4 times Maple Leafs fans mourned during Saturday’s loss to the Bruins

Toronto Maple Leafs fans were in deep despair during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here are four times they may or may not have cried.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday night was their worst performance of 2017-18. #LeafsNation is no stranger to trying times, but tonight brought back memories of the not-so-distant past.

Below are four times the fanbase is mourned, maybe even cried, in Game 2.

1. When it got worse than Thursday.

We all knew that tonight wouldn’t be pretty.

Thursday night’s 5-1 loss was a tough pill to swallow for any fan of Toronto sports.  It was a rude awakening of sorts — albeit one that left room for the promise of better days. As the hockey world watched the tide turn in Boston, the hopes of many a Leafs fan rapidly expanded.

We thought — or at the very least hoped — that Game 2 would be closer. The Leafs had dug themselves into a corner, but that was supposed to be a thing of the past. Wasn’t tonight going to be an evening of redemptive possibilities?

Instead, it was worse.

And so it goes.

2. When Freddie left his post.

Make no mistake: Frederik Andersen has been the MVP of the Leafs’ 2017-18 season. He now holds a team record for wins in a campaign by a Leafs goalie. The dominance of his play has even earned him legitimate Vezina contention — and the hope of solid goaltending for years to come.

Tonight, however, was downright hard to watch. Thankfully Mike Babcock had the smarts to cushion the impact of the blow to Freddie’s confidence.

Allowing 3 goals on 4 shots simply cannot happen in a playoff matchup, but few would doubt that Andersen’s defenders left him out to dry on each respective play. That Freddie was almost never pulled over the course of the season is a silver lining — a small one on nights like these — and a sure reminder that performances of this nature are few and far between.

3. When the defense went missing.

You know it’s a strange night when Roman Polak leads the Leafs’ blueline in +/-.

Tonight was a confirmation of the fact that the Leafs’ biggest problem — shaky defending — prevails.

Nikita Zaitsev’s shortcomings loom large. The Ron Hainsey-Morgan Rielly pairing continues to trail Boston’s speedy first line. To the dismay of many, Jake Gardiner’s blunders are not going away anytime soon.

Now that these points have been made, let’s be clear — it’s not fair to pin this game on any one element of the Leafs’ lineup. Nazem Kadri’s suspension and Leo Komarov’s injury ushered forward a sharp decline in Toronto’s two-way presence. Silly penalties placed the PK unit in a problematized position on far too many occasions.

There’s no question that the whole team was complicit. But tonight showed that the recurring mistakes of the Buds’ blueline reflect a more general degree of unsustainability.

Fights commenced, sticks were broken and errors were made. The players know it more than anyone. Look for the Leafs’ defenders to come out flying on Monday night.

4. When forced to re-evaluate their personal standards.

The Leafs are better than this… aren’t they?

Credit where it’s due — the Bruins played a game that was nothing short of incredible. The hockey world looks on with sheer astonishment as they’ve rendered one of the NHL’s best teams the laughing stock of the league.

As a wise man once said, “Pain is coming”. It’s here — and boy does it ever sting.

While the last two matchups have become something of a rarity in #LeafsNation, Don Cherry’s postgame words ring truer than ever. They were some of his most memorable during his time as a coach and ought to serve as a rallying cry for fans of the franchise.

“They’ve won their two. Now you win your two”.

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Sure, it ain’t pretty. But the Leafs need our support now more than ever before. These first two games have been tough at best and downright infuriating at worst. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that the next two are the most important of the season.

#StandWitness, Toronto. It’s our turn to change the tide. Monday night promises to be memorable.