One giant obstacle beaten. Bravo Leafies!
Well the Ballard curse has been put back into the closet with the first round of the playoffs. The Maple Leafs rebooted the skates they wore for the first 3 games of their series with Ottawa and defeat them, 4-2, in game 6 in Ottawa, no less.
Though every fan will praise William Nylander as the dagger carrying stick, the whole team deserves praise. Every single leaf played his heart out and did so intelligently and calmly.
Undoubtedly, Nylander deserves praise, 2 goals in the victory. But so many others deserve acknowledgement and appreciation for hard work, for praise-worthy determination, for relentless effort. Without diminishing any of the other players, some really stood out in my mind:
Tavares, likely playing severely injured, but no matter. Face-off dominance, a zig-zagging wasp around the net. Fantastic effort.
Domi, maybe listed as a journeyman player, but not in this game where he played equal to the very best. He was a buzz saw cutting through, around, between and over Senators, all over the ice. May have been his best game of the series.
Carlo, where’d he come from, no where land to supremo on skates. This guy drove the Senators crazy the entire game.
Knies, I can’t resist, he brought the Senators to their knees with speed they could not match. The zoom in his skates was like high velocity jet thrusts. A dynamo!
Matthews, “Captain Calm and Concerted,” played with a calm that belied his brilliance as commander of the fleet. And his goal was a thing of surprising beauty. Where Washington’s Ovechkin will blast the goalie out of his jock strap, Matthews slides his goal along the ice finding a tiny couple of inches gap between the pipe and goalie Ulmark’s right skate. Slip sliding away behind the goal line. This guy has risen to his role as leader of the team.
Marner, I love this guy, little flash but constant brilliant play. He dissects the opposing players, where they are, the position they are in and then, pfffft, an incredibly good pass to the player with the best oppotunity at a goal. Not once, but repeatedly and often done using the eyes in the back of his head. Quiet dependability.
Benoit, steady, all over the ice. This guy never lets up. Much like Domi, not a celebrity name but a journeyman who has risen to punch beyond his weigh class. What a bonus to the bench!
Pacioretty, who in the hell is Pacioretty? Only the game winning goal scorer with just over 5 mins left to the game. Thank you sir!
Tanev, reminds one of the Boston giant, Chara. He’s not loud, not brash, not explosive…just solid, steady defense. Dependable and reliable. A very needed and solidly contributing Leaf, every game. You never hear much about him but he’s Samson with the hair and the strength on the Leafs defence.
Stolarz, a goalie with an arsenal of acrobatic maneouvres that stop certain goals. Opposing goalie Linus Ulmark had Lady Luck playing alongside in his goal last game. She abandoned him for Stolarz this game. Skills undeniable, so many times. The right position, the right stance, bobbing his head from side to side to keep sight of the puck, Stolarz stopped all but two shots, one of which deflect into the goal off his back! But Lady Luck was with Stolarz this game. When he flopped flat on the ice, it was to smother and cover the puck. Numerous scrambles in front him should have resulted in goals, but he and Lady Luck saved the day, the goal. Great play the whole game.
Naming the above players is just shining a spotlight on certain members but that spotlight should shine its light on so many others: Reilly (The Montreal’s Gallagher of the Leafs), McCabe, Laughton, McMann, Lorentz, Myers, Holmberg, and Larsson. Everyone of these guys contributed above their weight class, beyond what was expected of them.
These Leafs could very well be the team that beats the Ballard curse. But we are a long ways away from writing that line.
Onward and upward…..the next team, the Florida Panthers have brought the Leafs to the ground before. This year? Much slimmer chances with these Leafs.
Come on Florida….bring it on !
