Someone needs to slap some sense into this team smh
— Cory Rosas (@ACcoryrosas) November 19, 2014 NHL scores 2014: Leafs get embarrassed by Predators, Sabres weather storm
Toronto is lost, and it doesn’t appear any changes are on the way.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
That tweet was from an Anaheim Ducks fan on Tuesday, but it was a sentiment shared by many fanbases throughout the evening. Habs fans wondered where their luck had gone. Sharks fans' outlooks got even dimmer in Buffalo. And Stars fans decided hockey just wasn't fun anymore.
And then there were Maple Leafs fans.
At this point I’m not even sure what to say. How can you console a fanbase of a team that is so tortured and so scrutinized and tell them it’s going to be okay? The season is unraveling quickly, and Toronto’s 9-2 loss to Nashville on Tuesday was a new low.
Right now the Leafs have nobody in their corner. The fans? Hostile.
@mlse at the game, "Let's Go Raptors" chant has officially started in the 300s
— Rony T. (@chesthairbaby) November 19, 2014
The media? Three days ago Phil Kessel told them to get away from him, and on Tuesday reporters were actually asking players these kinds of questions.
Franson was asked if the team is trying to get its coach fired: "Fuck no."
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) November 19, 2014 That’s not exactly an environment conducive to winning, but it’s what the Leafs have to work with right now. The question is: how? How do they find an answer to the same problems that have haunted them for the past few seasons? The youngsters can’t be relied on, at least not yet. The defense gives up shots like a bar going out of business and the goaltending collapses under pressure. Anyone hoping for the coach to get canned can forget it; the players don’t blame him and the ownership doesn’t seem inclined to make a change.
So I suppose it’s status quo again in Toronto. And if a 9-2 shellacking at home can’t shake things up, it’s hard to see what will.
All the NHL Scores
Hurricanes 6, Stars 4
Red Wings 5, Blue Jackets 0
Sabres 4, Sharks 1
Predators 9, Maple Leafs 2
Flames 4, Ducks 3 (SO)
Three things we learned
1. Jonas Hiller got the last laugh against his old team. Hiller began his career in Anaheim, but after a few years of starting, the Ducks let him loose in free agency and decided to go with John Gibson and Frederik Andersen instead. Hiller got his first chance to show them what they're missing and he didn't disappoint. When the Flames mounted a third period comeback, Hiller kept them alive. And he came up big in the shootout, stopping Corey Perry to seal the win against his old team.
Via @myregularface
2. The Sabres aren’t a very good team, but they sure have some of the best fans in the league. In the middle of a snowstorm of epic proportions in Buffalo, enough fans braved the weather to fill First Niagara Center to a respectable level. Kudos, Sabres fans. We hope you all made it home safely.
3. Matt Greene can score! No, really, even he didn't know he could do that.
Impact Moment
The NHL’s general managers made some potentially impactful rule changes on Tuesday. First, they got rid of the dry scrape policy for overtime. It’s a good move, since the dry scrape wasn’t preventing shootouts and only made fans bored between regulation and overtime. The expansion of interference review is a good change too, as those are common plays that can have a huge impact on a game.
Stat of the Night
The Sabres are bad, but they still own some weird stats. Not only are they 24-1-1 against the Leafs at home, but they’ve now beaten the San Jose Sharks eight straight times. There’s no reasonable way to explain this.
Post to Post:
- Arturs Irbe almost played last night! We were so close.
- Two Jets scored at the exact same moment and it was awkward.
- Tyler Seguin got the monkey off Jamie Benn’s back but the Stars still kind of suck right now.
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