Pre-Game Talk: Bruins - Leafs, Game 4

[yubbers]

Call me crazy but I start Woll or Jones next game.

Full credit to Sammy for an excellent couple periods in Game 2, but Game 1 and 3....You can't let in goals like that. Especially when we famously can't score.

It's obviously not all on Sammy but we can't be letting in back breakers like that.



Yeah this was true all year, except it was Matthews, Willy and the passengers.

Leave it to Keefe sticking with a guy who has a sub 900 save % and 3 GA in the series. LOL

 

[HellasLEAF]

Call me crazy but I start Woll or Jones next game.

Full credit to Sammy for an excellent couple periods in Game 2, but Game 1 and 3....You can't let in goals like that. Especially when we famously can't score.

It's obviously not all on Sammy but we can't be letting in back breakers like that.



Yeah this was true all year, except it was Matthews, Willy and the passengers.

I am 100% in the start Woll camp I don't have faith in Sammy never did.

 

[wingman75]

If I look at this series so far, the PP stands out to me as the biggest problem. So much so in fact, that if you didn't change anything other than the Leafs being 25% on the PP, we'd more than likely be leading this series.

If this does not get corrected, regardless of how well they are playing in all the even strength areas, it will not matter. And it will be in one way a continuation of the patheticness of this core's ability to score in meaningful games.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

You don't need hits to win. You do need goals, and defense, and goaltending, but we were unfortunately more focused on hits.

Goes without saying we need the qualities you mentioned. Are you saying a cup can be won without physicality/hard checking in your game?

 

[Commander Clueless]

I am 100% in the start Woll camp I don't have faith in Sammy never did.

Woll's end of the season wasn't good and his record against Boston is a full inverse Swayman. I understand the hesitation many have.

But we need to try to find the hot hand here. I thought after Game 2 it might be Sammy but....that Frederic goal simply can't go in.

 

[PROUD PAPA]

The boys know whats at stake in this one. Either all squared up or in a hole I doubt their capable of crawling out of.
Time to man up or shut up.

 

[Jmo89]

Woll's end of the season wasn't good and his record against Boston is a full inverse Swayman. I understand the hesitation many have.

But we need to try to find the hot hand here. I thought after Game 2 it might be Sammy but....that Frederic goal simply can't go in.

They won't beat Boston with Samsonov imo. It's a risk to run Woll after his poor finish, but it's a sure loss (over 7 games or less) to run Samsonov imo.

 

[egd27]

OK guys how can you neutralize The Rat Marchand?
Please give this guy a tougher game!!
Good player yes, but does not play the game the right way.....................hand him his own a$$ !!!!

You don't have to neutralize him by playing him tougher, you need to ignore his crap and treat him like the 67 point player he is. The more you focus on his antics, the more you get distracted and lose focus on the task at hand.

 

[Racer88]

Pastrnak is mostly only useful on the power play in the playoffs.

I wish we had a player that was useful on the PP in the playoffs

 

[Nineteen67]

OK guys how can you neutralize The Rat Marchand?
Please give this guy a tougher game!!
Good player yes, but does not play the game the right way.....................hand him his own a$$ !!!!

Put Marner on his hip.

 

[NJG]

Powerplay was killing us: If Nylander is back (hopefully he is)

PP1:
Nylander - Bertuzzi - Domi
Marner - Matthews

PP2:
Jarnkrok - Tavares - Robertson
Rielly - Timmins / Liljegren

 

[MapleLeafs77]

PP lines:

Nylander - Domi - Bertuzzi
Rielly Matthews

Marner - Tavares - Knies
Robertson Liljegren

 

[Evilhomer]

I wish we had a player that was useful on the PP in the playoffs

Except that Pasta hasn't been very useful for the Bruins.

 

[Tak7]

Except that Pasta hasn't been very useful for the Bruins.

Yet.

Have to think that at some point, he's going to check himself into the series.

 

[Buds17]

In the interest of not becoming overly reliant on road wins/wins in Boston, I hope the team views tomorrow night's game as a "must win". Having to peel off three wins in a row or winning three of the next four seems to be a daunting enough task as it is.

 

[Cleetus]

 

[hamzarocks]

You don't have to neutralize him by playing him tougher, you need to ignore his crap and treat him like the 67 point player he is. The more you focus on his antics, the more you get distracted and lose focus on the task at hand.

You play an aggresive zone demying style PK and marchand has 2 pts maybe thos series

He has feasted on our PP where pur shitty coach continues to let the bruons get the zone, make pt to pt passes (no toght pt coverage) go to the front of the net unaltered, and gived Marchand a low end 1st liner time and space to make plays

PK + Keefe have cost us the most even more so than Marner whose been ass but our 5v5/EVS defense has neutered an average bruins offense to basically no high quality looks/goals through 3 games

 

[Leafsfan74]

Joe Bowen calling out the fans. I've done the same on here but I don't have the same platform he does lol.

