Many a Leafs fan, critic, and writer has observed that – win or lose – the team is at least fun to watch.
That sentiment was not echoed on Tuesday night, at any time during Toronto’s atrocious showing in Florida, a 7-2 train wreck of a defeat at the BB&T Center.
After only 18 seconds into the game, the mark at which Aleksander Barkov scored the opening goal past Frederik Andersen, it was apparent that Mike Babcock’s squad was ill-prepared to try and extend their three-game winning streak.
The outing became a comedy of errors, none more evident that Nikita Zaitsev blowing a tire – twice – on the same play during a Leafs man advantage, the end result being a shorthanded goal by Colton Sceviour.