Just like that, the five-game winning streak is over, so is the five game road winning streak.
Such is life.
All in all, there’s no reason to overreact to Toronto’s 6-3 loss in Raleigh on Thursday night. As Carter Hutton – who filled in for Jay Rosehill on the Friday edition of Leafs Morning Take – astutely noted, the mentors trip isn’t for the faint of heart. Bottom line, there’s no reason to dwell on this one. After that, it was time for the first ever ASK HUTTON segment as I polled him on what to do with my beer league netminder. Simply put, he refuses to take shots in warm-up because he’s been dinged in the helmet too many times. It’s severely hurting his play in the first period. For the record, Hutts’ ruling on this was the correct one.
Then, we dove into the game a bit. Thunder Bay’s Jordan Staal netted his fourth career hat-trick. Meantime, William Nylander bumped an eight game goalless drought, which was great to see. Joseph Woll had a rough outing. That’s going to happen from time to time. Additionally, we talked about the Knies-Matthews-Marner trio and their combined minus-17 showing. Whatever. People are making that a bigger story than it needs to be. Also, yes, we got into some power play conversation, too. We saw the return of the five forward set against the Canes. They were promptly scored on. Luckily, they returned serve seconds later. Ah, the trials and tribulations of Toronto’s power play. Naturally, I brought up the name Bruce Boudreau again. Personally, I think he can really help this team.
Brought to you by Charm Diamond Centres, Stephen Brunt dropped by to dish on episode two of his wicked limited edition six-part docu-series. For this one, he sat down with wrestling legend and Leafs fan Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland. It was such a captivating listen. You can check it out here.
Lastly, I will be recording a Leafs Morning Take / Canucks Conversation crossover with Canucks Army’s David Quadrelli on Saturday morning, so be on the lookout for that on YouTube and wherever you find your podcasts, too.
Jay Rosehill will be back in the mix on Monday. Join us at 11 AM ET as we recap Leafs/Canucks. Also, The Nation Network’s Irfaan Gaffar, who’s based in Vancouver and is the host of a series called ‘Down to Irf,’ will drop by the show.
You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube page HERE. Additionally, we’re available in podcast form, too, wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re at it, be sure to leave us a 5-star review!
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to get your payments in for the first EVER TLN Nation Vacation. Join us from Thursday, March 20th to Sunday, March 23rd as we take our talents to Music City to watch Toronto play Nashville. As part of the unique experience, we will also be offering up some podcast recordings at Love & Exile Winery & Bar in East Nashville. BOOK TODAY!!
