In order to get farther this year, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock is going to have to improve in some key areas.
You can blame the Leafs loss to the Bruins on bad luck – Hyman, Gardiner and Dermott were all playing hurt, the Bruins scored an unsustainable one power-play goal per game, and Nazem Kadri was suspended.
The Leafs could have beaten the Bruins anyways, but after the loss, it was hard to think about anything other than the fact that Babcock’s coaching was the equivalent of several own-goals.
People like to blame Gardiner or Andersen, but it was Babcock who really screwed up in games six and seven.