Photo credit: Toronto Maple Leafs – YouTube
After a tough loss to the Detroit Red Wings, goaltender Anthony Stolarz held nothing back and urged the team to be better ahead of a season full of high expectations.
After jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead, the team unravelled by letting the Red Wings score three unanswered, only to tie the game and watch them score another three unanswered goals.
Not the best way to get things started, and it was an uncharacteristically poor Toronto defense that caused the most pain, not to mention losing another player to an injury.
You Could Tell Stolarz Wanted More Help in Front of Him
The one person who was probably the unhappiest about the result was the Maple Leafs netminder.
Anthony Stolarz couldn’t do much about the goals scored, and wasn’t given much to work with in front of him all night.
At the end of the day It’s a lesson for us. We have to come to play every night. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing.
This wasn’t Chicago or Buffalo we’re talking about here. Detroit is a team that while struggling, isn’t awful and clearly had the better team on Saturday.
Taking them for granted was the worst thing Toronto could have done and they did so in spectacular fashion.
While he did stop 29 of 33 shots, there is absolutely no reason why the Red Wings should have been able to get off that many and it’s been an issue thus far.
The Maple Leafs in two games have spent 46% in their own zone, and Detroit exploited that and their heat map for Saturday’s game tells a very big story which is that Toronto folds in the slot.
Far be it from me to offer coaching tips, but the game against the Red Wings showed that Craig Berube’s defensive structure needs a bit of tinkering.
A player switch might be nice, but it’s about where they play.
It seems that the team heavily collapses to the front of the net, but also tends to puck watch a lot, and three times it cost them against Detroit; Patrick Kane was left with a parking lot’s worth of space and he’s not going to miss.
Tightening things up and playing closer to the man could benefit the team a ton, and while you want to prevent anything from going in the middle, you also can’t leave half the ice open in your own zone.
Having more defensive awareness would help a lot, and while no one is perfect by any means, when the issues pop up; they are certainly noteworthy.
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Anthony Stolarz Keeps It Honest After Leafs’ Loss: ‘It’s a Lesson for Us’
Is Anthony Stolarz right by saying Toronto needs to be ready no matter who they play?