Post-Game Talk: Holl and Keefe hand Tampa the victory

[ACC1224]

OK boys here's my birds eye take from row 1 upper deck .. overall Tampa was better team and out skated and out grit grinded us all night long .. they both expect and deserve to have won that game and da hungrier team usually wins and they did

From my seats there were a few players who really can't hang in there at da pace of playoff hockey

i hate to say it but both Gio and Holl need to come out .. playoff hockey is won by D and G .. 2 or 3 goals from forwards is enough .. of course da more da merrier but that is pipe dream thinking .. heh you could score with some hot 20 something but reality is not likely .. we need to play lockdown hockey to win in playoffs .. to me i would insert Benn and Timmer in lineup as we need a 3rd pair who don't let Tampa's 3rd and 4th lines take our net .. bottom line Gio and Holl can't get job done .. this is da most important change to give us a better chance .. as it stands we are toast .. Lilly got his chance to play in 2 games at playoff pace and quite frankly he was atrocious .. although he is better than Holl so it would improve team even that 1 switch .. Keefer this is where coaching is really really f*ckin tough .. folks will b*tch at you but without trying to fix this MAJOR issue this series won't change

and da next one is even harder, in fact much harder, JT can't keep up .. it has been 5 games now of him not keeping up to play and whoever is on his line they are getting MASSIVELY tilted shift after shift .. he needs to move to 3rd line LW and f*ckin now Keefer .. this is imperative .. move up ROR with Bunting and Mitchy asap .. then we got our 2 top lines even or slightly better than theirs .. Keefer we can't keep getting TILTED on line 2 .. it has to stop

lastly line 4 .. kampf is nowhere near good enough .. not only did he lose battle of 4th lines HUGE .. he has zero grit grinding capability .. take him out when you insert Bunting .. last night he was da direct cause of da 3rd goal .. folks you may not have seen it on TV but I did perfectly .. he took out Sammy all by himself .. you just can't f*ck up that bad .. colossal error

now I am not gonna jump on Sammy as his mental health issues are enormous challenge for him .. but someone needs to close out Tampa .. bottom line goal 2, even though Holl can't pivot one way without falling down, is house league level and was as bad as Soup's Gally goal or one of many of Freddy's stickers .. they just can't find their way in playoff hockey (or even regular season too) .. they are killers .. this may be hardest call of all for all Sammy has done for da boys .. I am not sure I would make it either Keefer .. it will be your toughest call .. da other ones above are pretty obvious hockey calls .. I know Woll over 7 or 8 years and I have not seen 1 stinker from him on championship elite AAAA hockey ever .. I would try it .. if it doesn't work you can always go back to Sammy for game 7

Anywho my 2 cents .. GLG .. we all want them to figure out a way to advance .. lets GO .. GLG

The bolded is unbelievable to me.
I'm a pretty calm person and when I yelled 'where you going' at the tv my daughter jumped.
Such a nothing play, cost them the game.

I even said before game, they will win unless they give up one of those back breakers that Campbell/Andersen were known for.
Just brutal. I wouldn't expect Woll though unless he's hurt.

 

[Rude Dog]

Watching Matthews mom in the stands last night, I got this bad feeling in my stomach. We may actually be watching the last 2 Leafs games in Matthews career. He probably thinks he's one of the top guys in the league, he's not going to risk losing in the first round his whole career in a Leaf sweater. If I were him I'd request a trade too.

God I hate this narrative. He is one of the main reasons they haven't won a first round. Is there no accountability. If he is looking for someone to blame look at his own production in clinching games. He has the team around him. I was at the game last night. He was decent, but McDavid seems to will his team.

 

[ToneDog]

If Woll is good then you don’t need to.

If Vasi, craps the bed again and let’s in a couple softies and the Leafs advance, what are the odds of the winning a game against Boston?

I like our odds to take a game from Boston.

 

[Nineteen67]

Tavares' play and contract is absolutely killing us. You insert Trochek and Ekholm (as an example) instead of Tavares and Holl and we're taking deep runs.

Better yet, Acquire ROR from Buffalo and keep drafting and maybe they go on a few deep runs.

 

[egd27]

Is Keefe to blame for the Muskoka core going 0 for 10?

Partially, yes

 

[ToneDog]

Better yet, Acquire ROR from Buffalo and keep drafting and maybe they go on a few deep runs.

Better yet, do not hand the keys to a rookie who thought you could win with small, skilled players.

 

[Twine Tickler]

It would have been nice to get this wrapped up last night. But lets not lose the passion guys. We are in a dog fight against one of the best franchises to ever do it.

No one said it was going to be easy. It is the hardest trophy to win in sport for a reason.

We've not played very well, and yet we are still in the driver's seat. Let's get this bad boy wrapped up on Saturday and start feeling good about ourselves again. Like Matty said after game 4, the job is not done. Different from years past, I don't think this group is spending today feeling sorry for themselves. Spending today a little pissed off is not a bad thing. Hopefully they can bottle that and come out with a purpose tmw.

 

[HellasLEAF]

That is a bullshit comment. These core players are good ones. They are working hard and aren't getting outplayed on the ice.
This histrionic bashing is really getting tiring. Find a new sport or team

0 for 10

 

[ToneDog]

0 for 10

Too small a sample size for some. LOL.

