For all the talk about the Leafs atop the NHL standings, leave it to Tyler Seguin and The Champs to bring them back to earth.
Coming into tonight's game, the Leafs were tied with Pittsburgh Penguins for first in the NHL with 19 points, while the Bruins have been reminded time and time again of their slow start as a result of their Stanley Cup hangover. But it was the Leafs who looked like they had one too many, as their clumsy play left rookie goaltender Ben Scrivens apologizing to the bench. It wasn't his fault -- his teammates simply left him out to dry in a 7-0 routing.
Tyler Seguin buried a beauty onetimer from the dot to make it 1-0 after the Leafs failed to cover passing lanes on the penalty kill -- that's right, another goal against with a man down. Seguin struck again early in the second, followed shortly by Horton splitting the defense and wiring one five hole on Scrivens only seven seconds later. And nothing could be done on Seguin's hat trick goal, a top-shelf beauty after striding past a slow-footed Komisarek.
So while the Leafs should feel good about their start, they are a long way from even being a contender in the playoffs. If there's one thing the Leafs can learn from the B's, it's to step up when they need to most.
A win against the Bruins tonight could have sent Leaf Nation on a frenzy and proved a point to the rest of the league that they could be the real deal. Instead they're left wondering who that slow, uninspired team was that took a beating at the Air Canada Centre. They've reignited the Seguin-Kessel comparisons, even with Kessel's strong start. And they've created nothing short of controversy about their goaltending situation.
One game and the team is slumping. Confidence is fleeting, isn't it?
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