All purpose Alex Galchenyuk talk

[Once]

Hall - Matthews - Marner
Galchenyuk - Nylander - Hyman
Mikheyev - Tavares - Engvall

Tavares has no chemistry with Nylander/Gally, and plays well with both Engvall and Mikheyev. At some point I would try it out. Nylander is a great neutral zone guy so I think C could benefit him.

Huh? That second line looks lethal since Chucky slotted in. Plus, why would we relegate our 11m Captain to the third line for Nylander who is, in all honesty, an average NHL centre?

 

[Le Cobra]

Alex Galchenyuk. Who is this guy? I don't remember him being this good in his Montreal days. Not even close. Then he went on a journey around NHL and was on downward spiral. And now THIS? He rushes to the corners like Hyman, he wins all battles, he possesses the puck, he passes, he scores. Last night on Tavares goal he was occupying defender in front of the net. He looks like demon out there. No matter what your expectations were, those were shattered into pieces. Keep it up, Alex. Keep it up!

i think most of us feel the same way. He and Willie look like twins to me except Alex looks more on fire. This is rubbing off on Willie I think. The Tavares Nylander Galchenyuk line is one of our hottest lines and is starting to produce...they might go on a hot streak that rivals even our first line

 

[Antropovsky]

I think Dubas and the coaching staff deserve a ton of credit for how they managed Galchenyuk's playing time after he was acquired. They really took their time letting him learn the system and gain confidence with the Marlies and it has really paid off so far.

We may have struck gold here if he can keep it up.

He is playing with more of an edge than Hyman... he's crosschecking players, he's finishing checks, he's got a scowl. It's weird to watch a skilled player in the blue in white playing with this kind of edge. He had been one of my favorite players to watch since he got into the lineup.

Hope he keeps it up... would be great to find the winger we've been missing in our top 6 for the past few years.

 

[OB34KNH]

He is playing with more of an edge than Hyman... he's crosschecking players, he's finishing checks, he's got a scowl. It's weird to watch a skilled player in the blue in white playing with this kind of edge. He had been one of my favorite players to watch since he got into the lineup.

Hope he keeps it up... would be great to find the winger we've been missing in our top 6 for the past few years.

There's something about gally. I love watching him play, he always makes the right play. Every time he's in the defensive zone, he makes the perfect short outlet pass. He never turns the puck over, his stats do not show how well he's playing.

He's indefinitely far more skilled than Hyman, I still think there's another dimension of Alex Galchenyuk that we haven't tapped into yet. I feel that he has the potential to be more offensively-potent than both of Tavares/Nylander. He's looking off a lot of shots that he should take and is differing/making plays for his linemates instead. (i.e. screening, stick checking, and checking)

He was the 3rd Overall Pick, Anze Kopitar was his comparison at the draft. He hasn't lived up to that potential, he's relatively young at 27.

 

[Clark4Ever]

He is playing with more of an edge than Hyman... he's crosschecking players, he's finishing checks, he's got a scowl. It's weird to watch a skilled player in the blue in white playing with this kind of edge. He had been one of my favorite players to watch since he got into the lineup.

Hope he keeps it up... would be great to find the winger we've been missing in our top 6 for the past few years.

And he is also young enough to blend in with our core for a few more years if he can maintain his work ethic.

 

[ponder]

I thought this was arguably his best game as a Leaf. No points, but he was generating chances like crazy, showed terrific chemistry with both Mikheyev and Tavares. Loved how creative he was on rushes, lots of cutting to the middle, drawing defenders to him, then dishing out some excellent sneaky passes.

 

[Martin Skoula]

He is playing with more of an edge than Hyman... he's crosschecking players, he's finishing checks, he's got a scowl. It's weird to watch a skilled player in the blue in white playing with this kind of edge. He had been one of my favorite players to watch since he got into the lineup.

Hope he keeps it up... would be great to find the winger we've been missing in our top 6 for the past few years.

He reminds me a bit of Lupul before the injuries. Not necessarily a big physical presence, but just enough of an asshole every shift.

 

[stickty111]

Very early still but something has changed and clicked with Gally. Still think we need another top 6 forward, but if thats acquired and Gally continues this, it gives us more options and thats not even factoring in Robertson.

 

[Le Cobra]

That spinorama and no look pass to JT was beautiful. He is playing at an all star level. It’s like he has octane in his blood. You can see how hungry he is to win and contribute to the team

 

[Phion Keneuf]

I think he’s the perfect middle 6 player. Exactly what we needed. Guy gives it 100% every shift, hardest working player outside of Hyman

 

[SoftDumpNtheCorner88]

He's blown away my expectations, I never expected him to be this type of player... I think it's the best version of himself and it will show.. he's looking like a star out there and eventually he will pot in more...

He's looking like the most creative player on that line. Willy should take notes... Be skilled but aggressive and things will happen.

 

[Le Cobra]

He's blown away my expectations, I never expected him to be this type of player... I think it's the best version of himself and it will show.. he's looking like a star out there and eventually he will pot in more...

