Pre-Game Talk: Boston Bruins @ Toronto Maple Leafs - Sat, Nov 5th, 7pm EST

[Fogelhund]

Man, Lily better hit the road running coming in now after we finished playing all the cellar dwellers.

He was phenomenal in his practice stint with the Marlies.

 

[ToneDog]

Yup, seems a lot better in recent years

Yup this regime seems to prefer to bring them up over ripened unlike previous regimes.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

We finally have three guys comfortable on the right side, but Keefe moves Brodie to the left side...

I like Liljegren with Rielly but the bottom 4 should be:

Sandin-Brodie
Giordano-Holl

 

[DarkKnight]

Matthews sure taking a lot of heat for the non fighting last game, interesting reaction.

 

[leafsfan5]

So excited for Liljergen to be back, his transition game has been sorely missed

He'll officially establish himself as a top 4 RHD this year, with top pair potential. He's the ideal modern defenseman, imo

 

[Burnie97]

Sounds like he's practicing with the team.

Yeah he needs to be in games. Here or Marlies.

I've said this a hundred times: athletes advance during practice doing drills not during games. It's never a waste to be practicing NHLers and working with the NHL coaching staff on areas of his game that need improvement.

That's fine. Go down to the Marlies and get some games in too.

 

[justashadowof]

Matthews sure taking a lot of heat for the non fighting last game, interesting reaction.

Such a non-issue. Konecny has a history to starting fights with non-fighters and getting his ass kicked.

 

[DarkKnight]

Pierre LeBrun said the buzz around the league is that the Leafs are easy to play against. Nothing new to those paying attention, just humorous when I pointed it out before it was my “personal opinion”. Looks more like “universal opinion” outside of the GM water carrier crowd.

 

[The Podium]

Pierre LeBrun said the buzz around the league is that the Leafs are easy to play against. Nothing new to those paying attention, just humorous when I pointed it out before it was my “personal opinion”. Looks more like “universal opinion” outside of the GM water carrier crowd.

It’s really no surprise to anyone that the Leafs aren’t a physical team… even the pro Dubas crowd knows that

The difference is acknowledging that a 4th line useless grinder doesn’t change that fact.

The Leafs need to make their Coleman/Goodrow trade and replace Muzzin on D with someone if a similar ilk. Then have Knies settle in some capacity in the spring to have skilled physicality.

 

[leafsfan5]

Pierre LeBrun said the buzz around the league is that the Leafs are easy to play against. Nothing new to those paying attention, just humorous when I pointed it out before it was my “personal opinion”. Looks more like “universal opinion” outside of the GM water carrier crowd.

Yeah I mean that one is obvious.

There's little to no physicality on this club. Our bottom 6 is full of utility players who are soft (Jarnkork, Engvall, Kerfoot). Our defensive core isn't very physical either, especially now with Muzzin out. Going into the boards against this team isn't a problem

Hilariously, we have a forechecking machine with some scoring prowess on an ELC and won't play him (Robertson). Despite his size that's someone who is a pain in the ass to play against

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Yeah I mean that one is obvious.

There's little to no physicality on this club. Our bottom 6 is full of utility players who are soft (Jarnkork, Engvall, Kerfoot). Our defensive core isn't very physical either, especially now with Muzzin out. Going into the boards against this team isn't a problem

You can be hard to play against without being physical. Players used to name Datsyuk as the opponent they hate playing against the most.

The Leafs are still incredibly easy to play against, but it's mainly because they're extremely sloppy and have lengthy stretches in games where they don't really do anything

 

[PromisedLand]

Matthews sure taking a lot of heat for the non fighting last game, interesting reaction.

dont think it is because of fighting. i think expected him to grab a hold of a player or bearhug or something. he stood byhimself while others engaged.

team needs a one for all and all for one mentality especially if ones to have success in the playoffs. recall the d-bag play against robertson and how everyone got involved. rielly fought and JT/etc... all grabbed a guy.

 

[leafsfan5]

You can be hard to play against without being physical. Players used to name Datsyuk as the opponent they hate playing against the most.

The Leafs are still incredibly easy to play against, but it's mainly because they're extremely sloppy and have lengthy stretches in games where they don't really do anything

Yeah, I edited to include that you can have players who are a pain without being overly physical (Robertson). But physicality is something you also need, and an element we should improve on.

I thought our defensive core last year was good physicality wise. Boosh, Muzzin, Gio were good compliments to the skill and mobility of Rielly, Liljergen and Brodie. Too bad we didn't play Lilly in the playoffs because Keefe hates young guys for some reason

It's a mentality thing more than anything else, imo, you need to commit to being a hound for 60 minutes. I remember when I used to play defenseman there was a little guy on an opposing team who would be so annoying to play against. He wouldn't check or anything, but he had a motor and would make your life a pain in the corners. Dude just never gave up lol

The top line was a good example of that last year, I remember shifts were Matthews/Marner would be relentless in the corners and obtain possession

 

[The Podium]

dont think it is because of fighting. i think expected him to grab a hold of a player or bearhug or something. he stood byhimself while others engaged.

team needs a one for all and all for one mentality especially if ones to have success in the playoffs. recall the d-bag play against robertson and how everyone got involved. rielly fought and JT/etc... all grabbed a guy.

Matthews has come in defense of his teammates in the past, he’s not going to fight in defense of himself

 

[justashadowof]

The media narrative that the Flyers were going after Matthews was also a bit of an exaggeration. Only Konecny went after Matthews. No other Flyer went after Matthews in that little bruhaha, that's how that retired 4th liner could whine about Matthews not engaging enough during the melee.

 

[The Podium]

You can be hard to play against without being physical. Players used to name Datsyuk as the opponent they hate playing against the most.

The Leafs are still incredibly easy to play against, but it's mainly because they're extremely sloppy and have lengthy stretches in games where they don't really do anything

I think both Matthews and Tavares are hard to play against in the same sense that Datsyuk was. Just tough grind to regain possession from those guys.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

It's bullshit that Lilly was scratched last year in the playoffs. To this day, this is my #1 Keefe complaint.

So happy he's back. We need that smooth skating and that gap control.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Such a non-issue. Konecny has a history to starting fights with non-fighters and getting his ass kicked.

Matthews kicked him in the face after he scored, and it was funny.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I think both Matthews and Tavares are hard to play against in the same sense that Datsyuk was. Just tough grind to regain possession from those guys.

And right now, while Matthews/Marner are still putting up points and dominating possession, they are not putting the kind of pressure on other teams that we need them to be in order for this team to really start clicking. At least the rest of the lines are starting to find their groove, especially in the bottom 6.

 

[NinjaKick]

love it when Matthews gets under players skin

 

[Twine Tickler]

I think for me this game is more about process over outcome. As long as we play the right way, I have no problem losing to a quality team like the B's. I think Wednesday was a step in the right direction, but we will definitely need to be sharper than we've been at any point all year for a full 60 to come away with the 2pts.

Of course I'd love to see the boys win, but I really just want to see a quality 60 minutes of play. I am not convinced we have done that at all this season.

GO LEAFS GO!

 

[Burnie97]

 

[arso40]

I was against the D pairings at first, but I think @AvroArrow is right, and they want an anchor for each pairing to avoid getting caught in a bad matchup.

They clearly dislike Sandin-Holl as a pairing.

Then put holl with gio and lily with sandin

 

[Mickey Marner]

Glad to have Liljegren back, too bad it won't be Holl's spot he's taking though.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Then put holl with gio and lily with sandin

They likely don't want two inexperienced players together.