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

[myleafs]

I'm not blaming the big 4 at all. This is squarely on Keefe. He doesn't belong in the NHL.

huh? like wtf?

 

[toddkaz]

You think Berube will want to join the highest pressure market with a team built of divas who seem to lack the grit necessary in the playoffs?

I dont think coaches look at it the same way fans do. Not everyone has a low self esteem

 

[myleafs]

Could AM34 not have put a diaper on and come out blazing in the third?

or not worn a diaper and just shit himself....a trail behind him on the ice. Im willing to try anything to get these Bruins off their game.

This feels like the worst of all the playoff 'appearances' for this group.

Yep, even the individual stats are worse than ever. Usually our fab 4 put up decent numbers through the first 4-5 games and then they go silent. This year they just skipped to the game 5-7 mentality from the start.

 

[myleafs]

Every game theybhave played with:

Rielly, Marner, Tavares, and either Matthews or Nylander.

You think missing just one of those players for 3 games or just one of those players for one period is enough to justify 7pts in 17 games?

Actually what you said makes no sense. I’m counting the combined games they DID play. In the games they have played, they have scored at a combined 0.41pts/game


The excuses are so insane from Leaf fans, I’ll let someone else take over from here

Well from one fan and maybe a couple others but otherwise the rest of us see whats what.

 

[myleafs]

Awesome…add this little tidbit to the excuse pile of reasons the Leafs are losing this series.

Here’s a thought for you. Maybe just maybe, Boston is the overall better team and all the excuses/reasons the Leaf fans can conjure really doesn’t matter because the Leafs were never as good as the Bruins.

Boston was in the running for another President’s trophy all year until the final 2 games while the Leafs never sniffed at it all year. Have some perspective instead of excuses.

The bolded has been the difficult part to come to terms with. I think 8 yrs of this proves the leafs are definitely not as good as they think they are or as good as some leaf fans think they are. Hard pill to swallow when there was so much promise not too long ago. Boston was the better team in the RS and they are proving to be the better team than the leafs in the playoffs....sigh.

 

[ACLEVERNAME]

Are the rumors true?

 

[Video Nasty]

Matthews is the best goal scorer of his generation, and can't win it all on his own, and neither could Ovi, or Sid.

No one is asking that of him and for the most part, he still shrivels up come playoff time. He gets off extremely light when it comes to critiquing his subpar performances, even now.

 

[AvroArrow]

Eichel's attitude with buffalo was from his will to win and frustration with the environment. Vegas won a year after his acquisition and he was a leader in that locker room immediately.

I think Stone, Pietroangelo, Martinez and Theodore already had an established presence as leaders in that locker room. It wasn't like Eichel was being brought in to be a captain/leader, he was more so filling a positional need. In Buffalo however, they almost instantly threw the C on him and expected him to carry them as a 19-20 year old.

Same sort of situation in Toronto with Marner, threw a letter on him extremely early, had not established a proper team culture before doing so, never had real leaders in place who are there to actually lead the group. Ends up as a dysfunctional locker room/team, just not a stable locker room.

I think if he is moved to a team with a good locker room with a strong leadership group already in place, he will excel.

 

[myleafs]

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.

The scary part for me is that I am fearful the leafs brass will use these excuses to run it back again. Who am I kidding, they will definitely use these excuses.

 

[Number8]

Who said they need the lead? The series should be 2-2 with average goaltending.

Did you see his five hole on JVR’s goal? JVR could have slid under it into the net.

No one is going to say that Samsonov is the second coming of Ken Dryden. However, you have to ask yourself why JVR was all alone in front of the goal with enough time and space to pull a move on the goalie. It was 5 vs. 5 and was not an odd man breakaway. It was just horrific play in the Leafs D zone.

Yet, you seem to ignore the fact that it’s not Samsonov vs. Swayman. It’s Toronto vs. Boston. Team vs. team. It’s something you and, in fairness, Toronto’s management seem to overlook repeatedly. The Leafs are built poorly in terms of salary load and, worse, in terms of spreading that salary out. If you are happy to have four players making double digit millions in the salary cap world here’s a hint for all you GM wannabes. Make sure at least one of those players is a verifiable #1 center, one is a verifiable #1 defenseman, and AT LEAST one of them is a guy who absolutely despises losing. I’ll let you tell me how Toronto’s “big four” check those boxes (hint: they covered just one).

 

[BB88]

I mean blaming the 4 players who haven’t played a game together seems pretty unreasonable doesn’t it?

Blame the players on the ice, not the players who aren’t playing.

You are spending half of your cap on those 4 players….

 

[myleafs]

You mean three of those players (Tavares, Marner and Matthews) who have played 4 games each and have produced less than Brad Marchand single handedly?

come on man you cant expect 3 11 milly players to succeed without a 4th 11 mill player...jeez......

