ECQF: Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs (Series Tied 3-3)

[Barnum]

Leafs finished 5th in the East and 10th overall.
I expected Boston to beat them but thought their core would at least give it their all.

True, I never thought it was going to be easy and in fact I thought the full 7 was going to be necessary. Until the 3rd period of last night’s game, the Leafs were giving it their all. I think everyone is forgetting Boston has outstanding net minders and a stout tough defense that’s tough to play against. Guys like Carlo and MacAvoy do not always show up on the scoreboard but contribute just as much as a goal scorer. Too many fans are preoccupied with stats instead of the entire game.

(PS, I picked the B’s in 5 in the poll though, but it was out of spite)

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The Leafs had Nylander for 1 game and then lost Matthews that same game.

The core 4 have yet to play a full game together this series. Obviously that compounds the issues.

The Leafs were the road team and underdog going into the series - and that was assuming they were healthy.

Welcome to the playoffs. Teams have to go without star players all the time. The others need to pick up the slack.

 

[Divine]

Let's hope that kid in your avatar decides to come to this shit show might be our only hope.

He’s definitely coming. He’s already inviting Leafs to his wedding in Toronto this summer. I may even get an invite.

 

[Based Anime Fan]

True, I never thought it was going to be easy and in fact I thought the full 7 was going to be necessary. Until the 3rd period of last night’s game, the Leafs were giving it their all. I think everyone is forgetting Boston has outstanding net minders and a stout tough defense that’s tough to play against. Guys like Carlo and MacAvoy do not always show up on the scoreboard but contribute just as much as a goal scorer. Too many fans are preoccupied with stats instead of the entire game.

(PS, I picked the B’s in 5 in the poll though, but it was out of spite)

Boston's defense is already banged up, too.

 

[Mike C]

Leafs finished 5th in the East and 10th overall. Their fans still act like they’re some juggernaut.
I expected Boston to beat them with their below average goaltending and weak D. But just like every year it’s the core who let them down. I thought their core would at least give it their all and go to the dirty areas more.
Same old. Same old. I don’t think replacing Keefe with some other guy when the core still calls the shots will make any difference.

me thinks this IS their all!!

 

[Barnum]

OOooo the odds.

Oooh. OOOOOOOOOOOOHHH.

Very shifty, that poster. Say one thing and he comes back around with a slight deviation. I think we call it

 

[Pavel10]

Wait. Are you telling me that your co-worker Leaf fans would have rather played the #8 seed as opposed to the team with the best regular season record ever, and one that has beaten the Leafs three times (soon to be four) in 11 years?

Wow. That’s, um, crazy.

Fact: the “we want Florida” chant came from a group of drunk kids in MLS.

Im saying everyone was very vocal about this. You didn't need a video of"drunk kids"to capture it.

 

[Peasy]

Take away any heart in the star players and you end up down 3-1 year

Brad Marchand in the regular season:
67points

Auston Matthews in the regular season:
69 GOALS


Brad Marchand in the post season:
4gp - 8 pts

Matthews, Nylander, Marner, Rielly, Tavares in the post season:
17gp - 7pts

Leaf fans: ITS ALL OUR GOALIES FAULT!!

Why you keep sayin leaf fans. youre literally arguing with a single poster over this.

 

[Score08]

I would expect one of the best offenses in the league to be able to score 3 or more goals in every game. Samsonov is not good but with a supposed high powered offenses like the Leafs it should be possible to win every game where your goalie gives up 3 or less goals no matter if some of those goals are bad.

Maybe, but not likely when you’re playing Jeremey the walrus swayman.

 

[Divine]

Very shifty, that poster. Say one thing and he comes back around with a slight deviation. I think we call it

Favourites have always been based on the odds. What else do you base favourites on? I said Boston were the favourites and he responds with a few people picking the Leafs then makes a joke about the odds.

So the Leafs were the favourites with less points and starting as the road team?

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Soft! First Nylander has a headache, now Matthews has an upset tummy. The hockey gods roll in their premature graves. Back in my day..

/sarcasm, just wanted to show we can all cave-man brain it if we want to.

