Post-Game Talk: Craig Anderson does it again(Leafs fell asleep also)

[PromisedLand]

I agree here, now the question can they turn it on for the playoffs, can they finally break through? or is this simply just what they are? getting closer to finding out what happens I suppose

Teams usually carry momentum into the playoffs. Rarely you see teams/players flip a switch "ON" for the playoffs. At this time you want to be building chemistry in small groups i.e. 5 men units; 3 men line; d-pairs; not galaxy braining shit.

As a fan it is absolutely frustrating to see what keefe has been doing

 

[Ports]

He’s slow now

His physical capabilities are definitely several steps behind where he was in his 70 point season

He also cannot think the game. Poor defensively.

He kills our offense because he takes FOREVER to make a decision with the puck. Misses the net all the time.

His contract might be an unexpected anchor.

It wasn’t unexpected for me. I wanted Dubas to trade him when he still had some value. Not re-sign him with a NMC. Brutal.

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

Rielly's "discount" is not even a discount. Just because he'd have gotten more overpaid on the open market it doesn't mean we have a discount on him. You're getting what you pay for with him.

I know that's why discount is in quotes. It's a discount just like JT's contract was a "discount".

 

[torontoblood]

I expect the Leafs to win decisively against the Avalanche on Wednesday and the Hurricanes on Friday. And I also expect them to play with zero enthusiasm, energy and cohesion against Ottawa and take that L on Saturday night.

 

[BayStBullies]

Not good enough. Wake up Keefe.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Murray has a 4.65 GAA and .835 SV % over his last 5 games.

Should have given him some time with the Marlies to see if he can get into a groove and stay healthy for a bit and give Woll some more starts in the NHL in the meantime.

I expect the Leafs to win decisively against the Avalanche on Wednesday and the Hurricanes on Friday. And I also expect them to play with zero enthusiasm, energy and cohesion against Ottawa and take that L on Saturday night.

 

[PromisedLand]

Not really worth it to get frustrated or mad at them anymore.
they are simply showing us what they are, a reasonably skilled but lazy and inconsistent team with goal tending that is unable to rise to the occasion .
This core group lack the heart and commitment to be anymore than a team that wins when the games are easy.
I suspect that we will have to do a retool on the fly in the next 2 years

catch 22 man.

matthews/nylander/marner NTCs kick in July 1st; we will be working from a position of weakness with hand cuffed behind our backs regardless of who the GM is.

I really think that Dubas wasted core's years here first with the goalie yo-yo with sparks, then fueding with babcock; and then hiring keefe. Keefe should have been let go after the habs series but here we are.

I highly doubt the possibility of a retool in the next 2 years. Our cupboard is already pretty empty too

 

[torontoblood]

Only way Murray starts Game 1 if everyone is healthy is hockey cronyism. He’s just mediocre.

In professional sports, plenty of athletes get the benefit of the doubt because of their past success and reputation. Murray came here because Dubas thought he would recreate the magic and replicate his mid 2010s exploits with Pittsburgh. So far, aside from one good month (November) we haven’t had nhl caliber goaltending from him. It was a bad decision to gamble on a declining, mentally fragile and injury prone goalie to take us to the promised land.

 

[torontoblood]

He’s slow now

His physical capabilities are definitely several steps behind where he was in his 70 point season

He also cannot think the game. Poor defensively.

He kills our offense because he takes FOREVER to make a decision with the puck. Misses the net all the time.

His contract might be an unexpected anchor.

He should really have been traded in the summer of 2019, after his career best season in 18-19.His value was very high back then and Toronto would have an upgrade on D, a quality prospect and a solid top 6 forward.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Kerfoot needs to be on a milk box at this point. Guy's gone missing. Hasn't scored in 21 games!?!?! How can you win with this?

Our LW depth sucks and all but come on he can't be on the first line.

 

[andora]

yeah he should hate scoring goals, especially when he sets a new career high

Oh well then.. i stand corrected what a huge goal...

 

[PromisedLand]

Our D which was once pretty good

Now looks like a group with 0 chemistry. Which makes sense because they play with a different person every other shift

Previous game we scored 7 goals and our D has ZERO points. Tonight again our D has zero points. I am pretty sure Leafs if not the last are at the bottom of points from D-men and IMO it is due to coaching.

if you look at top 20 D-men in scoring across the league we don't have even 1 D-men from the Leafs there. Leafs play a very predictable hockey which will be easy to stop in the playoffs IMO if they don't change it the F up and get some point shots; or run some plays from their d-men. Its a team sport forwards alone aint gonna get it done especially in the playoffs. Tampa's got 2 d-men in the top 20 and they both play on different pairs i.e. Tampa will be equally as dangerous up front with their forwards and their d-men. Cooper ain't a moron like keefe

 

[Gabriel426]

I know that the boys stopped playing after scoring 2 goals but Murray needed to make some saves bc this is the type of games(Monday night against a okay team in the league after a great win on HNIC) that Goalie needs to be at their best to bail out the team.

 

[LeafSteel]

watching the Kraken v. Stars game and hearing the commentator say McCann has 33 goals just set me off. In what world do you protect one of Holl/Kerfoot over him in that expansion draft? Still have a glaring lack of skill and finish on the LW. Once again failed to address it at the TDL.

Underrated post but there are those who don’t want to acknowledge that Dubas screwed the pooch on this.

He made a shrewd move to get him, and then pissed it away in one fell swoop and we’ve had a glaring gap at LW ever since.

