SIMMONS: Sleepy Maple Leafs not sharp enough in Game 1 loss to Panthers

And the opportunity was there for the Leafs. They just didn’t take advantage of it.

Some nights you don’t play well enough to win a playoff game and the Leafs didn’t play well enough to win this one. It wasn’t a drubbing, like the opening game against Tampa Bay in the previous round. It was a game with some possibilities. It was a game with occasional hope, just not enough of it. And it was a game that looked for only about three minutes like the Leafs were going to win.

Tkachuk made Mitch Marner look weak defensively on a night the Leafs winger was nominated for the NHL award for best defensive forward when he set up Florida’s first goal. He was then in on Florida’s second goal — this one by the former GTHL Marlie Sam Bennett. On a delayed penalty in the third period — with the game still in doubt — it was Tkachuk’s pass to Brandon Montour that made it 4-2 Panthers.

Tkachuk had three points. Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares — the Core Four — combined for one point. That was Game 1. That was the night..The Leafs didn’t respond well to the crowd. They didn’t respond all that well to the speed of the Panthers. They seemed too willing to make big hits, leaving themselves vulnerable in the process.This isn’t the way the Leafs succeed at their best. They play a cleaner game than they played Tuesday night.

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