TORONTO — The big tease known as the Toronto Maple Leafs in recent weeks stopped tormenting their beloved fans last night.
The Leafs' dream of a miracle, late-season run at an NHL playoff berth all but died with their 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins.
The dreadful loss didn't mathematically eliminate Toronto from playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, but brought a third consecutive playoff-less spring closer than ever for the struggling franchise.
Even if the Maple Leafs, who currently occupy 12th place with 80 points, manage to win their final five regular-season games, all that needs to transpire in the final 12 days of the 2007-08 season is for the sixth-place New York Rangers (89) to pick up two more points, the seventh-place Philadelphia Flyers (88) to get three more and the eighth-place Bruins (86) five points to officially eliminate Toronto.
Leafs forward Alexei Ponikarovsky is hit by Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. (Mike Cassese/Reuters)
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If that occurs, the Leafs will match franchise history with their longest playoff drought since missing the playoffs in 1925-26, 1926-27 and 1927-28. (They were known as the Toronto St. Patricks in the first two seasons of that futility streak.)
There weren't many Leafs players around to be interviewed after their fourth loss in the past five games at the Air Canada Centre, but defeat was definitely in the faces of those few who remained.
"It sucks," forward Matt Stajan said.
"This is obviously disappointing for us," teammate Alexander Steen added.
Prior to what was considered the Leafs' biggest game of the season, there was a buzz in the building and the stage was set for the team to move the closest to a playoff spot it had been in months.
Even without their two top offensive players, Mats Sundin (groin) and Nik Antropov (knee), the Leafs had lifted the spirit of their fanatics with a three-game win streak last week. Toronto reeled off road victories over the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators to move to within four points of the eighth-place Bruins.
The Bruins were without their top player, playmaking centre Marc Savard, who is recovering from a back injury. But even without Savard, the Bruins flourished last night. They were the more determined team and, more often than the Leafs, were first to the puck all game.
So all those good vibrations the Leafs had built up came crashing down. They now find themselves six points back of the Bruins, who have a game in hand on Toronto.
The two teams meet again in Beantown tomorrow.
"We have to bounce back on Thursday [against the Bruins] and hope the hockey gods are with us," said Stajan, whose Leafs could have both Antropov and Sundin back in the lineup.
The Bruins led 1-0 after the first period, and 3-1 after 40 minutes. Down 5-2, Leafs head coach Paul Maurice pulled goalie Vesa Toskala for an extra attacker and Bruins centre Jeremy Reich scored an empty-netter.
"They were more patient than us," Steen said. "Our penalty killing also didn't come up big for us."
The Bruins first goal, from Glen Murray, was scored on the power play, as was their third marker, from Marco Sturm, in the second period. Rookie David Krejci, who set up Sturm's goal, Shawn Thornton and Phil Kessel scored the other Boston goals.
Jason Blake and Alexei Ponikarovsky, on the power play, countered for Toronto.
One of the many ills that have infected their game this season has been the Leafs' ineffectiveness at the ACC compared to their play on the road. They have won only one of five games at home this month, but they have gone 6-for-6 away from the ACC in March.
"I think we're more ready to play a different game on the road than we are here," Maurice said. "It's not an effort thing, it's a style of game that we want to play here, that we feel we need to be here."
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