GDT: 9/18/16 - North America Vs Finland - 8PM ET (II)

[AvroArrow]

Pretty invisible. I don't think he's made many mistakes with the puck though, which is what I'm looking for and at least is an improvement from the first few games.

I'm not sure how much of the reason his line's getting dominated is him, though. It's likely got something to do with his play without the puck if it is.

It's not just about making or not making mistakes, its about being able to create something with the puck as well. To Laine's defense the entire team has looked awful but he's the guy that's supposed to be the catalyst of his line

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Parayko will be NA's top dman by end of tourny

 

[Leafidelity]

Would be really nice if you stopped this. He has played very well, but posts like this are what give people ammunition against us Leaf fans.

Sad how 3 or so people can ruin it for everyone else

 

[Daximus]

Toronto fans haven't had dozens of games of watching Matthews play for their team like we did. Give them their moment.

Trust me this will last much longer than a moment. Anything good happens to them and the media beats it down our throats in this country. It gets annoying when, even when they are last place in the league, they want the spotlight on them.

 

[CashMash]

... Seriously? I just posted how you can't expect anything from Laine under the circumstances, and you bring up Matthews who plays under the polar opposite circumstances?

Matthews is playing on an utterly dominant team owning the puck and where everything is working right now. Big shock that he is more noticeable.

Right.

This is getting annoying by now. Context matters.

Maybe I'm just tired, but some people on here are really grating atm.

 

[Auston Marlander]

you should change you name to thehumantroll

No kidding. It's painful

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

RNH has been really good, as has his line with Drouin and Mack

 

[Kelly]

Toronto fans haven't had dozens of games of watching Matthews play for their team like we did. Give them their moment.

God bless you.

 

[ijuka]

Its been on his stick what, once? Twice all game? He's got all that size to out muscle players for the puck.

I was just expecting a little more from him is all.

A good amount, actually. You likely haven't been paying attention. Hasn't been able to do much with it but I've actually been surprised by how well he's managed to not make a dead play considering the situations he's been in.

I'll do the puck action stats for this game and then I(we)'ll have some clarity on whether this is just my(biased) impression.

 

[TDK67]

Matthews leading both teams in SOG with 4 and has 1 A. Dominant pretty much every shift.

Laine invisible after the first five minutes of the game.

Gosh I'm sure glad Matthews was a C otherwise he never would have gone 1 OA

 

[The Assclown]

Parayko will be NA's top dman by end of tourny

Ekblad and Rielly have both looked better, but Parayko is still an incredible talent.

 

[ashs]

Can't wait to see Mathews and Marner on the leafs. Prior to the tournament I wasn't sold on Mathews but he looks great out their.

 

[KidLine93]

Johnny Hockey - Eichel - Larkin is going to be an awesome line for team USA for a long time. Best line on the ice tonight.

easily Drouin-RNH-Mackinnon

 

[Leafs87]

Really interested on how they handle this 3rd in trying to close it out. Wouldn't be surprised to see a huge push from Finland

 

[Canada4Gold]

No... There's no intensity because it's a blowout. The only finn who isnt completely deflated is Komorov.

And he's only not deflated because he sees Matthews on the other side and knows he gets to play with him in less than a month

 

[ijuka]

Granlund-Koivu-Jokinen
Donskoi-Lehterä-Komarov
Laine-Barkov-Aho
Filppula-Haula-Korpikoski

Filppula isn't playing well, Lehterä on wing isn't working, Donskoi should be better too. D is a mess. We really need a physical, nasty dman. Unfortunately nobody fits that description now.
Rinne into the press box.

To be honest, I'd like Donskoi with Laine and Barkov.

 

[heksagon]

Say goodbye to Finland at the 2020 Bettman Cup. They and the Czechs clearly don't belong at an event as prestigious as this.

Can't be having 6-0 and 4-0 games when the whole point of this field was to do away with those 3-2 and 2-1 blowouts involving teams like Slovakia and Latvia.

With that logic USA doesn't belong either, they lost to EU 3-0 here and in Sochi they lost to Finland 5-0. Can't make statements like that after single games.

 

[LTIR]

Just tuned in. How is Parayko looking for those who have been watching?

Parayko has looked solid.. seemed a bit slow initially but very posied with the puck.. Has 2 apples.

Can I get Nuge, Mak and Parayko on the Lightning to play with Dru please

Dont be greedy.. You guys are already cup contenders.

No. Matthews broke it open for N.A. and encouraged his team mates to grab some confidence and go for it.

So many followed, but it is all Matthews.

Yup..might as well hand Matthews the C.. McDavid has no business wearing it since everything good is flowing through Matthews..

I bet it wont too long til Matthews is the most hated player on these boards.. thanks to TML fans. Kessel 2.0

 

[major major]

Good Finns: Donskoi, Komarov

Bad Finns: Filpulla, Ristolainen.

I feel bad for watching the game because every time I watch Risto I jinx him. He is always terrible 5 on 5 when I see him. Must be bad luck. That or he's a PP specialist and HFBoards just hasn't realized it yet.

 

[48g90a138pts]

Man Gaudreau is asking for 8.5mil. Ouch to all those flames fans.

 

[TheFeistyFinn]

Matthews leading both teams in SOG with 4 and has 1 A. Dominant pretty much every shift.

Laine invisible after the first five minutes of the game.

Gosh I'm sure glad Matthews was a C otherwise he never would have gone 1 OA

i think whole team Finland disappeared after first 5.

 

[NiL8r87]

... Seriously? I just posted how you can't expect anything from Laine under the circumstances, and you bring up Matthews who plays under the polar opposite circumstances?

Matthews is playing on an utterly dominant team owning the puck and where everything is working right now. Big shock that he is more noticeable.

Its true, we should be toning down our praise for Matthews under these circumstances, similar to how Finnish fans tempered their praise when Laine scored some goals against Belarus. They were rational enough to recognize the circumstances, much like how we should be now.

Also, dont forget that Laine is also playing with Barkov and Aho, two other players that are better than Matthews cause HFBoards polls told me so.

 

[WesMcCauley]

Would be really nice if you stopped this. He has played very well, but posts like this are what give people ammunition against us Leaf fans.

Thank u. Sure Matthews will be a special player but i highly doubt everyone wanna hear about some of u leafs fans getting hard every time Matthews touches the puck. I like Matthews but people like the guy u responded to make other fans dislike other teams top players because they just cant shut up haha

 

[FVM]

What a dreadful game this is. Our defense is completely worthless on this stage: can't move puck up ice, can't clear the crease either. Rinne is bad, but he's been left completely out to dry. Embarrassing.

 

[CashMash]

Matthews leading both teams in SOG with 4 and has 1 A. Dominant pretty much every shift.

Laine invisible after the first five minutes of the game.

Gosh I'm sure glad Matthews was a C otherwise he never would have gone 1 OA

That has nothing to do with the entire team getting dominated, does it?

Get real.