……. But shhh, saying so may upset many so let’s continue to enjoy the treat that Holl is. It was mandatory to lose a top 6 LW because it was easier to do than have Dubas legitimately address the continued glaring gap on RHD when we could just keep an over his head Holl in place and just force the square peg into the round Holl……

In the interim, I feel like we are watching Keefe shoot Liljegren’s confidence and development in the head, right in front of our eyes while Keefe fumbles along with his idiotic 11/7 line scrambling….. do I trust him with Knies coming in soon?

Anyways, on to the next game. Murray wasn’t horrible but this team is completely disjointed and out of sorts. Keefe needs to cut the crap and roll consistent lines. Home ice is still at stake. Giving Cooper last change when Keefe has already been out coached by him is just an all around bad sign for the playoffs should literally be the end of Keefe in Toronto…..

Hopefully a better all around effort next game.

 

[Stephen]

In professional sports, plenty of athletes get the benefit of the doubt because of their past success and reputation. Murray came here because Dubas thought he would recreate the magic and replicate his mid 2010s exploits with Pittsburgh. So far, aside from one good month (November) we haven’t had nhl caliber goaltending from him. It was a bad decision to gamble on a declining, mentally fragile and injury prone goalie to take us to the promised land.

Like I said when the trade was made, Murray is a parlay bet on both performance and health. And aside from November and December, it's been 4 months where one or the other has not panned out. Considering the money he makes, this has not been a good project.

 

[PromisedLand]

He didn't. When McCabe and Holl were on the ice, the Leafs outshot Buffalo 9-3
McCabe only looked bad with Liljegren

Lily and McCabe only played about 3 mins together and gave up 2 shots against and had 0 shots for with one goal against thanks to kerfoot. Thats not the conclusion one should draw from it

Here is McCabes report from the oilers game in which he played about 3 mins with Holl; it has similar (not identical) shot metric as with lily tonight

 

[PromisedLand]

I was in and out, but Lilj really seemed to struggle in the bits i saw.

Brodie is our best d-men; and even he trouble tonight although he wasn't on ice for any goals against 5 on 5. I'd put tonight's game on the moronic coaching

 

[Gallagbi]

Brodie is our best d-men; and even he trouble tonight although he wasn't on ice for any goals against 5 on 5. I'd put tonight's game on the moronic coaching

What was so moronic about it? The bits i saw had us losing battles we were in position for and not finishing some golden chances

 

[Stephen]

watching the Kraken v. Stars game and hearing the commentator say McCann has 33 goals just set me off. In what world do you protect one of Holl/Kerfoot over him in that expansion draft? Still have a glaring lack of skill and finish on the LW. Once again failed to address it at the TDL.

I agree with you in theory but also keep in mind Jared McCann was re-signed to a $5 million contract to start this season, so the benefit of keeping him over Holl/Kerfoot would have worn off by now and we'd be paying full retail. But I share your frustration why Kerfoot and Holl remain these critical utility players for us.

 

[Superstar]

I've been laying off Rielly as he's the only major piece that has actually taken a "discount" (at the time) to keep this team together but man does he need to be better

With the way he's playing, not sure if it's even a discount...7 more years, right?

 

[PromisedLand]

Kerfoot needs to be on a milk box at this point. Guy's gone missing. Hasn't scored in 21 games!?!?! How can you win with this?

by rewarding kerfoot with a 1st line LW duty

coaching masterclass by sheldon keefe there

 

[Future]

just look at Mo's eating habits that should help I suppose

This was very revealing. I hope he’s capable of change but that’s not promising at all considering he’s signed long term.

 

[PromisedLand]

What was so moronic about it? The bits i saw had us losing battles we were in position for and not finishing some golden chances

1) Leafs took the foot of the gas after the first period, coach could not motivate team
2) Sabres countered Leafs speed up the wings with clogging neutral zone and making entries difficult; leasfs did not try chip/chase or dump/chase hockey and in the process lost possession -> coach didn't see it apparently or didn't care
3) Sabres figured out that leafs were depending on their forwards making plays while not involing their d-men at all when the puck was in sabres zone; clearly seen from having ZERO points last game from d-men where the team scored 7 goals and iced 7 d-men; tonight again the 7 d-men had ZERO points
4) Coach did not bother to call a timeout when he saw the momentum shifting towards sabres as they tied the game at 2 in the third period and in total scored 4 unanswered goals to take the 4-2 lead

I could go on about other crap that these moron of a coach did wrong. He has no clue how to coach on the fly. Leafs' points and wins IMO are in spite of keefe not because of keefe

you have 3 playoff series results to see how good of a "coach" Keefe really is btw...

 

[Superstar]

Previous game we scored 7 goals and our D has ZERO points. Tonight again our D has zero points. I am pretty sure Leafs if not the last are at the bottom of points from D-men and IMO it is due to coaching.

if you look at top 20 D-men in scoring across the league we don't have even 1 D-men from the Leafs there. Leafs play a very predictable hockey which will be easy to stop in the playoffs IMO if they don't change it the F up and get some point shots; or run some plays from their d-men. Its a team sport forwards alone aint gonna get it done especially in the playoffs. Tampa's got 2 d-men in the top 20 and they both play on different pairs i.e. Tampa will be equally as dangerous up front with their forwards and their d-men. Cooper ain't a moron like keefe

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So TB has 2 d men in the top 20 in scoring, eh? Leafs are supposed to compete with that? I'm just hoping Rielly doesn't play the puck like a grenade on the PP.

 

[PromisedLand]

This was very revealing. I hope he’s capable of change but that’s not promising at all considering he’s signed long term.

he was also recently engaged, if that means engagement parties and keeping up appearances and what not then that may have had an impact too. I have no knowledge of this btw I am just guessing except the engagement thingy