The Seattle Kraken comeback win last night is the best news Maple Leafs fans have gotten all week
Photo credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
For the Maple Leafs, their one hope for a positive this year is finishing bottom-five, and Seattle's comeback victory could be music to their ears.
As Toronto finally decided to play their rookies on Thursday night, it did end up coming with yet another loss. But hey, for a team who needs to finish in the bottom of the standings — you could technically call it a win.
The Maple Leafs have to make sure they keep losing if they want to have any hope of keeping their first-round pick they traded to Boston. The fact they haven't given up hasn't helped the cause and it seems like pride is trumping logic at the worst possible time.
Seattle moved closer to overtaking the Leafs in the standings and that changes the math on Toronto’s top five protected pick
However, they got a lot of help from the Seattle Kraken thanks to a much needed comeback win.
The Kraken were down 3-1 to the Golden Knights, who have looked much better under new head coach John Tortorella but were able to fight back thanks to a game-tying goal from who else but Bobby McMann.
That led to a Berkly Catton shootout winner, and gave the Kraken and therefore Toronto — a crucial two points.
That moves Seattle only one point behind Toronto in the standings, with one more win putting them at 79 points. That moves Toronto down one spot into the bottom-five, and a bit closer to getting the odds they need to keep their pick.
The Kraken have the Flames, Kings, Golden Knights, and Avalanche as their last four games of the season. Odds are they are going to win at least one (Calgary) and if they have intentions of playing spoiler, they could go hard against both LA and Vegas.
Bobby McMann thriving in Seattle is helping Toronto keep their pick and it's the ultimate team move
That right there could be a possible six points but at the very least could be four. That moves them to 81 points at bare minimum. Toronto has Florida, Dallas, and Ottawa up next and it's likely the Maple Leafs will win against the Panthers and give them 80 points.
It's genuinely going to be a battle to the bottom and Toronto; for as much pride as they have — can't afford to win these games or even go to OT. Lose in regulation, keep getting outshot by 20 shots in the first period, and play your rookies.
But the Maple Leafs do a lot of gratitude towards Bobby McMann. Since being traded to the Kraken he's ben lighting it up with 9 goals and 13 points in only 14 games. He has 28 on the season, and while fans may be frustrated that he's gone, he's still helping them out.
Each time he touches the puck it goes in, and Toronto needs him to continue his torrid pace.
McMann isn't dumb; he knows what the Maple Leafs are playing for. If he can raise his stock and put in solid performances that give him that big pay day, but also help out his former team on the way out; that's a team player.
The Kraken could very well leapfrog Toronto in the standings and give them the best odds they could have in order to get a top-five pick. But it's all thanks to Bobby McMann, who is pulling double duty and doing a fine job of it too.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
The second meeting with Mike Gillis signals the Maple Leafs have finally found their man
The second meeting with Mike Gillis signals the Maple Leafs have finally found their man
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 10|764 ANSWERS The Seattle Kraken comeback win last night is the best news Maple Leafs fans have gotten all week Do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs will finish below the Seattle Kraken in the standings? | ||
| Yes | 619 | 81 % |
| No | 145 | 19 % |
| List of polls | ||