For the first time since early March, I parked my caboose in front of the telly yesterday to watch a Leafs game. A playoff game, no less!
Well, sort of... not sure these are technically playoff games. They're calling this best-of-five series against Columbus a "qualifier". Regardless, the stakes are high and I was naturally curious what this would all look like after 4.5 months in the wilderness.
Zzzzzz... it was awfully sleepy. I don't know if it's the lack of fans in attendance or the lack of intensity on the ice, but I found it pretty boring for the most part. The most exciting part was the post-game return of Simmons v. Mirtle, well documented in episodes of Toronto Mike'd featuring these two local scribes.
This would never happen to James Mirtle. He never asks a question. Never. But he uses everybody else's quotes.
— steve simmons (@simmonssteve) August 3, 2020
He was asked the other day on radio who the best player at Leaf camp was. He answered without hesitating. Never mind that he hadn't been at Leaf camp once. https://t.co/c2bb5HaImz
It sure didn't feel like playoff hockey, and now the Leafs need to win 3 of 4 to save their season. Not even Peter Gross would take that bet.
Tomorrow's game two is at 4pm, which is good because I'm less likely to doze off. On the brightside, who wants to win after 53 years of futility during the one season without a celebratory parade? And really, who wants such a distraction while we're watching the Raptors go for two in a row?
What did you think of yesterday's game?
