Series Talk: ECSF: (A1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs (A3) Florida Panthers (TOR Leads 2-0)

[Strangle]

Just keep hearing Leafs got better
New system
Better goalies

And Florida just stagnated? Haha
They will find out soon enough.

It’s arguable the panthers have gotten worse. If they don’t win a cup this year, can’t you make that argument?

 

[Strangle]

And the Panthers beat the Leafs right after the Leafs beat the Lightning in 6.

What’s the point?

The point in that comparing 1st round opponents (if you follow the conversation, that’s where the comment started), is meaningless.

People saying the leafs couldn’t sweep the sens while the panthers beat the lightning doesn’t say anything about who wins this series.

Example, a worse leafs team also beat a better Tampa team than you just did in 6 games.

Make sense yet?

 

[zeroG]

Well Florida definitely isn't better than they were last year. Thing is when you're a cup winner, it's insanely hard to improve to be better than that. So it's not some diss against Florida, like how much better than a cup winner + heavy cup favorite can you really be ?
...

i wouldn't be so sure.

with the deadline acquisitions, FLA has a deeper PK group, has offset the loss of montour and with marchand coming alive, would seem to have a (maybe significant) advantage with its bottom 6. we still haven't seen FLA at full strength (and probably won't this postseason with tkachuk still dealing with his groin) but they still looked very good in making quick work of TBL.

no doubt the leafs are a better team and are playing a style that's more amenable to the playoffs but they are not generating a lot of offense. the panthers are playing a smothering defensive style and PK is looking very good with 3 very good to great pairs of Fs (barkov and reinhart being the top 2) which should slow down the TOR PP.

should be fun to watch but if FLA top 6 can battle TOR top 6 to a draw (like 2 years ago), FLA should have the advantage. it's probably going to come down to whether "the core 4" can be real difference makers.

 

[PromisedLand]

View attachment 1028781

 

[Strangle]

Marchand-Bennett-Chucky aka the Rat Pack is about to lay the smackdown on the leafs candy-asses.

 

[Strangle]

Panthers in 4. Sweep coming up

Want to make a username bet on the series with me?

 

[Strangle]

i wouldn't be so sure.

with the deadline acquisitions, FLA has a deeper PK group, has offset the loss of montour and with marchand coming alive, would seem to have a (maybe significant) advantage with its bottom 6. we still haven't seen FLA at full strength (and probably won't this postseason with tkachuk still dealing with his groin) but they still looked very good in making quick work of TBL.

no doubt the leafs are a better team and are playing a style that's more amenable to the playoffs but they are not generating a lot of offense. the panthers are playing a smothering defensive style and PK is looking very good with 3 very good to great pairs of Fs (barkov and reinhart being the top 2) which should slow down the TOR PP.

should be fun to watch but if FLA top 6 can battle TOR top 6 to a draw (like 2 years ago), FLA should have the advantage. it's probably going to come down to whether "the core 4" can be real difference makers.

Must have missed where the panthers are generating a ton of offense …. Show me?

 

[Strangle]

Must have missed where the panthers are generating a ton of offense …. Show me?

View attachment 1029301

Oh here they are lol

 

[Laus723]

Of course the past matters. Have you not noticed all the comments about the pasts of these two teams? The leafs winning 2 playoff series in the last 20 years and the panthers being to the finals two years in a row? The panthers beating the leafs in 5 last year?

Of course history matters, especially recent history.

Have the teams made changes, yes as teams do every year. Are these teams radically different that they have been? No, probably not. There have been changes, but we don’t know if those changes will mean better results for either team yet. That’s why we play the games.

Cores of both teams haven’t changed much, they aren’t radically different teams than they have been though. But they also aren’t exactly the same.



So what’s stopping people from picking the panthers because they hate the leafs? I’m sure no one has all of a sudden stopped hating the leafs over night lol



Yes.

That was two years ago, not last year. Fact is, yes the Leafs have changed, we all get what there’s renewed hope. So have the Panthers, and no, this team is not worse than last years. Marchand is better than Tarasenko was for one, Jones and Schmidt were basically equal to Montour and OEL last round if not better, Sturm is as strong in the circle and on the kill as Stenlund…it comes down to conditioning, the checking game, how the goalies play, and a bit of luck.