Unfortunate timing, fun new plot line though. The old one was getting boring, and this one still has Marner floundering, so.. win. It’s like a new season of your favorite tv show, and they’ve kept some old favorites while taking the story down a new disappointing path.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

I've never seen a team that is in such desperate need of leadership and a winning persona, never once go out and get that. There are very few teams that win the Cup on just their own players alone, most winning teams gather winning experience by picking the bones of past cup winners. This franchise in this era? Marleau, Thornton, Spezza... etc etc haven't won. Is Tampa's run over? Start there, start picking those bones, Pittsburgh is signing their skeletons long term so that's no help.

These guys don't know how to win in the NHL Playoffs, start going after St 'Louis, Tampa, Washington. See what you can get from Colorado and Vegas. It's mind boggling how this Leafs franchise picks the bones of the losing Cup teams.

It's the wrong type of bones I tell ya!!!!

They tried with O'Reilly and he didn't want to be there after seeing how little the top players cared.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The problem for the Leafs is that they’ve underperformed so many times that they aren’t given the benefit of the doubt on anything. And if there was any year that some deserved it, it’s this year.

Marner: No excuse. I’d have traded him years ago. Entitled player who plays with no heart at all.

Tavares: No excuse. He’s simply not the player he used to be.

Nylander: Has always shown up in the playoffs. Doesn’t always get the results but has been by far their best postseason player over the years. He’s clearly ill/injured and has taken a beating with the ‘Free Willy’ stuff and unfairly so.

Matthews: always been decent but not great in the playoffs. Doesn’t step it up. He was actually playing really well in the first few games of the series. He’s taking far too much abuse for game four. I get the fans are down on him for years of underperforming but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a valid excuse for yesterday. Him getting roasted for not coming out in the third is really unfair.

As for the Leafs, too many guys not showing up. Losing good players suck but you have to show up and they didn’t.

They need to retool but everyone has an NMC. I’m not sure how they can fix this quickly.

 

[serp]

Maybe, but not likely when you’re playing Jeremey the walrus swayman.

Leafs aren't generating that many scoring chances either . Not like Swayman has to stand on his head

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Toronto Maple Leaf Fan Book of Excuses...2024 playoff edition, Brink of Elimination series, volume one.

 

[PhysicalGraffiti]

The problem for the Leafs is that they’ve underperformed so many times that they aren’t given the benefit of the doubt on anything. And if there was any year that some deserved it, it’s this year.

Marner: No excuse. I’d have traded him years ago. Entitled player who plays with no heart at all.

Tavares: No excuse. He’s simply not the player he used to be.

Nylander: Has always shown up in the playoffs. Doesn’t always get the results but has been by far their best postseason player over the years. He’s clearly ill/injured and has taken a beating with the ‘Free Willy’ stuff and unfairly so.

Matthews: always been decent but not great in the playoffs. Doesn’t step it up. He was actually playing really well in the first few games of the series. He’s taking far too much abuse for game four. I get the fans are down on him for years of underperforming but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a valid excuse for yesterday. Him getting roasted for not coming out in the third is really unfair.

As for the Leafs, too many guys not showing up. Losing good players suck but you have to show up and they didn’t.

They need to retool but everyone has an NMC. I’m not sure how they can fix this quickly.

Are Leafs fans overall annoyed with Marner?

And do each of the players you listed above have NMC?

I feel like it hasn't been goaltending this series, maybe defense? But they only scored 1 goal, so that's gotta be on that potent offense not producing.

I said in this thread before, and said it during the season, I felt like the additions of Bertuzzi and Domi with an already pretty stacked roster would pay dividends for them. Felt like the team was relatively complete, but something is off. Like you said, guys not showing up. You can't think guys of the caliber the Leafs have with the pressure wouldn't show up, and it's not like this is their first playoff run, these guys have playoff experience.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

How many attempts does it take before "underperforming" is properly vetted as performing?

 

[AvroArrow]

Toronto Maple Leaf Fan Book of Excuses...2024 playoff edition, Brink of Elimination series, volume one.View attachment 861111

You sure that isn't your post history regarding the Leafs

 

[Oilslick941611]

Oooh, the odds.

Oooh. OOOOOOOOOOOOHHH.

right?

Cause the odds f***ing matter.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Are Leafs fans overall annoyed with Marner?

I think most are.

And do each of the players you listed above have NMC?

