I briefly entertained a second consecutive convincing Leafs victory that would spur on an inspiring stretch run coming off of the 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. I also contemplated the possibility of a James Reimer shutout or a Jake Gardiner hat trick in what would be a third blowout Leaf loss this week.
As is tradition with this franchise, it was even worse than my worst-case scenario.
I cannot fathom why Sheldon Keefe called it only an execution problem and not an effort issue based on their five-on-five play in the first period. They played decent hockey for three to four minutes near the end of the period, but the Leafs had Frederik Andersen to thank for being 1-0 up instead of 2-1 or 3-1 down in that period.