5 Games to get it right

[IPS]

NYI has a chance, they have Sorokin who can steal a series on his own. Plus they play a heavy style that shown wear the Bruins down as it goes on

This is also possibly Boston's cores' last big shot at a cup. They're gonna leave everything on the line out there. If they run into a hot Sorokin you can bet your ass there's gonna be a lot of "accidental contact" in that series. Bruins are f***ing ruthless with the way they break rules in the playoffs.

 

[ShameOnYouZidlicky]

It's going to be so interesting to see how Knies plays in the final 3-4 games of the season. Not many players can make an impact coming straight from their college seasons, but one player I think of who was able to do that is Chris Kreider.

He finished a PPG in his Junior season at BC and then went straight into the playoffs for the Rangers where he posted 5G and 2A in 18 games. I remember him being a major factor for that team with his speed.

Knies is a year younger than Kreider at that time and has once less NCAA season under his belt, but there certainly is potential for him to make an impact.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Article on SportsBet yesterday suggested ROR as 3C on the road where the opponent will get the last change and spread the offense out, but at home stack the top 2 lines and use last change to get favorable matchups.

That seems to make sense, though I'd lean to using ROR at 3C at home as well, even if just sporadically, as it's never a bad idea to spread the offense out.

It's an interesting idea. Something like

Home

Jarnkrok Matthews Nylander
Tavares ROR Marner
Bunting Acciari Kerfoot
ZAR Kampf Lafferty

Road

Jarnkrok Matthews Nylander
Bunting Tavares Marner
Kerfoot ROR Acciari
ZAR Kampf Lafferty

 

[shaner8989]

Bunting - Matthews - Marner

Best line in hockey last year. It’s very simple
keefe

 

[TIGERCOOL]

Bunting-Matthews-Jarnkrok
Nylander-Tavares-Marner
Knies-ROR-Aciari
Kerfoot-Kampf-ZAR/Lafferty

I think ROR is the perfect center for Knies. He and Aciari can more than cover for him defensively, and both play the right way and are probably the best mentors on the team. That line would be an absolute handful facing relatively weak competition.

Matthews is good enough to keep his line dangerous and has had solid stretches with both wingers. Manage expectations for his production, but he'll keep Cooper honest with his matchups and be great at both ends.

Line 2 needs to get it done with all that firepower. A lot hinges on them. You sneak Mitch on with Matty often and can move pieces around the top 6 if she's not going.

Line 4 should be reliable, but hopefully Kerf and ZAR also keep up the recent offensive surges.

 

[egd27]

im all for stacking the top 2 lines at home and moving ROR to 3c in Tampa.

keep Jarnkrok and willy with Matthews but move Marner up to Matthews wing if we need a goal.

with ROR hopefully returning against Boston, i hope we never see 11/7 again

Keefe isn't dumb enough to play ROR on the road in Boston as his first game back is he?

 

[SoftDumpNtheCorner88]

I almost feel like we've been juggling lines so often that we might accidentally (or on purpose, who knows) have all our players comfortable playing with anyone at any time during the game.

Hear me out. How long has keef been line juggling our players this year? Probably all season long and even more so after the TDL... The teams learning how to adjust with anyone and even juggling a 12/6 and 11/7 roster. I feel eventually we will stick to certain Line ups once everyone is healthy and we start the playoffs but as soon as we are getting outmatched in some games, juggling the line ups is almost 100% going to happen and our players would already be used to playing with different linemates.


It's most definitely the optimistic way of looking at things but it isn't necessarily a bad thing if our roster is already accustom to it.

If our stars are getting shut down again come playoffs I can see it being difficult to keep track of shutting us down when our stars get split up playing with new linemates who they've atleast played with before.


Does anybody have a list of the different line ups that atleast had some success.

Top line:
Bunting - Matthews - Marner/Willy
Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner/Willy
Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner/Willy
Kerfoot - Matthews - Jarnkrok

2nd line:
Kerfoot - JT - Marner/Willy
Bunting - JT - Marner/Willy
Jarnkrok - JT - Marner/Willy
Marner - JT - Willy
JT - ROR - Marner/Willy
Kerfoot - ROR - Marner/Willy

And our Bottom 6 has been a mixed bag for 2 years now.


Maybe sticking to a fixed line up to gain chemistry has the draw back of having other teams better prepared to shut us down.

This way they can't really do that.


I'm spit balling here.

 

[34]

Top 3 lines


Jarnkrok Matthews Nylander
Bunting ROR Marner
Kerf Tavares Acciari

The big real concern is the goaltending. If that craps the bed it will be a short series.

 

[Jojalu]

It's going to be so interesting to see how Knies plays in the final 3-4 games of the season. Not many players can make an impact coming straight from their college seasons, but one player I think of who was able to do that is Chris Kreider.

