Right now Leaf Nation is in a state of panic. Down three games to one to the Boston Bruins they are preparing themselves for another first round exit. Listening to Toronto sports radio today because Bell Media has blown up Ottawa sports talk radio making us second class citizens I have heard all sorts of theories from writers and broadcasters.
The media thinks because they have the best talent that they should win every year in the playoffs. The truth be told nothing could be further from the truth. This team is struggling and has been for years. They have been lost in the struggle and when struggle gets transferred into failure you get what you have now in Toronto. Panic.
The bitching and infighting that went on Saturday night on the bench is a result of this. The bottom line is they do not know how to handle struggle. That is on the Coach , General Manager and team President. These players do not know how to handle struggle. Struggle is a window into focus and pressure is the ultimate separators of players. That incident has given power to struggle. In fact management has ignored this for seven years and it is on them.
Outcomes always matter, it is professional sport but outcomes can never be controlled. This team has no belief in one another in this moment even though they say they do. What else can they say. They have the capability to come back, but whether they have the capacity is another story. It just looks like a team that was too cool for school and are now realising that it is graduation day and they are not moving forward with the rest of the class.
Tonight they have one final chance, one more final exam to take to see if they can write another exam in two days.
The message from Coach Sheldon Keefe should be sign for game five mentally , show up for game five physically, and play like you can handle chaos of playoff hockey and fully understand that you have no control over the outcome.
BTW I am not a Leaf fan, just a fan of the mental game.
Until next time.
Trust Fuels Confidence
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