The MapleLeafs and John Tavares were welcomed to Long Island by a playoff atmosphere. And they left feeling 'embarrassed' and looking for answers (reporterchris)
"I feel bad that we didn’t show up. We didn’t play," said Zach Hyman, spitting truth. "We wanted to win this game for him and we didn’t even give ourselves a chance with all the turnovers and the nonsense that we had."
This was a game to dig deep and find something extra for Tavares. This was a back-to-back, with backup Garret Sparks in goal and a makeshift third pairing of Martin Marincin and Justin Holl. This was the kind of test the regular season doesn’t provide too often. They got a taste of that against the Islanders, who collapsed around goaltender Robin Lehner and aggressively pursued the puck all over the ice. Barry Trotz threw bangers like Matt Martin and Leo Komarov out for regular shifts — both were Game 7 scratches by Babcock in Boston, remember — and saw his players force numerous neutral-zone turnovers and completely nullify the Auston Matthews line and William Nylander line.
Tavares came to Toronto to chase as Stanley Cup and alienated a fiercely loyal and committed fanbase in the process. The scene here Thursday was unlike any I’ve witnessed during a NHL regular-season game, with fans walking the tight concourse in old blue and orange Tavares sweaters with words such as "Traitor" and "Liar" taped across the name bar.
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