Let’s turn black the calendar to, say, August. The Montreal Canadiens had a relatively quiet summer while the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning were doing their best to make sure they were ready to bounce back for the new year. The Leafs saw another first-round series against the Boston Bruins end in defeat after seven games while the Lightning had the best regular-season record in years to disappointingly be swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Both teams made their moves and had their expectations, and with a quarter of the season gone, it’s safe to say those expectations have not been met.