About last night:

I'm was pretty fed up with this game. The team started out in the first few minutes making Chicago ice the puck every time they got it back in their own zone, but then Chicago scored, and that was it for the Leafs. They flopped over and died.

Chicago scored again, and it was waived of for obvious goalie interference, and then Chicago did it again shorthanded on a very slack zone entry by William Nylander. They Leafs cruised around like they wanted to get benched until the first intermission.

They played about level with Chicago in the second, and finished up down by two with Chicago finishing strong. It wasn't pushback so much as a failure to fail quite so obviously. The end result was very tepid offence and the usual lack of much noticeable defending.

After two periods in all-situations, Auston Matthews had zero SOG and one Corsi For. Matthew Knies and John Tavares were leading the team with an effort that would tie the game if they played for six periods.

A reminder: Chicago is not the bottom feeder they used to be, but they are one of the worst teams in the NHL at five-on-five. And their best player, who has figured on 49% of their goals, was out of action.

The story will be Berube getting fed up and angry on the bench which is a nice handy distraction from how badly the team played against an organized and structured team coached by that notable success story behind the bench, Jeff Blashill.

William Nylander was more tuned in in period two, and I'm kinda tired of the dynamic going on there. No, not kinda, very done. He slacks off, the coach does a thing, he perks up and then he slacks off and blah, blah.

Anyhow, here's a clip of the Leafs best play of the first two periods:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored midway though the third, hard on the heels of the annoyed crowd starting to boo the team.

Deep, deep into the third period, with the crowd getting restless again, the man with no SOG tied it up.

And 10 seconds later, the Leafs had the lead. No ping this time:

They only had a couple of minutes to kill and the shock hadn't worn off before it was over. Leafs won it 3-2.

And.. you know, the thing is, that they have this in them is why they got booed, why I was more fed up than I've been in years. This is not a bad team, the roster is not terrible. They aren't incapable. There are real problems, but not insurmountable ones.

Does the ending justify the flopped over dead portions of the game? Once in a while, sure. But maybe right now there is no slack left to cut them.

Berube has a similar take: they actually started great and then caused the problems that led to the flopped over dead part. He doesn't use that term, unfortunately.

Anyhow, here's the math: They have to play at .570 the rest of the season to get to 92 points, their Points % is .547 right now.

On Insider Trading last night, they discussed the idea that with Quinn Hughes traded, teams are turning their attention to Rasmus Andersson.

- TSN
TSN’s Hockey Insiders on the market for the Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson after the Quinn Hughes trade, what sort of help the Leafs need, the Devils seeking a centre, the Lightning unhappy after another Panthers hit on Brandon Hagel, Team Canada hopefuls hoping for short injury absences and new Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen hoping to re-sign Alex Tuch.
TSN

And one of those teams is the Leafs. The usual caveats were discussed: the Leafs have limited assets, and without more sellers out there, the price doesn't seem to be coming down to what they can do. But on the bright side, Toronto is a place Andersson would consider extending with.

So, bear in mind that Treliving is not fond of rentals, and obviously no one is talking about rentals this season. If the Leafs make a move it would have to be for term, so I don't see them having any serious interest here unless an extension is part of the deal.

Andersson has been called right-handed Rielly more than once, and there is a lot of truth in that. But if the Leafs believe their biggest problem is lack of puck-handling from the defence, he's your guy. If they believe it's offensive power in the top six, then they need to find a winger.

It's both, and also a few other things. But the bottom line is any move is going to be for some kind of term commitment.

This is good not least for the sensible way the coaching is evaluated:

Examining the ‘mid’ Maple Leafs: Is there a path back to a Cup window?
Through 31 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs are decidedly ‘mid’ and hoping things break just right. Justin Bourne writes about the team to date and how, maybe, it can still get a bit better.
Sportsnet.caJustin Bourne

And that's your Wednesday. May you give it 25% effort until the last five minutes of you day and come out the winner!

From The Branches