Nobody said it would be easy for Mike Babcock and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Through one game of this expensive marriage, the Maple Leafs looked competitive against the Montreal Canadiens, yet they ultimately lost 3-1 (with Max Pacioretty’s empty-netter inflating the difference).
One wonders if Phil Kessel supporters may feel a little vindicated by the stream of reactions that seem to indicate that Toronto played well ... but lacked finish.
That seemed to be the theme from members of the Maple Leafs:
Kadri says he feels like the Leafs out played Montreal for most of the game.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) October 8, 2015
Babcock says Leafs did a lot of good things structurally but weren't patient enough in the third.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) October 8, 2015
While media members and/or fans echoed similar sentiments:
Leafs played reasonably well, but didn't have anyone who could score and lose a close one. I will tweet this roughly 50 times this year.
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) October 8, 2015
Toronto played better than the score suggests, Babcock's system sinking in. But finishing off scoring chances will be their issue all year
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 8, 2015
Even Pacioretty - who scored two goals, while P.K. Subban assisted on all three Montreal scores - seemed impressed by the Buds’ efforts.
#Habs' Pacioretty on #Leafs: "Much tougher to play against. That team, they're going to surprise a lot of teams this year."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 8, 2015
Sports - not just hockey - show over and over again that it’s often extremely foolish to believe that the first game of a season tells you anything more than “this happened in a single contest.”
Many seem to think this “close, but not good enough” recap might just be the template for Toronto in year one of the Babcock era, however.