GDT: Around the League - 2021/22 - Playoffs edition

[zeke]

Imagine being so scared to admit your own team played well that you literally make up a narrative that a smoking red-hot team before and after just mysteriously stopped trying against your team.

Amusing what some people feel the need to do.

 

[Nineteen67]

The Bolts were smoking red hot to end the regular season (7-2 with a +20 goal differential to end the year), and smoking red hot against the Panthers right after playing the Leafs.

Obviously they didn't mysteriously just stop trying against the Leafs. That's a silly take.

I don’t know why they didnt play with the necessary attention to detail. I thought maybe they were at the end of the line, but nope, that wasn’t the case. Sets up potentially great SCF.

 

[kb]

Imagine being so scared to admit your own team played well that you literally make up a narrative that a smoking red-hot team before and after just mysteriously stopped trying against your team.

Amusing what some people feel the need to do.

It's normal when you are not a true Leaf fan though.

Like a fair number appear to be on here.

 

[ACC1224]

I don’t know why they didnt play with the necessary attention to detail. I thought maybe they were at the end of the line, but nope, that wasn’t the case. Sets up potentially great SCF.

I think it was more the Leafs ramped it up for game 1 and Tampa was still playing regular season hockey.
They were inconsistent after that until game 6. They haven't looked back since.

 

[Nineteen67]

The fact is that Tampa, the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, were putting in 100% effort every playoff game, like all NHL teams do. The Leafs didn't "allow them to get going". The Leafs were the ones frustrating them and effectively countering what they were trying to do more than any team they've faced in the past 3 years, and did so right from the get-go.

Them "winning 3 of the last 4" has nothing to do with "waking up". In fact, they were set to lose 2 of the last 3 and were mere minutes away from being eliminated until the refs decided to blatantly take over the series and hand it to them.

What does get going mean?

 

[Zybalto]

The Bolts were smoking red hot to end the regular season (7-2 with a +20 goal differential to end the year), and smoking red hot against the Panthers right after playing the Leafs.

Obviously they didn't mysteriously just stop trying against the Leafs. That's a silly take.

Leafs/Bolts remains the best series of the playoffs so far IMO and the top 3 teams have been Avs/Leafs/Bolts IMO. If not for the "unfortunate events" (as someone put it earlier), the Leafs take it in 6 in a series they had an edge in much of the time. Its not surpising so many called that the probable ECF. The Avs havnt really had a challenge though in what was one of the weakest conferences in memory but the way they handled things was impressive indeed.

Florida looked surpisingly awful, the Rangers did nothing to change my opinion that they are a mediocre team getting carried by goaltending (and probably dont even make the playoffs without it) much like how imortant McDavid is to the Oilers. It was all kinds of awesome to see Gallant get nominated for the Adams reinforcing the stereotype. (Not saying hes a bad coach but I dont think he was any kind of real difference maker with that sort of goaltending)

Yea, the takes in this thread remain pretty amusing though. Its like Simmons created a ton of sockpuppets in his breaks from looking for the hotdog cart to rail on about Holl, Keefes pre game speech and other nonsense.

 

[Nineteen67]

I think it was more the Leafs ramped it up for game 1 and Tampa was still playing regular season hockey.
They were inconsistent after that until game 6. They haven't looked back since.

Publicly, Cooper seemed frustrated that they weren’t playing their typical focussed playoff hockey early in the series, whereas Keefe didn’t seem bothered by the Leafs play in game four.

 

[ACC1224]

Publicly, Cooper seemed frustrated that they weren’t playing their typical focussed playoff hockey early in the series, whereas Keefe didn’t seem bothered by the Leafs play in game four.

Cooper was right. It becomes more apparent the deeper they go.
Not sure how Keefe felt, I'm sure he wasn't pleased.

 

[ToneDog]

As much as I did not like Stammer, I gonna hand it to this guy. I thought he was declining after missing the playoffs a couple of years back but this guy still has the goods. Blowing by Trouba made me think what could be if JT had that speed. Stammer is a true leader and champion.

 

[stealth1]

Imagine being so scared to admit your own team played well that you literally make up a narrative that a smoking red-hot team before and after just mysteriously stopped trying against your team.

Amusing what some people feel the need to do.

Yeah they played well but the end result is they lost. They need some major changes to get to the next level. I'm not talking about the core. They need an upgrade in goal and a better bottom 6. The major difference in the Tampa series was their bottom 6 was more effective then the Leafs.

 

[Gabriel426]

Maybe it's just a few of us, but being happy that a team wins the first round means they're in the 2nd. round.

You can't win the second round if you don't win the first.

Then we should be happy they made the first round since you can’t be in the first round without making the playoffs.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

I think that this whole thing is just made worse by the fact that we were once again up multiple times in a series, and still choked.

If we had been down 3-2, and made it a 7 game series, and then Tampa won game 7, I think people maybe feel a bit better. Once again, we gave the Leaf haters the most glorious schadenfreude they could have ever wanted.

 

[ACC1224]

Yeah they played well but the end result is they lost. They need some major changes to get to the next level. I'm not talking about the core. They need an upgrade in goal and a better bottom 6. The major difference in the Tampa series was their bottom 6 was more effective then the Leafs.

