Post-Game Talk: Canes beat Leafs 6-3

[MSZ]

The sad thing is that this era of the Leafs are like those Sharks but even worse.

The biggest difference is they had Joe Pavelski who was Mr. Clutch came playoff time.

 

[Hellcat]

Matthews -6
Marner -6
Knies -5

This is the worse +/- for a line since the early 2000's Atlanta Thrashers.

The line assigned to check our top line, caved in our best line. Like I said before this team is not the defensive juggernaut some people have been saying that it is. We have two goalies playing near Veznia calibre. That is in a nutshell why we are tops in the Atlantic, Woll/Stolarz.

Berube time for you to show up and establish your system.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

 

[BertCorbeau]

Wasted opportunity after taking an early 2-0 lead.

Team was due for a clunker but this mostly is on Matthews line, especially Matthews for his soft play in front of his own net. Woll battled but also wasn’t that good either.

Oh well wake up call for a tough stretch coming up.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Matthews -6
Marner -6
Knies -5

This is the worse +/- for a line since the early 2000's Atlanta Thrashers.

Technically, half of those minuses didn't really come as a line. One was a PP minus, one was a 6v5 empty net minus, and one happened mid line change.

Like I said before this team is not the defensive juggernaut some people have been saying that it is.

That's true. Leafs are the 22nd best defensive team so far this year.

 

[Roo]

We were due for a loss. Disappointing still though…

 

[nuck]

We were due for a loss. Disappointing still though…

It kind of reminding me how they used to lay down for the Bruins of a couple of years ago. Getting punked by Staal was an unlikely end.

 

[Antropovsky]

I think this game is actually fairly typical of their play of late--except without the stellar goaltending to bail them out.

Agreed seems like we are being outplayed/outchanced regularly but our goalies have been way better than years past. If Samsonov was our #1 still, we'd be in big trouble

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Matthews -6
Marner -6
Knies -5

This is the worse +/- for a line since the early 2000's Atlanta Thrashers.

The line assigned to check our top line, caved in our best line. Like I said before this team is not the defensive juggernaut some people have been saying that it is. We have two goalies playing near Veznia calibre. That is in a nutshell why we are tops in the Atlantic, Woll/Stolarz.

Berube time for you to show up and establish your system.

I tend to agree, the goaltending is masking some of the defensive deficiencies. When Tanev and McCabe are not on the ice together, the other teams are given too much space, and some of that is on the forwards. They have been a great shutdown pairing.

But how can you be a great defensive team with someone like Rielly logging an avg of 21:21 minutes of icetime, most of any defenceman and only 4 seconds less than Marner? He of the -13 where the next closest is Nylander with a -4, and we know about his defensive ability. On a first place team, how can he be a freakin' -13? Well, part of it is that he's not very good offensively either. Berube would rather risk a 5 man PP unit with no defenceman than have him out there.

We keep trying to find someone to play with Rielly, even putting our best defensive defenceman out there with him, and that result is a -3 and a -2 for Tanev. Granted in last night's game, the Matthews line was horrific in it's own end. I see Rielly right now as a #5-6 dman on this team. Pairing him with a top defender and giving him more minutes is not going to make the team any better defensively.

 

[Antropovsky]

Special shoutout to Patty Marleau who is also a mentor and a world class choke artist. Even had the C stripped!

I dont get bringing Thornton or Marleau... you are 27, bring a family member or someone who shaped you growing up, not two guys who were recently on the team. Or bring Gilmour or Sundin... not x Shark failures who came to Toronto at 40 and accomplished nothing and have no connection to Toronto.

 

[ToneDog]

I would give Hildeby the NJ game as he already won once against NJ this season.

Woll might need the weekend break to recharge.

 

[ToneDog]

The sad thing is that this era of the Leafs are like those Sharks but even worse.

Not the response I got when I said the same thing last week. It is win the SC or bust. Anything else is failure. LOL.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Not the response I got when I said the same thing last week. It is win the SC or bust. Anything else is failure. LOL.

It's like those folks weren't around in the early 2000s or 1993. Leafs didn't win but it was fun to be a fan back then. When the team gets to that point then we can talk about Cup or bust, but this team is still on Baltic Avenue after 10 years.

 

[Dekes For Days]

It's like those folks weren't around in the early 2000s or 1993. Leafs didn't win but it was fun to be a fan back then.

It's fun to be a fan now too.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Saw this on the main board, puts some context on the -6, sometimes it's just one of those nights.
Multi Selke winner Kopitar was a -6 just last year.

MINUS_REG

It sure does - two of only 13 players to have it happen in the last 10 years.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

I dont get bringing Thornton or Marleau... you are 27, bring a family member or someone who shaped you growing up, not two guys who were recently on the team. Or bring Gilmour or Sundin... not x Shark failures who came to Toronto at 40 and accomplished nothing and have no connection to Toronto.

Jumbo looks like a dirty hobo, maybe he needed a warm meal

 

[Mr_Fun]

By this logic every team in the NHL is in the playoff hunt

All of those teams are like 5 points out of a playoff spot with ~40 games left. I’d say they’re all still in a playoff hunt, no?

Edit: at some point you have to draw the line, sure, but I don’t think it starts at 5 back with forty to go. Definitely two or three teams in the west who I’d say are toast, in all likelihood (although stranger things have happened).

 

[Niagara Bill]

Leafs top line can't hang against a heavy forcheck and a shut down C it seems. Most they can hope for is even on the +/- side of things. Spreading out the offense over 3 lines is imperative.

And if the pp stinks we are done

Our players have accountability, and the quote, while ill-timed, had nothing to do with the close loss to Montreal. Seemed like a light hearted attempt at pointing out that Keefe was overreacting, more than not caring about the details. The truth is that we were actually quite good at the details, and had strong underlying play. I believe Keefe was discussing rebound goals, and while I don't know how we ranked at the time of the meeting, we finished 5th in rebound goals that season, and had more rebound shots and goals than Montreal in the playoffs.

It's ironic that Thornton takes so much heat for that comment, considering that looking only at wins and losses and not the underlying details and context is what this board does best.

Then, other than Keefe and Dubas, who was to blame?

 

[Lightsol]

Leaf fans when team wins: Regular season is irrelevant! Only playoffs matter!
Leaf fans when team loses: See, the team sucks! They're going to lose in the playoffs!

 

[Dekes For Days]

Then, other than Keefe and Dubas, who was to blame?I

There is no one person to blame. Not everything requires finding somebody to vilify. A lot of things factored into the eventual outcome; not all in our control.

 

[Niagara Bill]

There is no one person to blame. Not everything requires finding somebody to vilify. A lot of things factored into the eventual outcome; not all in our control.

Our control. Are you a player?
Read your comment, you suggest no one is responsible. Someone must be, the players are not good enough, the strategy was wrong, the moon was in the wrong phase.

I do not profess to be any type of expert, today I can barely skate, but we saw last night in a real north south game, a playoff style, a few of our top players couldn't or didn't keep up, lost their dominance. It feels strangely familiar.
Those same players allow our PP to flounder.

IMHO, the failure lies directly on the shoulders of the players. Not all. But enough of them for us to lose, in the playoffs, each year.

There are players who game improves in the playoffs each year, and there are players who fall off. It looks like we have a few of the later.

We are not all vilifying...just trying to build a team that brings home the hardware after 57 years of total failure.
Even you must admit, there is not one of our top players who come close to matching the desire and effort of Gilmore and Clark. Not one.
But we need them to. Last night showed a sign they cannot or will not.