He finished a PPG in his Junior season at BC and then went straight into the playoffs for the Rangers where he posted 5G and 2A in 18 games. I remember him being a major factor for that team with his speed.

Knies is a year younger than Kreider at that time and has once less NCAA season under his belt, but there certainly is potential for him to make an impact.

Boeser looked really good his first few games coming out

 

[JT AM da real deal]

If Tampa loses to rangers tonight in regulation and Leafs beat bruins in regulation then 2nd place is clinched at home tomorrow .. otherwise should be clinched vs Habs on Saturday

 

[Ianturnedbull]

If someone were to ask me who our lines and defensive pairs are on this team, I wouldn't be able to tell them. And I watch every game.

This is funny, but also true.

Is this a way to fool Tampa's pro scouts? Is it working? Will Keefe be as predictable as he was in recent years?

 

[Maple Leaf]

Isn't keefe an AHL coach?

 

[Gabriel426]

This is funny, but also true.

Is this a way to fool Tampa's pro scouts? Is it working? Will Keefe be as predictable as he was in recent years?

Dubas's Art of War. In order to confuse your opponents, you must first confuse your own fans and coaches.

 

[On-the-Fly]

If someone were to ask me who our lines and defensive pairs are on this team, I wouldn't be able to tell them. And I watch every game.

Ain't that the point?

 

[Menzinger]

I do not like ROR by himself on the 3rd line.

Considering he was arguably the teams biggest acquisition this tdl I don't think they'll slide him down in a depth role.

He'll be playing alongside some talent in the top six.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Home:
Jarnkrok Matthews Nylander
Tavares ROR Marner
Bunting Acciari Kerf
ZAR Kampf Lafferty

Road:
Jarnkrok Matthews Nylander
Bunting Tavares Marner
Kerfoot ROR Acciari
ZAR Kampf Lafferty

Goalies:
Samsonov and Woll.

 

[On-the-Fly]

I almost feel like we've been juggling lines so often that we might accidentally (or on purpose, who knows) have all our players comfortable playing with anyone at any time during the game.

Hear me out. How long has keef been line juggling our players this year? Probably all season long and even more so after the TDL... The teams learning how to adjust with anyone and even juggling a 12/6 and 11/7 roster. I feel eventually we will stick to certain Line ups once everyone is healthy and we start the playoffs but as soon as we are getting outmatched in some games, juggling the line ups is almost 100% going to happen and our players would already be used to playing with different linemates.


It's most definitely the optimistic way of looking at things but it isn't necessarily a bad thing if our roster is already accustom to it.

If our stars are getting shut down again come playoffs I can see it being difficult to keep track of shutting us down when our stars get split up playing with new linemates who they've atleast played with before.


Does anybody have a list of the different line ups that atleast had some success.

Top line:
Bunting - Matthews - Marner/Willy
Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner/Willy
Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner/Willy
Kerfoot - Matthews - Jarnkrok

2nd line:
Kerfoot - JT - Marner/Willy
Bunting - JT - Marner/Willy
Jarnkrok - JT - Marner/Willy
Marner - JT - Willy
JT - ROR - Marner/Willy
Kerfoot - ROR - Marner/Willy

And our Bottom 6 has been a mixed bag for 2 years now.


Maybe sticking to a fixed line up to gain chemistry has the draw back of having other teams better prepared to shut us down.

This way they can't really do that.


I'm spit balling here.

Spit ball shit. You bang on with this one. Sucks that 90 has been out and that may limit the shuffle a bit but you'd be nuts to think this organization is lost as far as the lineup goes.

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner
(I would want M&M together and have them go head to head with the Kucherov line)

Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
(Pure offence, shelter them and try to get them out there against Tampa's bottom 6)

Kerfoot - O'Rielly - Acciari
(Shutdown line with a scoring touch, match against Tampa's second line)

AstonReese - Kampf - Lafferty
(Fast, Physical and Tenacious - should* skate circles around the Maroon/Perry line)

Knies (Put him in Kerfoot's spot if he shows he can play, push Kerfoot down and take Lafferty out)
Simmonds (Try to avoid using him, only put him in if Tampa is taking runs at the top guys)

- - -
McCabe - Brodie
(Number one shut down pair, have them out with M&M)

Giordano - Holl
(Number two shut down pair, have them out with the ROR line)

Rielly - Schenn
(Shelter these guys, Rielly will get more time - play with JT and the 4th Line)

Liljegren (Sadly played himself out of the top 6, should split time with Schenn if we go 7/11)
Gustafsson (Shouldn't play unless Rielly is hurt)
Benn (Insurance)

 

[LeafGrief]

The last thing I am going to do is pretend that the form they're in for the last five games of a meaningless regular season is going to matter when the playoffs start. The playoff demon is going to crawl right out from under the bed and take up a stall in the locker room, so our lines in game 78 really have very little to do with whether we win a series or not. The series will hinge on goaltending and whether Marner can shake hands with the devil or not.