Anyways, I know some here have defended the playoff crowd, but it is misplaced, the corporate fans are an embarrassment. Compare Leaf fans to almost ANY other cities playoff fans. Only perhaps Ottawa (when they are in) is as docile.

The truth is home ice is supposed to be about loud, rowdy encouragement and some heat on the opposition. How much of a jolt can a player get on a shift when they feel the buzz when they hit the ice?

It matters. It all matters in tough games.

 

[robertmac43]

Great sign to see Nylander back!

 

[Suntouchable13]

Joe Bowen calling out the fans. I've done the same on here but I don't have the same platform he does lol.

Anyways, I know some here have defended the playoff crowd, but it is misplaced, the corporate fans are an embarrassment. Compare Leaf fans to almost ANY other cities playoff fans. Only perhaps Ottawa (when they are in) is as docile.

The truth is home ice is supposed to be about loud, rowdy encouragement and some heat on the opposition. How much of a jolt can a player get on a shift when they feel the buzz when they hit the ice?

It matters. It all matters in tough games.

The crowd is what it is, I don’t think it’s changing. They are pros, they have to find that jolt somewhere else then. Or then Leafs will never win the cup. You have to win your home games.

 

[egd27]

How much of a jolt can a player get on a shift when they feel the buzz when they hit the ice?

 

[robertmac43]

The truth is home ice is supposed to be about loud, rowdy encouragement and some heat on the opposition. How much of a jolt can a player get on a shift when they feel the buzz when they hit the ice?

I always say we have a reactionary crowd in Toronto. When we see a big hit, nice save, goal, etc. The crowd reacts loud and get into it.

A lot of the other rinks in the league (Vegas, Carolina, Nashville, etc) are proactive crows. You get the pop on big plays but also consistent noise in between.

 

[OVO16]

In regards to the crowd, the Leafs also dont use them to hype up the crowd. Physicality is a huge part of the playoff atmosphere and the Leafs barely use it.

Look how insane the crowd went during that Benoit/Reaves shift last game.

I think Boston does a really good job of playing to their home crowd and then playing a completely different game on the road.

You'll notice more scrums/fights/hits take place at TD Garden over Scotiabank arena. It's intentional by the bruins

 

[Dekes For Days]

Goes without saying we need the qualities you mentioned. Are you saying a cup can be won without physicality/hard checking in your game?

Physicality is one of many different attributes that a player can utilize to potentially assist in their offensive or defensive play, but hitting a ton does not itself help you win, and it is not necessary to win a cup. In fact, 12 out of 18 cup-winners in the cap era have ranked in the bottom half of playoff teams in hitting. A cup has not been won by the highest hitting team in the playoffs, but it has been won by the lowest hitting team. The average playoff hits/60 of the cup winners in the cap era is 30.07 hits. Throughout the Matthews era, we have averaged 34.91 hits per 60 in the playoffs. Through the 5 year period where select people loved to complain we were soft, we averaged 33.44 hits per 60 in the playoffs. Both above the average of cup winners.

Physicality has never been our issue in the playoffs. In fact, it has often been detrimental to us, causing major penalties that throw away games, and suspensions - including to significant players - that have potentially cost us series. We focused way too much on "snot" this year, and all it has done is hurt us. We allowed the first goal of the series 2 minutes in, because we chased a bad hit and allowed a 2 on 1. We've thrown away PP chances and put ourselves on PKs we can't kill with constant undisciplined behaviour. We've killed our own momentum, and created chaos that Boston has thrived and scored on. We ignored defensive play and PKing to instead just cram our defense with big hitters galore, and all we did was make them so slow and unskilled that we can't exit our zone or transition.

Hitting can be helpful. Hitting can be fun. But unfortunately, some put it on a pedestal and seem more concerned with the playstyle we lose with, rather than actually being good.

 

[ThrowDemTongs]

Joe Bowen calling out the fans. I've done the same on here but I don't have the same platform he does lol.

Anyways, I know some here have defended the playoff crowd, but it is misplaced, the corporate fans are an embarrassment. Compare Leaf fans to almost ANY other cities playoff fans. Only perhaps Ottawa (when they are in) is as docile.

The truth is home ice is supposed to be about loud, rowdy encouragement and some heat on the opposition. How much of a jolt can a player get on a shift when they feel the buzz when they hit the ice?

It matters. It all matters in tough games.

I've been trying to figure it out since last game. I think the issue is not that the crowd isn't loud when they have to be (goal, huge hit, etc.), it's that they're violently quiet in all other situations. The ambiance is so nervous and unpleasant.

You watch other playoff games, and even when there isn't something overtly "cheer-worthy", the atmosphere is electrifying. There's this very loud "at-rest" noise. Those lulls are often punctuated with go x go chants. Hell, you watch Vancouver, and the crowd roars at even the most harmless hits.

That's actually a decent way to put it. Other teams have crowds, we have an audience.

Let's f***ing change that tomorrow, among all other required changes.