God forbid the Maple Leafs be a little honest in the public forum about the play of Sergei Bobrovsky.
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Leafs → forbid → Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz will be in goal against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, marking the first time in the 2026-27 season that the 32-year-old netminder has started consecutive games.
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netminder → mark → games
One big reason – obvious to anyone who has watched Bobrovsky play this season – is that the veteran goalie, signed to a three-year, $21-million US contract in July, has not been good.
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goalie → watch → July
Leafs coach Jim Hiller was loath to acknowledge as much after the Leafs had an optional morning skate at Scotiabank Arena.
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Leafs → acknowledge → Arena
We don’t expect Hiller to throw Bobrovsky under the bus.
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Hiller → expect → bus
But lumping Bobrovsky in with “every player” on the Leafs who has had some “average games,” to use Hiller’s words, isn’t being fully truthful either.
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who → lump → words
We asked Hiller how the club is trying to get Bobrovsky to a level that the team had to be expecting when he was signed in July.
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he → ask → July
“Um, yeah, I mean he’s had some really good games,” Hiller said.
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Hiller → mean → games
“He’s had some average games, like every player, no different than forwards, defencemen, everybody else.
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He → have → forwards
You just keep working on areas of the game.
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You → keep → game
You try to get better.
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You → try → ?
That goes for everybody, though.
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That → go → everybody
We can’t look to one guy.
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We → look → guy
You can poke holes in our game in different areas and different players.
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You → poke → areas
Everybody’s trying to get better.”
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Everybody → try → ?
Why are Leafs turning to Stolarz?
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Leafs → turn → Stolarz
“Same things that go into every decision,” Hiller said.
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Hiller → go → decision
“I think he’s been good for a long time.
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he → think → time
He’s big, not a lot of rebounds.
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He → ’ → rebounds
We asked about Bobrovsky specifically because there was a lot of fanfare with the contract and that he has not performed equal to what he is being paid.
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he → ask → what
“I guess that’s your evaluation,” Hiller said.
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Hiller → guess → ?
“We continue to work with all our guys, support all our guys, and have high expectations.
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We → continue → expectations
It’s a fairly simple evaluation.
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It → ’ → ?
Bobrovsky, in 12 of his 13 starts, has allowed at least three goals and in five starts has given up at least four goals.
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Bobrovsky → allow → goals
Among qualified goalies in the National Hockey League (a minimum of six games played), Bobrovsky is 38th in save percentage with an .881 mark.
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Bobrovsky → play → mark
He’s 3-8-2.
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He → ’ → ?
This comes after the 38-year-old Bobrovsky was not good for the Florida Panthers last season, posting an .877 save percentage in 52 games.
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Bobrovsky → come → games
We can’t say for sure what general manager John Chayka was expecting when he signed Bobrovsky, but there’s no way the job the netminder has been doing is anywhere near close to satisfactory.
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netminder → say → Bobrovsky
Yes, the Leafs have problems in a lot of different areas, as Hiller indicated, but a lot of those can be cleaned up with solid goaltending.
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lot → have → goaltending
That’s not what Bobrovsky has provided.
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Bobrovsky → ’ → what
It’s the right call to put Stolarz in against the Oilers, though we’ve been saying for a while that he should be playing more.
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he → ’ → more
How do Leafs gain confidence against Edmonton?
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Leafs → gain → Edmonton
Already the Leafs, losers of five in a row in regulation on home ice, have posted the worst six-game home stand in franchise history.
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Leafs → post → history
Two points can be salvaged in Toronto’s home-stand finale, but it’s going to be a tall order against an Oilers team that is propelled by superstar Connor McDavid and is 14-3-3 through 20 games.
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that → salvage → games
Defenceman Jake McCabe said that playing confident would be crucial for the Leafs.
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playing → say → Leafs
He acknowledged that doing so would be easier said than done considering the slump, which includes seven losses in regulation in the past eight games.
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which → acknowledge → games
“Very much so,” McCabe said.
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McCabe → say → ?
“When you don’t have (confidence) it’s not easy to get back and when you have it, you want to make sure you keep it.
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you → have → it
“We’re at the stage of trying to build it back up and wanting that puck, being confident with the plays you make.
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you → ’re → plays
When there’s not, let’s put it in.
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’s → ’ → it
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