No plan survives first contact with the enemy, Game 1 might as well be a different season altogether. We need our guys healthy and playing with a bit of swagger, the rest of the bets are off when the puck drops and we have to play Vasilevskiy.

 

[budzz]

Hmm the more I think about it, I like the lineup changes between home and road. Makes some sense.

One thing Babcock leaned on (don't get us all started on him), was that he always looked at chemistry between 2 forwards, and added a banger/muscle/grinder as the third to compliment the 2 (see Hyman and how we whined for years he didn't belong up top, until he did)

Here's something crazy for the road lineup..

Jarnkrok Matthews Acciari
Bunting Tavares Marner
Kerfoot ROR Nylander
ZAR Kampf Lafferty

Swap Willie and Acciari from time to time.

I know I know, Acciari on the first line??? Well, Jarncrok and Matty are building some chemistry, and Acciari adds some jam in case any of their knucklehead thugs try any funny crap, and he has some speed to boot. It is a bit of a crime not giving Matty the best possible wingers so there is that.

2nd line is good.

Having a third line of Kerf Ror and Willie is no picnic as a 3rd for any team to go against.

And 4 should be able to carry themselves, although not much O there, and not much we can do about that now.

If any of these 4 lines get caught on an extended shift and tampa can get a change in, we still have responsible defensive forwards on any line at any time, I think.

If you subscribe to the theory each teams top 2 lines almost cancel each other out, and it's the bottom 6 that will make a difference, that 3rd line has plenty of punch and would be hard to handle.

My head hurts.

 

[namttebih]

I keep going back and forth, but I am now on board with spreading out the talent and having the other team try to keep up. We can run 3 low-end 1st/high-end 2nd lines in the top 9 and have the 4th line as just an annoying line to play against and can take most defensive matchups.

Knies - Matthews - Jarnkrok
Bunting - Tavares - Marner
Kerfoot - ROR - Nylander
Lafferty/ZAR - Kampf - Acciari

The beauty about this is you can still stack lines occasionally for offensive zone draws or situationally.

Matthews' line just came off and ozone draw? Tavares - ROR - Marner
Tavares' line just came off and ozone draw? Matthews - ROR - Willy
ROR's line just came off and ozone draw? Matthews - Tavares - Marner

Then just throw out the Kampf line after (they can be trusted), and then whatever line had just come off can go back on and you can go back to the regular rotation.

While I agree with the entire premise, I think that Knies lined up against Hedman is not a good idea.

 

[notbias]

While I agree with the entire premise, I think that Knies lined up against Hedman is not a good idea.

If Knies needs to be away from Hedman he probably shouldn't be playing, assuming he just won't be in the lineup.

Hedman hasn't been good this year.

But honestly, not sure the Matthews line gets the hardest matchup.

These are the current pairings
Hedman - Perbix
Sergachev - Raddysh
Cole - Cernak

The big selling point to me would be Matthews is going up against one of those pairings, Tavares/Marner against another, and ROR/Nylander against another, there is no way they can hide any pairing from a top-line.

 

[AvroArrow]

The only thing Keefe has to worry about is having Mathews or ROR at C and Marner on the wing against the Point line.

Honestly f*** it, they're making 11M+ each, they need to be able to play through any matchup. Point and Cirelli are studs but no reason why our guys shouldn't win that matchup.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

You're worried about RoR playing 3C, which likely would be easier minutes than the 2LW/C he was playing before, and 1C minutes with the Blues? Yeah, there's a bunch to be worried about pre-playoffs but RoR being a good 3C shouldn't crack your top-10.

I agree. That said, I'm gonna run with your concept.

My Top 10 Leafs' worries for 2023 Playoffs:

1. Goaltending.
2. Marner's scoring disappearing due to reliance on perimeter play.
3. Matthew's scoring disappearing due to reliance on perimeter play.
4. Nylander's scoring disappearing due to reliance on perimeter play.
5. Bad Reilly pinches/decision making resulting in odd man rushes and goals against.
6. Bad Holl decision making resulting in goals against.
7. Stupid back passes resulting in goals against.
8. Injuries.
9. Keefe getting outcoached again.
10. Giordano hitting the playoff wall.

 

[Niagara Bill]

Let's if good thoughts here but the most important issues are on the defensive side of the ice.
We gave questionable goaltending and cannot win shoot outs.
If we see Reilly and other dmen caught up ice, leaving zone early we are dead.
If we don't always have 3 men back golf season will be early again.
This is playoff hockey not November. Playing to neutralize the other team both in checking and physically and capitalizing on turnovers and pp is winning hockey.