It has been a season full of ups and downs for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs started the season off pretty good and didnt look like the were doing too bad, in fact they were looking like the 2012-2013 Leafs. The ones that made the playoffs. The Leafs were healthy than and didnt have any affecting injuries. Than David Bolland got injured after a game against the Vancouver Canucks where Matt Kassian’s skate cut his leg, similar to Erik Karlsson’s injury that kept him out for most of the season, but not as serious as Karlsson’s. Bolland was a key player on the team but the Leafs stood up and didn’t let that get in their way, as they continued to fight their way through and look like another playoff bound team. Than Tyler Bozak got injured. His injury was a big one to us because he was our #1 center and he could win a lot of our faceoffs, not to mention the crazy chemistry he has with Phil Kessel. Than they starter to look like they were out of gas and didn’t play so well, they went 1-7 once in fact. This wasn’t good for them because this was the time where HBO 24/7 came in.
24/7 is the show where they go behind the scenes of both teams that play at the Winter Classic, which are the Leafs and Red Wings. A lot of Leafs fans got to see how the buds lived their lives and how they were in the locker room. They were not so good during this program as they won about 3 games while the spotlight was on them. Than the Winter Classic came in, the Leafs and Red Wings were finally getting ready to square off. And the scene could not have been any better. It was a perfect snowy afternoon in Detroit as the two teams took to battle. This one looked like it was going to overtime or shootout from the beginning, which is what happened. And this is when Tyler Bozak made an impact in his first game back. He was the one that scored the shootout winner to end an amazing game. From this point the Leafs looked better than before. They started playing like they really wanted it and won games. They even beat the Boston Bruins. The Bruins that sent them out of Boston in a horrible way in last years playoffs. As of right now, January 22nd. They have just defeated the Colorado Avalanche and are on a 6 game winning streak, looking to make it 7 games when they face the Dallas Stars in their next game.
Every Leaf fan can agree that we have a good team that can make it far in the playoffs. Even though we are young, our young players are the one that make an impact. The players like Jake Gardiner, Morgan Reilly, and Nazem Kadri. The list can go on but those are some key players. And even with some of our older players like Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, and James Van Reimsdyk. And don’t forget our captain Dion Phaneuf that has been great for us. Our goalies have been in an awkward situation. Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer are both playing like #1 goalies but we all know that only one of them is the Leafs’ starter. And a lot of people are pointing out Jonathan Bernier as the starter. He is the newly acquired Quebec goalie from the LA Kings that we got, and we gave up Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin, and some picks.
Hopefully the Leafs can continue like they are playing right now and make the playoffs, because Toronto strives off of the Leafs and playoff hockey. Hockey is a game of skill and determination, and every Leaf fan will find out how much of that skill and determination the Leafs are using, come playoff time.
On a side note, this was my first article for Bored Hockey Fan. I would greatly appreciate if you guys could leave your honest opinion and any helpful criticism is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and look forward to my next articles!
