Inconsistency has been the story of this season thus far. People can think what they want about the goalie ‘controversy’, or the lack of team defence, or the money tied up in defencemen. If this Maple Leafs team showed any bit of consistency, they would be a playoff bound hockey club.

We kept the best of the best off of the scoreboard last game. A 3-0 win over Ottawa, and Leafs Nation had some hope. Back to Boston, and all of that changes.

This game was a big one for other reasons as well. Tuukka Rask was starting in net for the Bruins. If you don’t remember, the Maple Leafs traded Tuukka Rask to Boston for Andrew Raycroft. Another example of Leafs Brass trading away the future for the present. Raycroft has simply not been the Calder Trophy winning player they thought he would be. Now they get to play their draft pick, and see if they made the wrong decision.

The Leafs started the game playing the same way they did against Ottawa. Slow and boring… but effective. They slowed the pace down and played man-on-man coverage. When the game is slowed, Toronto is at their best. They got their shots in too, 13 in total in the first, and were rewarded when Bryan McCabe wristed home a power play goal at 15:10.

The second period was played the exact same way. Slow and boring. Sounds like a sleeper, but for Leaf fans, this kind of game is exciting. The Leafs also took advantage of their scoring chances in this frame. Sundin scored a slap shot at 15:36 to put the Leafs up 2-0. This would not last too long though, as Boston got on the board before the end of the second. Phil Kessel fired home a shot on the power play at 19:12 to edge within 1 before the break.

So far, so good. Yes Boston scored, but the Leafs were playing well, and seemed to have the game in control.

They did in the third as well… at least for 10 minutes. The Leafs decided to only play a 50 minute game instead of pushing for the full 60. Boston came on hard, kept pressing the play, and got the equalizer at 9:52. That started the down hill slide for the Leafs. Sloppy play, defensive breakdowns, and missed assignments all led to Chuck Kobasew scoring twice before the end of the game.

In a game that was preceded by the best game of the year, who would have thought that such a breakdown could occur? Did anyone take a lesson from the game against Ottawa? Does the coach use these lessons and apply them to practice?

The ultimate question is… Why are the Leafs so inconsistent, and how are they going to fix this major problem?