The Minnesota blizzard is the only thing that can save the Maple Leafs from themselves
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Fifteen inches of snow is expected to fall in Minnesota which puts the Wild and Maple Leafs game in jeopardy.
For Craig Berube's beaten down roster, that could be doing them a huge favour.
Mother Nature has a weird way of working sometimes, and although there are certainly delays that cause some issues such as rain delays in baseball, very rarely do we see so in hockey.
Nature doing what Craig Berube can't do for this depleted roster
She must be feeling mighty angry right now as there's scheduled to be upwards of 15 inches of snow dropped on Minnesota, with Minneapolis right in the centre of it all.
Although the Wild play in St. Paul, it's a matter of getting there in the first place and the Maple Leafs might have some difficulties landing which puts the game at risk of being canceled:
#mnwild in contact with the NHL and #mapleleafs about tomorrow's game. A decision will be made later today; depends if it's safe for Leafs to get into Minnesota late tonight as they play in Buffalo
That's good news for a tired and beaten down Maple Leafs team who is on the eve of a back-to-back against one of the best teams in the league right now. It feels like Craig Berube has caught a huge break and a canceled game means he can at least rest the weary.
Matthew Knies is banged up, others like Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have to be feeling the grind, and both their goalies are prone to injury. Everyone needs to be as fresh as possible solely to avoid a career-altering injury.
A weather postponement provides the ultimate shield against a bottom-five jump
It also could help Toronto save themselves in the draft pick situation as a win would ruin their chances of adding another important loss to the column, and while it's never a guarantee - you can never say never.
Toronto won against Anaheim and found their fighting spirit in the third period. That could carry over into Buffalo and a win there puts them in an unenviable position.
Do they play for pride and win three in a row but ruin the draft chances? Or do they swallow that bullet and decide to play for the future? If the Anaheim game was any indication; we really don't know.
Lindy Ruff and the Sabres already proved Toronto isn't equipped for a war
After Lindy Ruff put them on blast heading into Saturday's game, the last thing they need is to be grounded in a hotel room with maybe a practice or skate thrown in. That's going to make an already antsy team even more restless.
That may make them even more unwatchable than they already are, and with them facing a ton of playoff teams down the stretch, they're walking into a shootout holding butter knives.
When an opposing coach is calling for fans to sell tickets to the opposition to save them the misery of watching their team, you've become a laughingstock.
And now you're expected to try and put up a fight against the likes of Minnesota, New York (Islanders), Carolina, Boston, and Anaheim again; that's going to be something near impossible to accomplish.
The best result this weekend is neither a win nor a loss for the Maple Leafs - it's a postponement.
Mother knows best, and it seems like Mother Nature is trying to look out for Toronto even if no one else is.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Chris Pronger at the CN Tower is the only proof fans need that a front office shakeup is imminent
Chris Pronger at the CN Tower is the only proof fans need that a front office shakeup is imminent
Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
MARS 14|730 ANSWERS The Minnesota blizzard is the only thing that can save the Maple Leafs from themselves Do you think the Wild/Leafs game is going to get canceled due to weather? | ||
| Yes | 125 | 17.1 % |
| No | 605 | 82.9 % |
| List of polls | ||