Crunch Time

[TopCheeseShotta]

This core has repeatedly had some pretty obviously poor results in moments of truth - in Crunch Time - in OTs, in must-score scenarios - and definitely, in the playoffs. Duh, right?

But I want you alllllllllll to not think trades, or Contract sizes, or Dubie vs Tre, or any other form of shoulda coulda wouldas. We do enuff of that around here. I want you alllllll to restrict yourselves to thinking, 1) This is the team we have, 2) Nobody's coming to the rescue, 3) This is what we're going with this year........ so now what? How do you change the men already here to be ready for the fight?

Theyve looked more spirited tonstart the year here, but 2 rexent games gave me flashbacks. The drubbing and no response in Florida was one thing, but the Tampa game that followed may have been even more emblematic.

Y'know.. there were lots of excuses (no McCabe, referees titling the game, Conor Timmins skateblade, lol), but - that 3rd period where we didn’t win a single battle or a single faceoff was again, pretty symptomatic of our core's demonstrated lack of pushback when the going gets tough. The lone silver lining as i see it, was that at least the combo of Tre and Berube have seen it now, prior to the playoffs. That's gotta be good for something, right??

I hope a guy like Berube sees it, and tries to help coax the demons out of these guys. The "oh no it's happening again" PTSD has to be real for them, after so many heartbreaking failures. Gripping sticks, standing around - or overworking and not anticipating, almost looking paralyzed... I recall all of this vividly of course, as we all share the same PTSD too.

I guess what I'm hoping for this season, is that a rugged spirit like Berube might be different enuff to be able to take each one of them aside individually, and kinda pull the men up outta these fellas!

Wishing for too much out of a lughead maybe, but that's all I got. I'm hoping like us all, he can at least see and recognize that there's an opportunity there to help these young men simplify and summon the 'battle' required - by changing the "woe is me" weight on their shoulders, to just "I'm not ever letting the other guy beat me".

Am I crazy? I mean, hellya, for sure. But do you see the same kinda things in our group? And if you can, is it crazy to think Berube can be a difference maker? And if you can't, aside from Chief being a miracle worker, what else can help these guys really get out of their own way in crunch time, not in November - but when the games really matter?

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[Ianturnedbull]

I'm here. I'm ready. It's crunch time.

 

[Maple Leaf]

I'm here. I'm ready. It's crunch time.

What did he say tlrd

 

[Zybalto]

We may have already made the key choice in net, coaching, D and depth additions.

In hindsight, running Campbell and Samsonov against Price/Vasy/Bob/Swayman looks like the biggest mismatch on paper. Not even McDavid having one of the greatest playoff runs by a player in history was enough to compensate the fact they had Skinner and the Cats had Bob last year.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

We may have already made the key choice in net, coaching, D and depth additions.

In hindsight, running Campbell and Samsonov against Price/Vasy/Bob/Swayman looks like the biggest mismatch on paper. Not even McDavid having one of the greatest playoff runs by a player in history was enough to compensate the fact they had Skinner and the Cats had Bob last year.

Not even in hindsight. Everyone knew we weren’t winning shit with those guys between the pipes.

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

Our goalies weren't amazing or anything, but it's hard to win when you can't score more than 1-2 goals. Doesn't matter who's in net

14 straight playoff games of offensive ineptitude

 

[conFABulator]

Play playoff hockey all year and not just think we can turn it on when the playoffs gets here

Playoff hockey?

Good goaltending. We have done OK with playoff goalies, but not good enough. Do we ever remember our goalies winning us a playoff game ame we had no business winning? We all remember getting goalied once or twice every series though.

Grind the other team down. It's a seven game series (hopefully less) and we need to finish our checks every game. Tanev, McCabe, Knies, OEL, Hakanpaa, Benoit, Lorentz, Dewar, Paccioretty all bring this and everyone needs to do it and everyone benefits from it as the series goes on.

Don't be so easy to game plan against. Have more than two lines that can score and some different looks on the PP. To me, this is the biggest one. Don't put our core four in the top six and don't stack a PP1. we are built to in have better F depth than most teams, let's embrace that.

Kill penalities. Don't let the other team's PP sink us.

Give ourselves a better chance in R1. Win the division and get home ice and an opponent that is not voted most likely to go to be cup finals.

Every one of these things is what we do around the core four. They need to step up and be accountable too. They need support too.

 

[IPS]

Funny when you actually realize it's been offence that's holding our team back in the last however many playoffs.

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

What did he say tlrd

Ya. Can already tell this one isn't for you, then.

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

Play playoff hockey all year and not just think we can turn it on when the playoffs gets here

Playoff hockey?

