Bobcat’s Post Game Notes, Leafs Edition
Round 1, Game 7
Leafs lose, 2-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
-This is what we’ve all been fearing. Game 7. All i hope is that the referees are consistent. We don’t want the Bolts to show off their acting prowess and get away with it again like they did earlier in the series.
-This is one of those games where I wish Watch A Leafs Game with Steve Dangle was available outside Canada. I’ve never understood why it’s blocked in every other country.
-This crowd in the Scotiabank Arena is absolutely RAUCOUS tonight. Everything is being celebrated louder than a goal in the NWA could ever be celebrated.
-Mitch Marner had a great chance, and rang it off the post and out. The iron giveth, and the iron taketh away. That was rough.
-Very obvious trip by Brandon Hagel on Alex Kerfoot. The nearest ref to the penalty didn’t raise his arm, but THE LORD AND SAVIOR Wes McCauley did. It would have been perfect if he did one of his trademark flashy penalty PA calls for it. Unfortunately, he didn’t.
-The Leafs didn’t do anything on that power play, and then a couple minutes later, Giordano goes off for DoG. And we on the radio missed it because commercials were playing. Thanks for making us miss it, Subway. I’ve never liked your sh*tty sandwiches anyway.
-Joe Bowen has officially given up the rights to call big Jack Campbell saves. He’s just gonna let the crowd do it with one word: “SOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP.”
-Uh oh. Brayden Point just got hurt. Seems to be around the groin area. Giordano got under his right skate, so maybe that’s a tripping penalty? I don’t know, but I hope Pointer’s okay.
-Ross Colton takes a harmless… something, I don’t know, but whatever it is, it bounces off of Morgan Reilly and perfectly onto Nick Paul’s stick. 1-0 Bolts. UGH.
-The second period started with some good defensive play. I like it.
-AYE-AYE, CAPTAIN! John Tavares ties the ga-wait. WAIT. Justin Holl got called for… interference? Justin just set a pick and the Lightning player just ran into him, and Holl was the one that actually fell. HOLL GOT PENALIZED FOR THAT? AND IT NULLIFIED THE GOAL? WHAT THE F*CK!?
-Now the Hangar is chanting “REFS YOU SUCK.” If I was there, I’d be chanting too. At least this wasn’t within the last 5 minutes in a tie game like the whole thing with Foote and Hedman in Game 6.
-CAPTAIN MORGAN TIES THE GAME, AND THIS TIME THEY GET TO KEEP IT! BRING ON THE SPICE!
-William Nylander just cannot catch a break with breakaways. He finds himself all alone, and missed the net. Heartbreakingly this is not the first time that has happened in this series. I hope he finds closure soon.
-Nicholas Paul strikes again off of a bad bounce off of a Leafs defender. This time, TJ Brodie gets the dishonor of being the primary assist on an opposing team’s goal. No luck.
-Third period begins, and they cannot get it out of their own zone to save their lives. It’s like I’m watching the Blue Jackets here.
-I hate to be that guy, but SHOOT THE GODDAMN PUCK. I’m seeing way too much hesitation and too much passing.
-Oh god. Oh f*ck. Nick Paul just ran over Jack Campbell. This might be over, since the guy behind him backing hip up is the still-very-raw Erik Kallgren. Thankfully, he’s staying in, but if he gets injured again, it might be completely over.
-Marner got hooked by Palat, a god-sent opportunity to tie this game, and all but like 2 shots missed the net entirely. AND, I shall not forget, a Leaf got tripped with no call. I guess Wes didn’t catch it.
-It’s now desperation time: The Leafs have brought out the big superstar line: Mitch, Auston, and Willy. Get it done and tie this godforsaken game, guys, the world is counting on you.
-Andrei Vasilevskiy almost had a dang-it but somehow he pulls a save out of his *ss. This guy is absolutely flawless. ANNOYINGLY FLAWLESS.
-The net is empty. One f*ckup and the series is over.
-Keefe called his timeout to give his boys some rest. My heart is pounding out of my chest, but at least I get to rock out to Enter Sandman.
-Why are we not shooting? THROW EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AT THEM, MAN!
-…it’s happened again. IT’S F*CKING. HAPPENED. AGAIN. When i see this team and it’s history, I see many similarities to the old Greek tale of Sisyphus. The Leafs roll that rock up that hill, and get ever so close to clearing the peak. But, for one reason or another, they just end up rolling down to the bottom again.
They had a GOLDEN, GOD-SENT opportunity to move on in the playoffs for the first time since BEFORE I WAS BORN, and it was wrenched from their hands. Some may blame the referees for their inconsistent-at-best, malignant-at-worst officiating job in the latter part of this series, others may blame the players for making boneheaded passes to nobody and hesitating so much on offense to the point where the crowd was chanting “SHOOT THE PUCK” ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. Honestly, I believe it’s a mixture of both. The refs did the Leafs no favors at all (Multiple uncalled trips, hooks, and other things, Brayden Point’s chin-strap, Alex Killorn’s wakeboarding exhibition, etc.), but at the same time, they let those get them down.
It’s hard to take, even as a fan of another team, and I really want to see Toronto exorcize that demon, slay that dragon, whatever metaphor you want to make, and go into that elusive round 2.
This isn’t even my team, and I’m sad. That was a hard fought series, very entertaining. Go out there and dominate, Tampa.