I don’t know if there is a picture that can better illustrate Leo Komarov as a National Hockey Leaguer: doing a flamingo impression hoping the puck doesn’t hit him. If anything, the guy has a lot of experience dodging and ignoring things. Case in point, the image below, which I’m sure will bring back some warm and fuzzy memories.

Anytime I think of or hear about Leo Komarov, all I can think of is this…

This was pretty much the end for the Leafs in that series. Komarov could (and should) have responded to Marchand’s literal tongue lashing with a punch to the face, but Komarov did nothing. Marchand knew immediately he had won the psychological battle, and the Leafs haven’t been the same since, losing series after series after series, usually at the hands of those same Bruins, who firmly believe that no matter what the Leafs do, Boston will overcome it.

Believe it or not, this was actually the second time Marchand planted a warm wet body part onto Komarov’s cheek. The first incident occurred in December 2017 and again Komarov did absolutely nothing! No wonder the Bruins, and especially Marchand’s line, keep running roughshod over the Leafs! Imagine back in the day if Bobby Schmautz had licked Darryl Sittler in the face. Not only would Sittler have said something at the very least, Tiger Williams would have beaten Schmautz with his (Tiger’s) helmet just for messing around with his captain like that. Today? No way.

For a few years, Komarov was actually a 15-20 goal scorer. Since the two Marchand incidents, he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, not even sniffing the 10-goal mark in three years, and his ice-time dropped to 12:36 a game this past season. Like Marchand’s lips and tongue, I’m guessing these are numbers Komarov would also like to avoid forever.