#maple-leafs

#maple-leafs

Out of the blue, Scott Laughton blocked a point shot that sprung him on a partial break, and he fired a snapshot blocker side on Sam Montembeault, who played his angle poorly. Laughton wasn't done, as a little over halfway through the first, he was sprung on a breakaway off a nice pass from Bobby McMann and hit a nice fake-shot to backhand move to slide the puck five-hole for his second tally of the period.

Maple Leafs camp opened on Wednesday, and on a wall in the media room was the motivational slogan "No grit, no grind, no greatness." Eagle-eyed observers noted that this is a minor but significant change from what was printed there last season: "No grit. No grind. No greatness." The periods have been replaced with commas, after the motto was roundly mocked by those pointing out that when read in plain English, the slogan implied that the Leafs possessed none of those things.

As always, these games are difficult to evaluate; played at the beginning of the hockey schedule, it's a group of young players who have never played together facing opposition who have also never played together, leading to some chaos and a lack of structure. With that caveat out of the way, here are some of my impressions from the weekend:

I was actually with my buddies on a trip. I am getting married in two weeks. It was a good feeling. I was shocked a little bit at first, but I kind of learned about it a couple of days ago.

Despite being a depth player, Lorentz's contributions, including strong penalty killing and offensive output, made him a valuable asset for the Maple Leafs this season.

The Maple Leafs should leverage their cap space in the trade market this offseason, as the UFA crop is weak and better deals might arise.

Mike and Dan delve into the Islanders' GM search and Toronto Maple Leafs' failure, analyzing scouting strategies and the emotional fallout from playoff exits.

Knies, who plays alongside star forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and occupies the net-front spot on the top power-play unit, has five goals and two assists in 12 post-season contests this spring.

The Maple Leafs are struggling despite a series lead, with top players underperforming and a once-effective power play becoming a significant liability.