Fear the reaper

He lurks. He waits. He's ready to pounce. Almost always when the Leafs play. He showed up opening night of all occasions, and he was once again in full force down Texas way on Wednesday evening.

Fear him

HE is the reaper of defeat. As grim as the Leafs allow him to be, and he's been pretty...grim so far this painfully difficult opening portion. It's no secret the Leafs know how to lose, 9 times so far in 10 attempts at winning. We've witnessed Leaf losses from literally the first whistle. We've seen them subtlety creep about, and now it appears defeat has chosen to strike when it hurts the worst: heartbreakingly late, and almost always after a chance at winning is tantalizingly dangled before them. It's the reaper, I tell you. If the Leafs won't go down softly the reaper of defeat will bring them down, hard.

Admit it

Wednesday's loss stung. Just when you thought the Leafs would 'will' themselves to a second straight victory, the reality of the Leafs' reality set back in. It's cold, man. Again, it's that reaper I keep referring to.

Get used to it

With the Leafs finally having figured out how to deliver an NHL calibre performance, someone, some thing has to temper their ascent by bringing them back down to earth. That's what the reaper of defeat is all about. His wrath has already been felt by the beleaguered Buds this fall, and you can't help but to believe he's just getting warmed up. Keep an eye out for him in Buffalo. He's worked his magic... um, I mean tragic there before. He'll be back.