 

[The don godfather]

Jvr Frederic Heinen 3rd line is feasting on the leafs .

 

[Number8]

I think Stone, Pietroangelo, Martinez and Theodore already had an established presence as leaders in that locker room. It wasn't like Eichel was being brought in to be a captain/leader, he was more so filling a positional need. In Buffalo however, they almost instantly threw the C on him and expected him to carry them as a 19-20 year old.

Same sort of situation in Toronto with Marner, threw a letter on him extremely early, had not established a proper team culture before doing so, never had real leaders in place who are there to actually lead the group. Ends up as a dysfunctional locker room/team, just not a stable locker room.

I think if he is moved to a team with a good locker room with a strong leadership group already in place, he will excel.

I think this is very likely true. I will say he’s a bit of an enigma in terms of personality. When I see him interviewed after these games he comes across like a guy I’d expect to see talking about early season games. Positive in terms of wanting to say the right things but maybe not reflective of reality. People are people, but to me I’d like to see him be a bit more upset and a bit more realistic about the leaders (him being one) not doing enough. Not because it would be good for him to say the right words or in the right tone, but to show he has a burning desire to win and, right now, is angry it’s not happening. If this were a pre draft interview, I’d consider him a very talented but complimentary piece, not a go to guy worth spending a ton of cap on.

 

[BostonBruins11]

 

[Ratsreign]

Wait wait. You're saying the leafs are down 3-1 because the big 3 have yet to play together, but also, the leafs are losing because the big 3 absorb too much cap space.

he’ll endlessly go around in circles trying to excuse his favorite team’s shortcomings.

Nylander played last night and was supposedly going to be the cure for all the Leafs ills yet they still lost and his name was barely mentioned last night. Y’all are going to run out of excuses.

Some Leafers won’t ever run out

 

[myleafs]

Matthews has the shits he isn't scoring a thing

I mean at least its not one of the many usual excuses

 

[myleafs]

I called it in the Leafs board pre series predictions. Boston in 5. Leafs are playing October hockey in April.

Leafs need a big shakeup. Off the ice and on the ice

Turns out not showing up for the last bunch of RS games and not ramping up for the playoffs so they could chase individual accomplishments wasnt a good idea. Who knew they wouldnt be able to just flick a switch and turn it on?

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

I dont think coaches look at it the same way fans do. Not everyone has a low self esteem

It has nothing to do with self-esteem, it's that he's a coach that will have his pick of just about any team, so why would he choose a team full of mediocre playoff performers and the most brutal media in hockey?

Contrary to what Leaf fans think, not everyone wants to be a part of their organization.

 

[myleafs]

You folks easily have a top 3 offense, but not stud between the pipes and no stud shutdown D man, and it's been years due to accumulating 3-5 max contract forwards. The GM's keep changing, the coaches keep changing but the roster balance doesn't. It's too bad, the NHL is way better with a great TOR and MTL.

In the regular season yes, playoffs not so much, not even close actually.

 

[BostonBruins11]

I'll be honest, Boston has not been impressive. They have not been bad, but they have not been great. The Leafs have been complete trash, they are not prepared and play with 0 intensity. Marchand has been really good, Debrusk has been good, but Pastrnak and McAvoy haven't really done anything.

The Leafs haven't been trash, Boston has eliminated their time & space. That's what playoff hockey is. It's not pretty or flashy, it's a grindfest to the end. To the inexperience eye that type of hockey may seem boring but it's the type of hockey that wins championships and deep playoff runs.

Fact is the Bruins have more playoff tested players that know what it takes, and these players lead by example.

 

[toddkaz]

It has nothing to do with self-esteem, it's that he's a coach that will have his pick of just about any team, so why would he choose a team full of mediocre playoff performers and the most brutal media in hockey?

Contrary to what Leaf fans think, not everyone wants to be a part of their organization.

Who says it has nothing to do with self esteem? Thats just your opinion trying to put it off as fact.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Who says it has nothing to do with self esteem? Thats just your opinion trying to put it off as fact.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

I'm not stating anything as fact, I'm simply asking why Berube would want to come into this situation, and then you started blabbing about self esteem.

 

[toddkaz]

I'm not stating anything as fact, I'm simply asking why Berube would want to come into this situation, and then you started blabbing about self esteem.

Yes you are. Why would Berube look at it the same way you do? They gonna pay him to come to TO and coach.

Why make a big deal out of it? Are you saying Keefe has the balls to coach in Toronto but Berube doesn't?

Nonsense.

 

[myleafs]

That's not what I'm arguing at all. Saying, "Matthews doesn't have the playoff toughness," is a copout.

The 2 guys you compared him to are warriors, matthews while a regular season goal scoring machine, is not a playoff warrior and never has been.