Line Combos: GM/Coaching criticism

[JT AM da real deal]

Keefe came up with the idea to fix his broken PP with a graybeard Thornton and an AHLer Sandin and both players ended the game at -2 and contributed directly to the loss.

Also Montreal was smart enough to leave their rookies out of the lineup for 2 reasons.

1) Rookies make mistakes and can cost games.
2) If you plan on playing a physical game on the opposition star players there is a fear that retribution will come at the expense of you talented youth to pay the price.

Sandin looked slow and not able to keep up with the NHL speed, as both Josh Anderson and Paul Byron blew by him resulting in goals against. After the learning lesson of Leafs game #1 loss, pretty sure we might have seen the end of Sandin for this series and Dermott or Sutton will be in who are more experienced.. We already saw Keefe learned his lesson the hard way as late in the game it was Rielly and not Sandin on the PP.

Keefe certainly got outcoached in game #1 and it cost the Leafs the game. Lets hope coaching mistakes are not going to be our downfall moving forward.

Here here .. totally agree da game loss is entirely on Keefer .. I hope this is not da hill he decides to die on .. he will kill Dubie too .. blaming Sandin is wrong .. he can't help he has a short choppy stride and competes with Jumbo in a puck race .. he has many other great qualities but fact is if you can't skate it is tough to play NHL playoff hockey

 

[Clark4Ever]

My main gripe with Keefe was his distribution of ice time and his undying loyalty to Thornton.

I understand the optics of the situation, but if Thornton plays like that again, he needs to sit.

 

[Menzinger]

Mitch Marner (who had a very average to below average game) TOI: 27:23 including nearly a 4 minute shift to end the game in a LOSS.

Marner had 29 shift & 27:23 TOI/g = Average shift time: approx 57 secs

Then I compared that to other star players on winning teams yesterday.

Sidney Crosby - 24 shifts & 17:10 TOI/g = Average shift time : approx. 43 seconds
Alex Barkov - 22 shift & 15:30 TOI/g = Average shift time : approx 42 seconds (and this game went 5 minutes in OT)

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know and understand what a lot of NHL coaches know and that is shorter 40-45 second highly productive shifts are more effective than long drawn out shifts that last a minute or more.

Keefe main coaching strategy is to play Marner and Matthews together and then play them as much as possible to address all situations .. He did that against Columbus last year to break a trap and shutdown system and try and score, and he is doing it this year to try a fix a flawed dysfunctional PP etc etc . This is against low scoring opposition when he has a deep team at his disposal and a high scoring roster.

Keefe doesn't use his 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines very effectively via line matching to attempt to create mismatches, and generate more offense, even with home ice advantage and last change possible. He just taps Mitch and Auston on the shoulder and tells them to get out there to try and mask is coaching weaknesses, with their skill and talent level.

The whole value of having a deep roster is to use all 4 lines advantageously and strategically to overpower your underdog opposition, not play a couple players 25-27 minutes and the rest of the line-up 10 -12 minutes. Allowing your opposition to just focus on stopping a couple players to win the game.

If a team is chasing a lead,.I don't think it's particularly uncontroversial to lean on its main offensive weapons.

Ie is Marner or Simmonds going to be more likely to generate a goal late game?

 

[JT AM da real deal]

If a team is chasing a lead,.I don't think it's particularly uncontroversial to lean on its main offensive weapons.

Ie is Marner or Simmonds going to be more likely to generate a goal late game?

Wayner is more likely to power through da trap into a scoring zone .. Mitch has no foot speed or power to get there .. so while Mitch has more skill he can't get to where he needs to be to score so I would say Wayner

 

[Dreakmur]

If a team is chasing a lead,.I don't think it's particularly uncontroversial to lean on its main offensive weapons.

Ie is Marner or Simmonds going to be more likely to generate a goal late game?

You want Marner out there in offensive situations. That’s why it’s so dumb to roll him out for 4 minutes in the PK when you have lots of good PKers.

 

[The Iceman]

Mitch Marner (who had a very average to below average game) TOI: 27:23 including nearly a 4 minute shift to end the game in a LOSS.

Marner had 29 shift & 27:23 TOI/g = Average shift time: approx 57 secs

Then I compared that to other star players on winning teams yesterday.

Sidney Crosby - 24 shifts & 17:10 TOI/g = Average shift time : approx. 43 seconds
Alex Barkov - 22 shift & 15:30 TOI/g = Average shift time : approx 42 seconds (and this game went 5 minutes in OT)

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know and understand what a lot of NHL coaches know and that is shorter 40-45 second highly productive shifts are more effective than long drawn out shifts that last a minute or more.

Keefe main coaching strategy is to play Marner and Matthews together and then play them as much as possible to address all situations .. He did that against Columbus last year to break a trap and shutdown system and try and score, and he is doing it this year to try a fix a flawed dysfunctional PP etc etc . This is against low scoring opposition when he has a deep team at his disposal and a high scoring roster.

Keefe doesn't use his 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines very effectively via line matching to attempt to create mismatches, and generate more offense, even with home ice advantage and last change possible. He just taps Mitch and Auston on the shoulder and tells them to get out there to try and mask is coaching weaknesses, with their skill and talent level.

The whole value of having a deep roster is to use all 4 lines advantageously and strategically to overpower your underdog opposition, not play a couple players 25-27 minutes and the rest of the line-up 10 -12 minutes. Allowing your opposition to just focus on stopping a couple players to win the game.

If you take marners last shift out he is slightly under 50 seconds a shift.

