TORONTO — Another day, another missed opportunity for the Maple Leafs to close out a series.
After a 4-0 Senators win in Game 5, the Leafs still hold a 3-2 series lead, but you might not know it by the way they played at home. They struggled to connect passes when it mattered, could not execute with the puck deep in the Senators’ zone and generally looked tense.
By this point, we know the story. Toronto’s talent level trumps that of the Senators, but the Leafs’ perennial problems closing out series have surfaced again.
The Leafs’ core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly are now 1-12 in games when they have a chance to win a series.
Full credit to the Senators for closing well…