It's just made up outrage to hide the fact that once again they got it wrong when predicting this teams greatness. You'll notice no one has been quoted saying the team didn't play well.

 

[Steven1562]

In the Matthews Marner era we are 0-9 in series clinching games. Tampa has won 11 straight playoffs series. That is a staggering stat. We just don't know how to close a series. In the end winners know how to win and losers know how to lose.

 

[ULF_55]

Then we should be happy they made the first round since you can’t be in the first round without making the playoffs.

Obviously.

Kind of like waking up in the morning, you should be happy because there's no guarantee. Even if it is a crappy day, there's still hope.

As far as most points, irrelevant, they've had fewer points and done better in the real season.

Happy to start the playoffs, disappointed not to win.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

The annoying thing is we will watch this legitimately good Leafs team get no where, but sometime in the future, some worse version will get a velvet soft path and go 3 or 4 rounds deep. Some nonsense team led by Pierre Engvall, Nick Robertson and Jo Woll.

Hockey playoffs are weird like that.

 

[ULF_55]

It's just made up outrage to hide the fact that once again they got it wrong when predicting this teams greatness. You'll notice no one has been quoted saying the team didn't play well.

Hopefully, very few were calling this a great team.
Most points in their history perhaps, but great? Please.
Not sure how anyone could think to call any team great until they actually win, unless they posit it regular season great, and again perhaps you might stretch it to say a great, regular season team compared to previously regular season Leafs teams.

However, I thought they made progress, even in the loss.
They were competitive with a great Lightning team, right until the end of the 7th. game.
Both teams had some off games, but one is a winner, the other is not.

 

[ACC1224]

Hopefully, very few were calling this a great team.
Most points in their history perhaps, but great? Please.
Not sure how anyone could think to call any team great until they actually win, unless they posit it regular season great, and again perhaps you might stretch it to say a great, regular season team compared to previously regular season Leafs teams.

However, I thought they made progress, even in the loss.
They were competitive with a great Lightning team, right until the end of the 7th. game.
Both teams had some off games, but one is a winner, the other is not.

Agreed. Great season but at the end of the day it's still not enough.

 

[Stephen]

Imagine being so scared to admit your own team played well that you literally make up a narrative that a smoking red-hot team before and after just mysteriously stopped trying against your team.

Amusing what some people feel the need to do.

But who cares? If we turned out to be the Winnipeg Jets the 80s Smythe Division and always lose in valiant fashion on someone else’s first step to greatness is that going to be enough? Hell, no.

 

[Stephen]

The annoying thing is we will watch this legitimately good Leafs team get no where, but sometime in the future, some worse version will get a velvet soft path and go 3 or 4 rounds deep. Some nonsense team led by Pierre Engvall, Nick Robertson and Jo Woll.

Hockey playoffs are weird like that.

What frustrates a lot of people is the build had the promise of that unique star power to really be a team of this era, but here we are with Tampa poised to go on a threepeat unless Colorado is coronated as a great team in their own right.

 

[ULF_55]

What frustrates a lot of people is the build had the promise of that unique star power to really be a team of this era, but here we are with Tampa poised to go on a threepeat unless Colorado is coronated as a great team in their own right.

Yes, but I don't think they were that far away against Tampa.
Well, they lost one game in overtime and the next 2-1.
That's close.
That's what about one-two player/s away?

 

[Stephen]

Yes, but I don't think they were that far away against Tampa.
Well, they lost one game in overtime and the next 2-1.
That's close.
That's what about one-two player/s away?

Well, we aren’t constantly adding and getting better since we’re capped out. So that means we take X steps back this summer and Y steps forwards. For example we won’t get Campbell at $1.65 million again.

Feels like the only way we get much better is going to also depend on how many steps Tampa, Colorado, Carolina, Florida and the Rangers take forward and backwards.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Goaltenders don't generate xgf.

That was my point.

 

[Cleetus]

It's normal when you are not a true Leaf fan though.

Like a fair number appear to be on here.

Can be a leafs fan and criticize, the main goal here is winning is it not.... its funny how you post not a leafs fan when people spend thousand of hrs on this site talking about the leafs and are as hardcore a fan as many of us are , might be time to stop calling out posters its sad, just because you think a certain way, and another poster thinks different does not mean they are not hardcore leaf fans...

 

[Dekes For Days]

Well, we aren’t constantly adding and getting better since we’re capped out. So that means we take X steps back this summer and Y steps forwards. For example we won’t get Campbell at $1.65 million again. Feels like the only way we get much better is going to also depend on how many steps Tampa, Colorado, Carolina, Florida and the Rangers take forward and backwards.

But we are getting better, and we were able to add last year despite cap limitations from the stagnant cap. We just had the best season of this franchise's history, and even if you want to hyper focus in on the playoffs, we just had our best series against our best opponent - a team that's on their way to Cup finals to play for their 3rd consecutive cup.

Our two best players are just scratching the surface of their primes, we've got a wave of promising prospects hitting the ages where they can contribute, and there's a lot more potential for our goaltending to improve from this year (I believe it was 8th worst in the league?) than get worse. Many of our competition invested heavily into this year, and almost all are set to take steps backward. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the coming years.