Both teams will have their hands full, we’ll see who’s moving on soon enough.

 

[IronHookem]

Just keep hearing Leafs got better
New system
Better goalies

And Florida just stagnated? Haha
They will find out soon enough.

Do you consider your team to be better now than they were last year? Leafs got better, Panthers arguably stagnated, but that doesn't mean that most of us expect the Leafs to win the series. I am just expecting us to put up more of a fight this time around.

 

[Roo]

Rock should of done his homework, it’s GLG Dwayne lol

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

Do you consider your team to be better now than they were last year? Leafs got better, Panthers arguably stagnated, but that doesn't mean that most of us expect the Leafs to win the series. I am just expecting us to put up more of a fight this time around.

I think our forward depth is stronger but our defensive depth is a little weaker. Bob is still great.

I think our defense is going to decide our fate this series.

 

[Roo]

A few posters noted the panthers as bigger and meaner. And while I’ll obv give them meaner, it looks like the Leafs are the bigger team in height and weight.

 

[Ratsreign]

Oh here they are lol

View attachment 1029302

FL has played less games is only one reason why this chart is just about as meaningless as it can be when used as you are attempting to.

 

[Strangle]

That was two years ago, not last year. Fact is, yes the Leafs have changed, we all get what there’s renewed hope. So have the Panthers, and no, this team is not worse than last years. Marchand is better than Tarasenko was for one, Jones and Schmidt were basically equal to Montour and OEL last round if not better, Sturm is as strong in the circle and on the kill as Stenlund…it comes down to conditioning, the checking game, how the goalies play, and a bit of luck.

Both teams will have their hands full, we’ll see who’s moving on soon enough.

What’s two years ago, not last year?

We can’t tell if the panthers are better or worse than last year, yet. But the evidence we do have is that they weren’t better in the regular season, they were worse.

The changes Florida has made didn’t lead to a better record, but the leafs roster changes did. Regular season doesn’t mean anything right now, but that’s all the evidence we have to go on aside from the panthers beating the lightning in end 1 (which a worse leafs team also did … and a better lightning team)

Conditioning isn’t a factor here, these players are all in shape.

The difference will be can the leafs play through the rat pack trying to injure them and can their own grindy players attack and throw the panthers soft players off their own game.

That’s the game within the game here. If the panthers can cause Matthews, Marner or Nylander to shrink. And can the leafs cause Reinhart, barkov and Verhaeghe to wilt under the physical pressure.

If the leafs chase the rat pack and get sucked into retaliating against those 3, they’ll lose. They need to focus on the other 3 and leave the rats alone. Focusing on Marchand, tkachuk and bennet is exactly what those 3 want. Don’t give it to them.

Bennet takes a cheap shot at Marner? McCabe blows up barkov. Marchand slew foot’s Nylander? Benoit puts reinharts head into the boards. Tkachuk checks Matthews in the head? Domi puts verhaeghe through the glass behind the net.

That’s how the leafs should respond to the rat pack

 

[zeroG]

Must have missed where the panthers are generating a ton of offense …. Show me?

View attachment 1029301

first, every one of FLA's big offensive players has had a somewhat down year, whatever the reason, be it coasting, fatigue... second, regular season production means very little. third, i never made any claims about FLA's offense. that said, FLA has shown that they can generate offense in the playoffs against good teams. TOR, not so much.

anyway, just read the athletic's preview and they say pretty much the same thing i said with a lot more words and fancy stats.

i am rooting for FLA and i picked them in 6 but i don't think it's going to be a cakewalk. i could easily see TOR winning in 6 IF their big offensive guys really make a difference.

 

[Strangle]

Rock should of done his homework, it’s GLG Dwayne lol

That’s the joke lol

Bottom line is the rock will say anything if you cut him a cheque

GO LEAFS GO

 

[Ratsreign]

What’s two years ago, not last year?

We can’t tell if the panthers are better or worse than last year, yet. But the evidence we do have is that they weren’t better in the regular season, they were worse.

The changes Florida has made didn’t lead to a better record, but the leafs roster changes did. Regular season doesn’t mean anything right now, but that’s all the evidence we have to go on aside from the panthers beating the lightning in end 1 (which a worse leafs team also did … and a better lightning team)

Conditioning isn’t a factor here, these players are all in shape.

