The Toronto Maple Leafs have started the year without Zach Hyman, Travis Dermott and (more recently) have also been without John Tavares.
While people act like they’re some kind of disappointment, they’ve literally got three core players sitting in the press box every night.
Four if you consider that, thanks to an absolutely preposterous schedule, they’ve played three sets of back-to-back games (3 of 11) so far, and that means Andersen has had to sit out for over 25% of their games so far. (Improbably, they play another set tonight and tomorrow).
I’m not hear to offer up very legitimate reasons for the team’s recent performance, but rather to discuss what happens when their injured players come back.