The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered a 3-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, November 3, in the first game of a six-game homestand.
After the game, it was impossible not to think of the criticism goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has faced in recent days, especially after the team’s consecutive losses to the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken on October 26 and 28.
In fact, Anthony Stolarz started against the Vancouver Canucks on October 31, a decision many saw as a wake-up call for the veteran Russian netminder.
However, despite the Maple Leafs’ loss to the Mammoth, Bobrovsky was certainly not to blame. In fact, without the Russian goaltender, the result could have been considerably worse for head coach Jim Hiller’s team.
That was Zack Phillips’ assessment during Tuesday’s postgame edition of Daily Faceoff’s “After Dark.”
Zack Phillips: Maple Leafs ‘Wasted’ Sergei Bobrovsky’s Fantastic Night
Phillips began by saying, “You can’t play one good period of hockey and expect to win a hockey game. Not against a team like the Utah Mammoth, not against any of the teams, really, that you’re going to play in the next five games beyond tonight in this six-game homestand.”
“You drop game one here, you pick up zero points against the Utah Mammoth. And it’s not without trying in the third period. It’s not without a fantastic effort.”
“But it’s a waste of a Bobrovsky game.”
“We spent the last week complaining about what happened to Sergei Bobrovsky and the performances that he put together for this team. And he had a fantastic night for you here tonight against the Utah Mammoth.”
“If it wasn’t for Sergei Bobrovsky, this thing could have been 5 or 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, whatever. Maybe the Leafs still pot a couple. But it would have been heavily in the Utah Mammoth’s favor after two periods if not for Sergei Bobrovsky here tonight.”
“And the Maple Leafs pissed it away. And most of it is because they decided tonight that they were only going to play one period.”
Maple Leafs Get Honest Sergei Bobrovsky Take After Mammoth Loss: ‘Waste’