He's looking like the most creative player on that line. Willy should take notes... Be skilled but aggressive and things will happen.

yeah. I hate to compare but Galchenyuk has shown more grit and effort compared to his other line mates. Thankfully it is infectious and I noticed Nylander playing with more urgency and creativeness as well. Alex is a steal

 

[nobody]

Leafs are now 8-1-1 with Galchenyuk in the lineup. Very solid.

 

[6ix]

He would have way more points if Tavares could finish. He’s set him up time and time again for Tavares to just blow the opportunity.

 

[nobody]

He would have way more points if Tavares could finish. He’s set him up time and time again for Tavares to just blow the opportunity.

I think that line as a whole is still very snake bit even though they've shown glimpses of snapping out of it. If things were going at their normal, however, Gally probably has an extra 4-5 points on top of what he has atm.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Tavares' first 30 games: 0.41 goals/60 | 0.69 ixg/60 | 3.86 high danger chances/60
Tavares with Galchenyuk: 1.29 goals/60 | 1.22 ixg/60 | 8.6 high danger chances/60 (first in the league over the last 10 games)

Galchenyuk is really f***ing good, and has turned Tavares into a legit threat

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Tavares' first 30 games: 0.41 goals/60 | 0.69 ixg/60 | 3.86 high danger chances/60
Tavares with Galchenyuk: 1.29 goals/60 | 1.22 ixg/60 | 8.6 high danger chances/60 (first in the league over the last 10 games)

Galchenyuk is really f***ing good, and has turned Tavares into a legit threat

For the record, Matthews is at .99 ixG/60 and is one of the best top end guys at that stat. So 0.69 was already pretty damn good for a guy who does much of his best work with stuff that doesn't get reflected in that stat perfectly.

Now he is just adding to it even more with Galchenyuk.

What is really scary is that we've only scored 1 PP goal in the past 30+ attempts and are still on a 9 game point streak with 8 of them being wins. Imagine when we start scoring PP goals again, because it is a matter of when and not if... And you can bet that once we do, we will be a top 3 team in that category again too.

Means nothing until the playoffs, but I bet a lot of people (especially in America) are sleeping on us right now because of our supposed "weak" division that is actually tougher than two of the other divisions.

 

[Rielly4]

He has been absolutely huge. Honestly playing better than JT if you ask me... JT has looked a lot better since getting Gally on his line. I think everyone was most suprised by his work ethic but for me his passing and stick handling has been very impressive. Hes looking more confident every game.

 

[Leafshater67]

I really hope he can keep playing at this level. He probably will never live up to his draft position but he’s playing great as a middle 6 guy with a lot of tools he may have finally put together. We’ll see how it lasts but he’s looked good

 

[LFCTML]

Hall - Matthews - Marner
Galchenyuk - Nylander - Hyman
Mikheyev - Tavares - Engvall

Tavares has no chemistry with Nylander/Gally, and plays well with both Engvall and Mikheyev. At some point I would try it out. Nylander is a great neutral zone guy so I think C could benefit him.

My god. This was painful to read.
You're breaking up two of the best lines in the NHL right now for... this?? Yikes.

 

[LFCTML]

Huh? Ever since Galchenyuk has played on that second line it’s been working. Tavares and Galchenyuk have actually worked pretty well together. I’m excited to continue watching what that line can do over the next few games as chemistry is clearly growing.

Honestly, Galy has been the perfect fit for that line. That other post is baffling to me.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Chucky has definitely helped that line ... He's bringing some good compete, has some skill to make some plays and is helping that line generate chances. As long as he keeps it up, more offense will come.

I think the biggest questions is consistency. Can he do this consistently, or is this just a blip in play?

Seems like he's been re-energized since coming to Toronto and working with the coaches.

 

[LeafGrief]

Really, really impressed. He doesn't seem to have the killer instinct of a 30g scorer yet, not quite burying his chances, but it's clear that he's there to work his butt off every single shift. Love him on the forecheck, he wins a lot of battles and he's engaged defensively along the boards. Some real slick moves in the offensive zone too, he genuinely creates his own offense. The goals will come, the points will come, he's playing really really well. Should have scored at least two last night, you could see in his play that he wanted to score so badly. Love to see it.

He would have way more points if Tavares could finish. He’s set him up time and time again for Tavares to just blow the opportunity.

He'd have way more points if he could finish on his own. He's creating a ton of chances but he had Allen on his ass last night and shot it into the open glove.

 

[TheShape]

Chucky has definitely helped that line ... He's bringing some good compete, has some skill to make some plays and is helping that line generate chances. As long as he keeps it up, more offense will come.

I think the biggest questions is consistency. Can he do this consistently, or is this just a blip in play?

Seems like he's been re-energized since coming to Toronto and working with the coaches.

I think Galchenyuk will sustain this for the remainder of the season, he's playing for his NHL career right now. If any organization can turn him around it's Toronto.

I'd say he is the answer on that 2nd line, I get the vibe Keefe would prefer Hyman driving the 3rd line, find someone for Matthews and Marner and we're set up front.

 

[TorMapleJays]

He will be a hab killer for years to come. I really think this lets Dubas look at a 3rd line grinder and a back up Dell type goalie...... Where is Dell anyways? Maybe Andersen for Dell.