The difference will be can the leafs play through the rat pack trying to injure them and can their own grindy players attack and throw the panthers soft players off their own game.

That’s the game within the game here. If the panthers can cause Matthews, Marner or Nylander to shrink. And can the leafs cause Reinhart, barkov and Verhaeghe to wilt under the physical pressure.

If the leafs chase the rat pack and get sucked into retaliating against those 3, they’ll lose. They need to focus on the other 3 and leave the rats alone. Focusing on Marchand, tkachuk and bennet is exactly what those 3 want. Don’t give it to them.

Bennet takes a cheap shot at Marner? McCabe blows up barkov. Marchand slew foot’s Nylander? Benoit puts reinharts head into the boards. Bennet checks Matthews in the head? Domi puts verhaeghe through the glass behind the net.

That’s how the leafs should respond to the rat pack

Context, my friend.
The Panthers were kind of sandbagging for a lot of the season. They’d look kinda shitty for a stretch and then a game against a rival, or a playoff rematch comes up and the Panthers would suddenly look like the real deal again. They also played through several guys out with injuries scattered through the season and a dumbass getting suspended for 20 games.

And I can only laugh at your silly statement about Panthers always trying to injure everyone. They play an aggressive style, but the “always a cheap shot” narrative is just f***ing ridiculous. The whining about the Dirrrty Cats is very tiresome, and way overblown.

 

[TheImpatientBoomer]

5 on 5 play: Florida
Top 6 F: wash
3rd line: Florida
4th line: wash

Top 4 D: wash
Offense from defense: Florida
PP: Toronto
PK: Florida

Goalie: Florida

Toronto has one advantage of a better PP but Florida's PK has been one of their X factors.

 

[Ratsreign]

Leafs hating for the sake of it is also very tiring. Saying everything leaf related is shit is very tiring.

The fact that the panthers get preferential treatment in the league due to Colin Campbell being a dirty, corrupt, nepo enabler is not ridiculous.

It’s documented, it’s fact.

I agree with your first statement.
Your second statement is complete lunacy.

 

[TheImpatientBoomer]

I agree with your first statement.
Your second statement is complete lunacy.

The Leafs faithful live in their own bubble, I blame the media too. They spoon feed them they're this juggernaut. They ain't.

 

[Roo]

The Leafs faithful live in their own bubble, I blame the media too. They spoon feed them they're this juggernaut. They ain't.

Leafs fans are optimistic about their teams chances. Isn’t that true for like, every team in the playoffs? This is the NHL, there is more parity in this sport than pretty much any other. I think most Leaf fans recognize there is added reason for optimism this season, and while the Panthers aren’t rightfully favored, they are not unbeatable.

 

[HockeyVirus]

The Leafs faithful live in their own bubble, I blame the media too. They spoon feed them they're this juggernaut. They ain't.

Is this media in the room with us? 99% of the media are so terrified of being labeled Leaf homers (despite it happening regardless) they will always be bearish on the Leafs.

In fact, listening to damn near every Toronto podcast (Overdrive, Real Kyper and Bourne, Leafs morning take, SDPN) I haven't heard a single show or guest say the Leafs are some amazing team that can't be stopped.

The reason Leaf fans like myself believe in the team is because they have earned that belief with the changes I have seen. A lot of years was hoping and praying for a cup. Leafs are built and ready for one this time.

 

[Strangle]

I agree with your first statement.
Your second statement is complete lunacy.

“lunacy”. lol

That’s what I’d say about someone who denies reality ….

Have Savard emails exposed NHL's Colin Campbell as corrupt?

Blogger Tyler Dellow has damned NHL vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell with his own words.

ca.sports.yahoo.com

All the maple leafs (or any team) needs to do to get preferential treatment from the NHL is hire Gregory campbell

 

[Ratsreign]

“lunacy”. lol

That’s what I’d say about someone who denies reality ….

Have Savard emails exposed NHL's Colin Campbell as corrupt?

Blogger Tyler Dellow has damned NHL vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell with his own words.

ca.sports.yahoo.com

Whatever keeps you warm at night, I guess. This proves nothing about any current favoritism towards FL.
If you think it’s all so damn corrupt, why do you even bother with it?