Yes.

I feel like it hasn't been goaltending this series, maybe defense? But they only scored 1 goal, so that's gotta be on that potent offense not producing.

It was an interesting experiment and might’ve worked had Tavares not gotten hurt. Load up on scoring and try to win. There’s no way they could’ve known how soft Marner would be in the playoffs and JT got hurt.

Now they’ve got all their money tied up with pure offensive guys and it’s a bad mix. They need to get rid of Marner and JT and then fill in the D and get a power forward.

I said in this thread before, and said it during the season, I felt like the additions of Bertuzzi and Domi with an already pretty stacked roster would pay dividends for them. Felt like the team was relatively complete, but something is off. Like you said, guys not showing up. You can't think guys of the caliber the Leafs have with the pressure wouldn't show up, and it's not like this is their first playoff run, these guys have playoff experience.

Beetuzzi hasn’t been bad and Domi has had good and bad moments. But if your prime scorers aren’t there, you’re toast.

That’s always been Toronto’s problem.

 

[AvroArrow]

Are Leafs fans overall annoyed with Marner?

And do each of the players you listed above have NMC?

I feel like it hasn't been goaltending this series, maybe defense? But they only scored 1 goal, so that's gotta be on that potent offense not producing.

I said in this thread before, and said it during the season, I felt like the additions of Bertuzzi and Domi with an already pretty stacked roster would pay dividends for them. Felt like the team was relatively complete, but something is off. Like you said, guys not showing up. You can't think guys of the caliber the Leafs have with the pressure wouldn't show up, and it's not like this is their first playoff run, these guys have playoff experience.

Leaf fans have wanted Marner gone since the Montreal series

1) No heart
2) Scared to get in the dirty areas
3) Cracks under pressure
4) Scared to take a hit, turns pucks over as a result or flips it over the glass
5) Extremely entitled
6) Massive ego, can't take critcism
7) Refuses to take any accountabilty
8) Extremely poor "leadership" skills
9) Doesn't perform in big games
10) Is being paid like a top player in the league


He is simply not a player you can win with. I've said it about a lot of other players in the past, he is one of them. If he is one of your "leaders" you are doomed. If he's on a team where he isn't wearing a letter, there are other veteran star players that take the lead and he can sit back and be the 3rd/4th option guy, he can be successful. He's just not what he's being paid to be, nor what he thinks he is.

Prime example, Eichel in Vegas. He had many of the same issues and poor habits/attitude as Marner in Buffalo. Gets traded to Vegas, where they have an extremely strong leadership group, guys who have won multiple cups, elite players that compete at both ends, where there isn't all the pressure in the world on him to perform, and he blossoms.

I think it's best for both sides to part ways.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

They tried with O'Reilly and he didn't want to be there after seeing how little the top players cared.

Eh, that’s kinda a wuss move though. Who really knows without being there, but RoR seemed the same to me in Buffalo. And like- if you’re really a winner that doesn’t happen on one team, never mind two. Idk, I just view STL as the outlier, and he gets projected as the leader when maybe it was a team thing, timing, whatever. Or he was a good leader there and for whatever reason just didn’t lead in Toronto or Buffalo, but point is that’s on him to some degree. You don’t just give up because you dislike the other talent’s compete level, that is the problem in a nutshell.

Anyways, Messier same boat, for the record. Leaders lead, it’s not a locational thing.

 

[hockey20000]

On the Leafs boards, Leafs fans still have the expectation that McDavid is "coming home" as a UFA and that will fix everything.

What I haven't seen is an explanation as to why McDavid would ever want to play for that franchise. The entitlement and delusion never takes a break.

lol if mcdavid ever leaves the oilers i doubt he coming to another canadian team. probs head south less drama and media annoying him

 

[Quinning]

Lmao Dangle's 2nd funniest video of all time

 

[Divine]

On the Leafs boards, Leafs fans still have the expectation that McDavid is "coming home" as a UFA and that will fix everything.

What I haven't seen is an explanation as to why McDavid would ever want to play for that franchise. The entitlement and delusion never takes a break.

The main reason is McDavid goes out of his way to talk about how much he loves the Leafs. Including just this offseason when he said the Leafs are one of his favourite teams to watch.