THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE LEAFS' YEAR

Co-blogger Neil Acharya takes a quick look at tonight's Sabres-Leafs matchup -- from a Toronto perspective.

Honestly, when are the Leafs going to give their fans a few solid games in a row? Tuesday's 4-1 loss vs. Carolina, after the first period, was painful to watch. Yes, they are injured and yes, 'Canes goalie Cam Ward had his usual understated strong game, but this was disappointing -- they have to win these games to have any shot at getting back to the playoffs. Of the seven losses over their past 10 games, this was the second-most disappointing, just behind the Dec. 30 game vs. the Senators where they blew the lead with 2:06 left.

I don’t think I will dwell on this too much, but if the Leafs playoff hopes haven’t already been doused, they certainly will unless they win six of the their next eight games, beginning tonight.

There are a number of troubling factors: Their awful home record, the fact that the Leafs have been outscored on the year and that most of the teams below them have games in hand. They were supposed to be battling for eighth in the East all season, even I said that before the season started. However, the operative word is battling -- I don’t see any fight in these guys.