 

[jaric1862]

Its been one game, Keefe's been a good coach all season. The only criticism of the coaching staff that's warranted is the powerplay.

An idea that I wouldn't be opposed to, is to have Spezza as one of the assistant coaches

 

[rumman]

People are going to hate it, but Hyman needs to get off the top line. He can be a driving factor on another line, Matthews and Marner don't need him, he is a luxury.

What I could see happening.

Foligno - Matthews - Marner
Hyman - Kerfoot - Nylander
Mikheyev - Nash - Engvall (talk about low event)
Thornton - Spezza - Simmonds

What I want to happen.

Gally - Matthews - Marner
Foligno - Kerfoot - Nylander
Mikheyev - Engvall - Hyman
Spezza - Brooks - Simmonds

More speed with this line-up and more skill

Hyman's the only Leaf you don't have to worry about showing up and being ready to play, sounds like 1st line material to me..............

 

[rumman]

Keefe and Dubas have to get it through their heads that grit in the playoffs matters.

And let me add, Foligno fighting Perry was stupid.

The idea of grit is that you can wear out a team over a series. Constant body checks, finishing that check and energy.

Foligno averaged 23:00 of playoff ice time with CBJ last year.

Last night, he played 12:59.

I'm not saying Foligno is the answer all on his own.

But if you've been beaten by harder working teams in every playoff in the last 16 years... is playing Mitch Marner 27 mins really going to make the difference? Is quadruple shifting Matthews for the last 4 minutes of the game doing to do anything other than exhaust the guy?

They admited mistakes and went out and got character and grit.

It's a team game and team mindset.... our Stars have demonstrated that they cannot outwork opponents when it matters. So give them some help. Let the full team play.

too bad the grit and character the GM acquired was too old, too diminished of skill, I guess tha's all he could afford given half the cap being paid to 4 players...........

 

[Cpt Maple Leaf]

I agree but the usage of Thornton is nauseating to say the least

Cost a goal last night.

 

[Gallagbi]

Hyman's the only Leaf you don't have to worry about showing up and being ready to play, sounds like 1st line material to me..............

When healthy, but he had a few really tough stretches last night including that 2-0 we allowed because of his missed assignment

 

[Mats13]

Cost a goal last night.

Cost us both goals last night

 

[Dave92]

Glad he's going back to Engvall and Galchenyuk.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Well, so far Keefe is 2-4 in the playoffs. Let's see how the team responds to some adjustments next game.

 

[Nylander88]

Galchenyuk never deserved to come out. Obvious first man up call imo. Engvall in for Nash I like too. He's been scoring (something Nash doesn't do), and he's a faster skater. Playoff Price is here, and we need to come at him in waves. Not worry about a shutdown line with Nash This isn't the Bruins throwing Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak at us.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

There's the whole "win it for JT" thing right now.

If the leafs are still flat the rest of the playoffs and struggle to score right till the end, does Dubas keep his job? Does one of the core pieces get moved?

 

[Cpt Maple Leaf]

There's the whole "win it for JT" thing right now.

If the leafs are still flat the rest of the playoffs and struggle to score right till the end, does Dubas keep his job? Does one of the core pieces get moved?

He has to go imho.

 

[FabledKnight]

Gally Matthews Nylander
Hymen Foligno Marner
Mik Kerfoot Engval
Simmonds Brooks Spezza

That's the forward group I would go with.
Auston and Will have chemistry
Fog I don't believe has played much "C" in past seasons so giving him Hymen would be a benefit and Marner deserves a small demotion for now.
Soups Footy and Engval have played well
Brooks has been playing great as of late and should go in over Thronton based on play.

 

[jamo27]

Holy shit boys… we lost game one. This is a great team, they will win the series and get to the semis at least…. Chill

 

[Doublerum1975]

Glad he's going back to Engvall and Galchenyuk.

Need brooks in he was playing good hockey on the 4th line

 

[Jmo89]

1. Nash was a bad decision. It was only a couple games but the lineup looked good with Galchenyuk and Foligno in the top 6 and Hyman driving his own line. If you're going to have Thornton and Simmonds on a line, your 3rd line needs to be better than it was last night.

If you want Nash playing, start rotating Thornton and Simmonds.

2. Thornton playing more than 20 seconds at the end of PP2.

3. Failure to notice Sandin was very nervous and having a bad game prior to the second goal against.

Although they might not directly be Keefe's fault, as the head coach he shares blame:

4. Continuation of a pitiful PP. Fire Malhotra into the sun and take over if you have to.

5. Inability to fire up the bench.

 

[rumman]

Well, so far Keefe is 2-4 in the playoffs. Let's see how the team responds to some adjustments next game.

Isn’t he 0 for 1, considering last years loss against Colombus was a play in, not playoffs?

 

[rumman]

There's the whole "win it for JT" thing right now.

If the leafs are still flat the rest of the playoffs and struggle to score right till the end, does Dubas keep his job? Does one of the core pieces get moved?

Both the President’s and GM’s jobs should be on the line if they fail to at the very least get out of the Canadian division.......

 

[The Iceman]

With Tavares out and trailing by a goal quad shifting Matthews with a TV time out and a called timeout is fine by me.

 

[AllDay28]

Holy shit boys… we lost game one. This is a great team, they will win the series and get to the semis at least…. Chill

When the Leafs pummel the Habs in game 2, these same fans will be bumping appreciation threads for every player on the team.

I think they expected the Leafs to go 16-0 in the playoffs