylander’s talent. Put him with Matthews and Marner, or with Tavares, or even with Domi at centre at this point.

THOUGHTS AND DOTS

Joseph Woll entered the game to start the third period and made five saves in relief of Ilya Samsonov. Don’t know, though, that Keefe will turn to Woll to start Game 5 with the season on the line. Samsonov didn’t have much of a chance on any of the Bruins’ goals … The boos had started to get loud as the second period ended, but the Leafs’ game operations team were quick to respond and cranked the music, drowning out the fans’ frustrations as the Leafs departed the ice. We imagine the players knew exactly how their supporters were feeling, never mind the pulse-pounding sounds reverberating through the arena … The Leafs looked good on their first penalty kill when Marner was called for tripping at 7:48 of the first period. Matthew Knies got his stick on an attempt, David Kampf had a couple of clears and Samsonov made two saves. And on their second kill, Jake McCabe made a big block not long before Charlie McAvoy set up Brad Marchand for a one-timer and a 2-0 Bruins lead … Giving up a goal in the final minute of a period can be deadly. TJ Brodie, playing in his first game of the series, couldn’t stop a bouncing puck and Marchand tipped it past him, creating a short 2-on-0 with David Pastrnak. The latter popped the puck past Samsonov at 19:18 of the second to put Boston up 3-0 … The basic principle of playing on the fourth line: Don’t get scored on. In that regard, the Leafs failed in the first period when Ryan Reaves’ clearing attempt was deflected by Bruins defenceman Mason Lohrei and the puck bounced to former Leaf James van Riemsdyk, who moved to his backhand to put the puck past Samsonov … Ilya Lyubushkin assisted on Marner’s goal. Earlier in the third, Lyubushkin hit the post … The highlight of the night for the Leafs happened before the game, when there was a moment of reflection/tribute for the late Bob Cole, featuring some of his best calls of Leafs goals. Though the tribute could have been inspiring, it didn’t light a spark under the Leafs.

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X: @koshtorontosun

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