The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered what could be argued as the worst playoff loss of the Core Four era, in terms of both play and circumstance. They laid an egg for a 6-1 loss on home ice with the series tied 2-2 and now have to return to Sunrise with the extremely daunting task of beating the Panthers two games in a row. And we haven’t even mentioned the Game 7 curse yet!
Former Leaf and ex-NHL enforcer Jay Rosehill joined Zack Phillips on TLN After Dark following the game and didn’t mince words in his reaction to the game.
“My problem is that when a team like the Florida Panthers imposes their will on these Maple Leafs, instead of saying, ‘no no, you stepped it up a notch, we’re taking a step too, we’re not gonna relinquish. When the Panthers step up, instead of following suit, they go backwards and the gap between their play is so phenomenally large and wide.”
The Leafs, in the words of Craig Berube, didn’t get a good performance from anyone, but there has been extra criticism towards Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, who were front and centre of Rosehill’s rant.
“Bobby McMann isn’t supposed to win this series. [Calle] Jarnkrok isn’t supposed to win this series. That’s not how teams work. Is everybody waiting for those guys to come in and save the day? Your engine is what gets you there and you lead with your superstars.”
Rosehill then took a shot at fans on Twitter who continue to defend Matthews and Marner’s play despite this being the ninth year in a row looking to make a significant run.
“How on earth do those people on Twitter, and you know who you are, how do they defend these guys nine years in a row? Mitch Marner has one style of play and one style of play only, and when the going gets tough, all he has to offer is a spinaround, no-look backhand sauce up the f—king middle. And that doesn’t cut it in the playoffs. It never has and it never will. You can pull that sh-t off in the regular season, it’s 82 seasons of grind, you’re going to catch so many players and so many teams on an off night who just aren’t quite dialled, but you’re going to get the best teams with their best preparation playing their best hockey in the playoffs. When Mitch Marner runs up against that, he has nothing else to offer.”
The play Rosehill is referring to was a giveaway on a no-look pass from Marner that ended up in Florida’s possession, leading to Jesper Boqvist’s goal to make it 3-0.
You can watch Rosehill’s full rant below.
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