Good goaltending. We have done OK with playoff goalies, but not good enough. Do we ever remember our goalies winning us a playoff game ame we had no business winning? We all remember getting goalied once or twice every series though.

Grind the other team down. It's a seven game series (hopefully less) and we need to finish our checks every game. Tanev, McCabe, Knies, OEL, Hakanpaa, Benoit, Lorentz, Dewar, Paccioretty all bring this and everyone needs to do it and everyone benefits from it as the series goes on.

Don't be so easy to game plan against. Have more than two lines that can score and some different looks on the PP. To me, this is the biggest one. Don't put our core four in the top six and don't stack a PP1. we are built to in have better F depth than most teams, let's embrace that.

Kill penalities. Don't let the other team's PP sink us.

Give ourselves a better chance in R1. Win the division and get home ice and an opponent that is not voted most likely to go to be cup finals.

Every one of these things is what we do around the core four. They need to step up and be accountable too. They need support too.

This is a thoughtful analysis. Agreed on almost every point.

I guess my concern is when it comes to the "grind" and our PK, and finishing checks and battling - our guys have consistently been up for the challenge - but only up to the point where they need to be. Not beyond. That's why we always come to down to the wire. The ultimate last straw. The Game 7s. They'll win 3 in a row cuz they HAVE to. Or lose a couple when there's a must-win in front of them. They get to the brink, then don't have the will to force their agenda against an opponent that's doing the same. This is the demon they have to slay. And they can't go in worried about. They need a new psychology to do it. That's kinda where I'm coming from.

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

A lot of fingerpointing at the past goalies, and I don't disagree. I think we might have that solved this time around. But others are right - our problem was and is that our best guys get too tight, and we don't score nearly enough. How do we make that different? I think there has to be a Berube element here that saves us all, or it's more of the same from this group. Why wouldn't it be?

 

[conFABulator]

This is a thoughtful analysis. Agreed on almost every point.

I guess my concern is when it comes to the "grind" and our PK, and finishing checks and battling - our guys have consistently been up for the challenge - but only up to the point where they need to be. Not beyond. That's why we always come to down to the wire. The ultimate last straw. The Game 7s. They'll win 3 in a row cuz they HAVE to. Or lose a couple when there's a must-win in front of them. They get to the brink, then don't have the will to force their agenda against an opponent that's doing the same. This is the demon they have to slay. And they can't go in worried about. They need a new psychology to do it. That's kinda where I'm coming from.

Yeah, fair point and hard to argue as inaccurate.

A couple of things to HOPE for I guess.

(a) That grind hockey is contagious and seeing the aforementioned players doing it will make more/all do it. We have a bunch of them now...McCabe, Tanev, OEL, Benoit, Hakanpaa, Domi, Knies, Lorentz, Dewar.

(b) Coaching. This is why we got a new coach, not to get have better regular seasons...it's all about the playoffs.

As an aside, I am not big on a Marner extension until we see what happens in the playoffs. I don't see the upside on signing him earlier unless he takes a deep discount without full movement protection...which he won't. Either he folds in the playoffs again and we are glad we didn't break the bank too badly for him or he has a great playoff and we sign him for a big deal, this would be because we won a few rounds.

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

Yeah, fair point and hard to argue as inaccurate.

A couple of things to HOPE for I guess.

(a) That grind hockey is contagious and seeing the aforementioned players doing it will make more/all do it. We have a bunch of them now...McCabe, Tanev, OEL, Benoit, Hakanpaa, Domi, Knies, Lorentz, Dewar.

(b) Coaching. This is why we got a new coach, not to get have better regular seasons...it's all about the playoffs.

As an aside, I am not big on a Marner extension until we see what happens in the playoffs. I don't see the upside on signing him earlier unless he takes a deep discount without full movement protection...which he won't. Either he folds in the playoffs again and we are glad we didn't break the bank too badly for him or he has a great playoff and we sign him for a big deal, this would be because we won a few rounds.

Hoping you're right on a and b. For a) I know we've added grit before and it hasn't particularly panned out - but this year does feel a bit different.. seems to be another level to JT and even Mitch. But, before this devolves into another Mitch or others contract chat - if we're just looking at what we have on the table today, then ya - will that grit extend to the guys who have been here before, or do they need more than just osmosis? Seems like the PTSD thing is real to me, and something that b) i hope craig really can figure out w a quickness. It ain't just x's and o's tho..

