Dismal Leafs’ Performance in Game 3 Puts Buds on Collision Course To Make Big Changes Next Year

The Toronto Maple Leafs came up flat, once again, in their 3-2 overtime loss to Florida in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday night. And this time, there was no valid excuse for them to underachieve to the degree they did against the Panthers.

You can and should start the blame game with the efforts of the Leafs’ highest-paid players Sunday. Although superstar center Auston Matthews hit the Panthers’ crossbar at the beginning of Game 3 and he did have some solid defensive moments. And winger William Nylander garnered an assist on the second goal of the night. But captain John Tavares has been sub-par, and star winger Mitch Marner has been even worse; none of Nylander, Matthews, Tavares and Marner have scored against Florida, and that’s simply unacceptable.

Marner, in particular, stood out like a sore thumb Sunday. When he wasn’t making egregious turnovers deep in Toronto’s zone, Marner was a non-factor in the offensive end. He’s been in the league long enough to understand the difference between regular-season and post-season intensity, but Marner hasn’t shown the willingness or ability to raise his game and create legitimate scoring chances. He’s been on the fringes of action, and he deserves to take the heat for his performance in the second round.

Similarly, defenseman Justin Holl was a liability in Game 3, allowing Panthers forward Anthony Duclair to slip past him and into a breakaway on Florida’s first goal of the night. Holl simply isn’t an above-average defender, and to think that Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe prefers him over Holl is baffling. Holl is going to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he’s almost assuredly not going to be back for the salary cap-strapped Leafs. Why show loyalty to him now? He was a healthy scratch late in the first round for good reason, and he didn’t show anything in Game 3 that should make him a must-play player in Game 4 on Wednesday.

As a group, the Leafs looked like a team that was playing not to lose, rather than playing to win. It’s a fine line between minimizing mistakes and getting the jitters and being afraid of making smart offensive pushes, and Toronto was on the wrong side of that line on Sunday. As a result, the Leafs have completely squandered the goodwill they created in the win over Tampa Bay. And when Florida puts the finishing touches on the series, Toronto is going to take well-earned heat for their play.

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As we’ve said before, the Leafs’ core-four forward group of Marner, Matthews, Tavares and Nylander is going to be very difficult to break up. We still don’t believe Matthews is going anywhere, and Tavares’ bulky contract will be next to impossible to deal. But the way things have gone against the Panthers, Marner’s future in Toronto is in question, and Nylander might have to be traded in order to get the Leafs’ defense corps in order. No Leafs fan wants to make that type of sacrifice, but no Leafs fan wants to go through another year of these flat efforts and no-shows when the games matter most.

Toronto’s dismal showing in Game 3 was so alarming because there was no urgency to their game. It felt like a pre-season contest, in terms of the Leafs’ intensity. And now, with only one loss separating Toronto from staying alive in the playoffs, there seems to be no going back with this squad. They’ve made their beds, they’re going to have to sleep in them, and their fans aren’t going to be happy about it. This is all their own creation, and they have to own it and wear it.