Every public condemnation of the Maple Leafs as a very bad team seems to be followed by a commendation for being very good at crisis management.
Three quarters through a season of numerous nadirs — Mike Babcock, the goaltending, lack of depth and grit — this particular past week might be the craziest. It began with a loss to the Zamboni Goalie and a full-out autopsy on GM Kyle Dubas and a season gone wrong, only to have their fifth major injury, the third to a key defenceman, not deter them from sweeping the Sunshine State. It included a huge 5-3 win over Florida to protect their playoff seed.
Thus once more, they can expect an ovation at Scotiabank when they step out against Vancouver, from many of same people who booed them off the ice for losing to middle-aged joe David Ayres one Saturday previous.
“It’s been a whirlwind, ups and downs, losing to a Zamboni driver,” a smiling Travis Dermott said after Thursday’s win. “It’s all growing pains, it’s all stuff that you go through. And you always look back after on the bright side, kind of laugh and realize that it’s something you’re stronger for.”
Yet chuckles have been in short supply for the paying customers. While today’s roster can’t be held responsible for what’s happened since the last Stanley Cup in 1967, they’ve felt the brunt of fan displeasure as it appeared at times that another rebuild has gone off the rails.
“I find the lows here are very low and the highs can be very high,” mused leading scorer Auston Matthews as his fourth season plays out. “For us the key is to be level-headed through all this. (Thursday) was a big win, now we’re on to the next one.”
Two factors helped fuel Thursday’s comeback from a 3-1 hole in the eyes of coach Sheldon Keefe and the players, Kasperi (Scrap Again) Kapanen with another goal/fight game and a Leafs-friendly crowd of snowbirds in Sunrise and Tampa Bay, willing to look past this season’s frequent letdowns.
“We’re in South Florida, but the number of jerseys in the building, the passion, the noise … it’s pretty special,” said first-year NHL coach Keefe. “Those kinds of things give you a boost.
“There’s a lot of hockey left. Our players have responded as we needed them to. We can’t control what happened (last Saturday), it’s done, it’s in the past. Let’s take care of what he can control. We definitely have responded and I’m sure our fans recognize that. You can see the reaction down here. Talking to them at the arena, they’re still excited and behind us a team.”
Kapanen saw Dermott get rammed rather emphatically by Florida’s Lucas Wallmark and, concerned his mate’s surgically repaired shoulder might have been targeted, wound up slugging it out with MacKenzie Weegar. Last week Kapanen was fighting in defence of rookie lightweight Rasmus Sandin.
“It seems to be presenting itself to me as of late,” Kapanen said, still sporting the gash on his nose from Pittsburgh’s Jared McCann. “It’s not me looking for anything. Sometimes … stuff happens. I’m not going to back down, I’m going to step up to the plate.
“If that (Dermott hit) wouldn’t have happened, I would not have been doing that. I think it means a lot to the team for anyone to show a little emotion. We look out for each other, it’s a big part of this team. If it wasn’t me, it would’ve been someone else.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
