The importance of quick starts

In post-lockout hockey, not many things have gone right for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Examples of this can be found here, here, and here. The entire franchise has been a great big revolving door for the past six years in almost every aspect. Things are looking up now, however there are still some big hills to climb, and one of the biggest will take place over the next two weeks.

One of the many things that the Leafs have not done well over this period of time is giving themselves good starts to work with. The amount of times over the past six seasons that the Leafs have had slow starts to games, and entire seasons are countless. Saturday night was a classic example of this. The Leafs had chances early that were ultimately squandered. They embarrassed themselves in front of a legend, at home, to their biggest rival. This is not Kosher for this team, at this point in the season.  It is critical that this habit does not rear its ugly head over the next eight games which take us to the end of the month. If it does, then you might as well stick a fork in them. 

Tonight, the Leafs begin a three game western Canadian swing through Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. At face value, two of these three games look very winnable, and one will be a tough one. I'll let you sort out which is which. However, although their teams are subpar, Calgary and Edmonton have incredible home records with 15-8-2 and 15-8-3 respectively so it may be hard for the Leafs to squeeze those important points out of the hostile Albertan environment. Then, there's Vancouver. What can we really expect from a game in Vancouver? It is very conceivable that the Leafs could return from this trip with no wins, and no points. It wouldn't be the first time they've done this, and unfortunately it may not be the last. 

After the western swing the Leafs meet with the Devils, Sharks, Capitals, Panthers, and Blackhawks, and then that's February. This is the time of year that separates the contenders from the pretenders, and with that in mind, the Leafs need to win at least six of these next eight games. Doing poorly on this trip will likely drop them out of the playoff picture, and losses to the Devils, Caps, or Panthers could keep them out. It is no longer time for these 2-3 game strings of wins, followed by 2-3 game strings of losses. It's time to put up, or shut up. There is very little room for error, and playing catchup is a dangerous game in March. 

This all brings me back to the importance of quick starts. Teams from the east sometimes have the tendency to have a slow start in a wonky timezone. This absolutely cannot happen in western Canada. The rabid home fans out there will take over, and eat them alive. The Leafs need to show up early, and let it show on the scoreboard. This will give them the opportunity to set the tone for the game, and give them a chance to win. If the Leafs do this, then there's a better chance that they can glean 4 or 5 points from this trip; victories in Calgary and Edmonton are possible, but in Vancouver it's a roll of the dice. If they return home after the weekend with those points, then things will be looking pretty rosy, if not then the playoffs will begin to look more and more like a dream. 

The time for losses they can "hang their hats on" and having "bad luck" are gone. The Leafs have been getting help from other teams losing as well, that also needs to go out the window. Good teams make their own luck, and control their own fate. It's what separates the men from the boys, and the good from the bad. 

These next two weeks will define the season, and a good start tonight will go a long way.