Also think the fan base has a job here, too. These are just regular dudes playing hockey. The stink of '67 or the Ballard Years or even the several Round 1 exits are not all on their shoulders only. We just make it out like that cuz its easy. I know it ain't all kumbaya or whatever either, but this team needs all of us to tone down the rhetoric a smidge - and get the word out -->>>> Somebody needs to make sure Berube is getting these guys the help they need to overcome whatever the heck's been between their ears when push comes to shove. Or we're in serious danger of singing the same ol' sad song this summer, too.

 

[HockeyVirus]

The question of what is different this year should be very apparent. By far, the biggest difference is Berube. We have a real NHL coach behind the bench who knows how to win.

Last year, we would play pretty strong defense for stretches, counter attack on the rush, and then eventually abandon the structure and score 1000000 points from November through Jan and struggle in the spring before changing things as soon as we went down in a playoff series trying to play the trap and win with players who have no experience in that system. One bad goal from our shit goalies and we lose games.

This year, even with injuries the team has not abandoned the system. I have a lot of faith that just being comfortable playing this system is going to give us a chance to win most games regardless of opponent.

And if we can win the division and get a trash team in round 1, honestly I have confidence they would actually win.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

 

[CincoHolio]

The question of what is different this year should be very apparent. By far, the biggest difference is Berube. We have a real NHL coach behind the bench who knows how to win.

Last year, we would play pretty strong defense for stretches, counter attack on the rush, and then eventually abandon the structure and score 1000000 points from November through Jan and struggle in the spring before changing things as soon as we went down in a playoff series trying to play the trap and win with players who have no experience in that system. One bad goal from our shit goalies and we lose games.

This year, even with injuries the team has not abandoned the system. I have a lot of faith that just being comfortable playing this system is going to give us a chance to win most games regardless of opponent.

And if we can win the division and get a trash team in round 1, honestly I have confidence they would actually win.

Winning the division doesn't even guarantee a trash team but it's certainly better than finishing 2nd or 3rd in the Atlantic as we've witnessed over the past 8 seasons. Tops of the division needs to be a baseline minimum.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Winning the division doesn't even guarantee a trash team but it's certainly better than finishing 2nd or 3rd in the Atlantic as we've witnessed over the past 8 seasons. Tops of the division needs to be a baseline minimum.

If the option is the Bruins or Lightning in 2024 over Panthers in round 1 I take it. You never know, maybe we beat the Bruins in a weildcard spot and slay the dragon, Tampa somehow beats the Panthers and we get a bye to the ECF for once.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Funny when you actually realize it's been offence that's holding our team back in the last however many playoffs.

This. We spend half the cap on 4 forwards who can't score in the big games, and instead of putting the blame on those guys where it belongs, people complain about goaltending, coaching, defence, depth scoring ...

If the option is the Bruins or Lightning in 2024 over Panthers in round 1 I take it. You never know, maybe we beat the Bruins in a weildcard spot and slay the dragon, Tampa somehow beats the Panthers and we get a bye to the ECF for once.

I seem to recall having a bye once before, then we blew a 3-1 series lead against a bottom feeder.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I seem to recall having a bye once before, then we blew a 3-1 series lead against a bottom feeder.

Almost like these guys are not kids off their elc and are prime league vets who have had a lot fo growth since then

 

[Gary Nylund]

Almost like these guys are not kids off their elc and are prime league vets who have had a lot fo growth since then

And despite that and whatever other excuses you want to float, we were massive favorites to win that series before it started, and absolutely huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge favorites once we were up 3-1. Excuses are for losers.

There is no such thing as a "bye to the ECF". Especially with the parity in the league there days and the fact that we're not exactly some dynasty, there will be no such thing as an easy series, period. Some opponents will be tougher than others, but make no mistake, this team is perfectly capable of losing to anyone.

 

[IPS]

And despite that and whatever other excuses you want to float, we were massive favorites to win that series before it started, and absolutely huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge favorites once we were up 3-1. Excuses are for losers.

There is no such thing as a "bye to the ECF". Especially with the parity in the league there days and the fact that we're not exactly some dynasty, there will be no such thing as an easy series, period. Some opponents will be tougher than others, but make no mistake, this team is perfectly capable of losing to anyone.

How any Leaf fan can dismiss any team by calling it a "bye round" is just so far beyond me. How exactly have these series against "lesser" opponents gone in the past?

 

[Gary Nylund]

How any Leaf fan can dismiss any team by calling it a "bye round" is just so far beyond me. How exactly have these series against "lesser" opponents gone in the past?

Fans of no team should be doing this, especially after seeing teams in the not too distant past finishing 1st overall and then getting toasted in the 1st round. But yeah, considering our history, Leaf fans should especially not be doing this.