 

[HellasLEAF]

Partially, yes

I agree with partly. I agree with that he should share blame.

Just the focus on Keefe and Holl over the core millionaires I'm not agreeing with.

 

[Magic Man]

God I hate this narrative. He is one of the main reasons they haven't won a first round. Is there no accountability. If he is looking for someone to blame look at his own production in clinching games. He has the team around him. I was at the game last night. He was decent, but McDavid seems to will his team.

In the Leafs 100+ year history how many Matthews or Marner's have they drafted?

It's sad to think 2 of the best players ever drafted by Toronto may end up making the playoffs every year since being inserted into the lineup, but then went on to lose in the max amount of games in each series for the next 7 years in round #1.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

The bolded is unbelievable to me.
I'm a pretty calm person and when I yelled 'where you going' at the tv my daughter jumped.
Such a nothing play, cost them the game.

I even said before game, they will win unless they give up one of those back breakers that Campbell/Andersen were known for.
Just brutal. I wouldn't expect Woll though unless he's hurt.

I don't expect Keefer to have da balls to make any of da required changes needed .. Woll will be a top 5 tender in league .. I know most of you think that is crazy but i think i was only guy who voted Woll as our top prospect .. only guy who said i think he will overcome his pro hockey angles/positioning issues which he has .. this kid actually one of those kids who plays BETTER da BIGGER da game .. there is not many tenders in da world gonna stop Mitchy on 10 breakaways in 1 game .. maybe he and Vasi maybe Shisterkin .. but it is a very small group .. Keefer knows cause I am 100% sure Mitchy and Paul have told him .. but it is a HUGE move for a NHL coach i know

 

[rocketman588]

I can't wait for him to get an extension after we lose in the second round if we even make it there

Because thats how low the bar is that we haven't even been able to reach is

 

[CapspaceKiller]

For Game 6 hopefully Keefe truly believes in the star players Dubas gave a ton of money too. Game 5 was the perfect example of a coach not believing in his boys.

 

[Nineteen67]

I like our odds to take a game from Boston.

They’d need to take two to give them the extra home gate.

 

[Nineteen67]

Not really. Sure the media will be popular for like 3 days after a loss for the Leafs but afterwards……viewership plummets for the playoffs, people cancel subscriptions for sportsnet now, tsn/sportsnet talk shows get barely any audience, and moving forward they all plummet because Leafs blow up the team and rebuild causing no playoffs moving forward and fans not caring. Not even talking about how much money the NHL will be losing if Leafs lose and not make the next round.

Literally everyone loses. NHL, media, and fans. If Leafs ever win then the NHL and media would be swimming in money and viewership and stories to talk about for years.

Rogers is praying for the Leafs to win. They need it more than anyone.

 

[ToneDog]

Pens need to fire Sullivan.

I don’t want to watch Keefe coach anymore.

Dubas and Keefe for Sullivan and a bunch of Crosby signed Tim Horton's cards.

 

[rocketman588]

Dubas and Keefe for Sullivan and a bunch of Crosby signed Tim Horton's cards.

Sid is going to love playing left D in the 5 forward lineup

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Imagine an entire fanbase willing to celebrate a playoff round victory like they won the Stanley cup. What a joke this team has become!

This is the scary part. If we win one round there will be unwarranted screaming to bring Dubas and Keefe back. The bar is low.

 

[Mess]

Leafs played a pretty strong game overall.

I thought they would play more conservative but they did force a lot of the play.

The 2nd goal Sammy gave up had a bad odor to it and cost the Leafs this game essentially.

Scoreboard still reads .. Sammy 3 - Vas 2

 

[LeafGrief]

God I hate this narrative. He is one of the main reasons they haven't won a first round. Is there no accountability. If he is looking for someone to blame look at his own production in clinching games. He has the team around him. I was at the game last night. He was decent, but McDavid seems to will his team.

Any of the players thinking that it's the team's or management's fault for lack of success is a) delusional, and b) a born loser. This roster is good enough to have won rounds, Matthews has spent his career here surrounded by elite teams. He's THE GUY and one of the common denominators in our failure. Where is his Gilmour moment? Hard to get too mad at him when he's got 8 points in 5 games, but he does not have a single leg to stand on if it comes to talking about the team letting him down. This is his team, this is his shot at glory. If he can't get it done, he has no one to blame but himself.

 

[Been around]

Alright leafs just win the next game

You guys got this...give me a reason to continue watching

 

[LeafGrief]

Dubas and Keefe for Sullivan and a bunch of Crosby signed Tim Horton's cards.

I'd keep Dubas and Keefe in exchange for some player accountability. The coaching last night was appalling, but you could see in their eyes as soon as Cirelli scored that they were thinking, "here we go again". Their in-room leadership is incapable of turning up in the big moments (save for Rielly), and while the coach can carry some of the blame, it's still on the guys wearing skates to dig deep and win the game.

These guys just aren't killers. Corey Perry has more killer instinct in his jockstrap than our whole team.

I have believed in their resilience so far this series, but at some point they have to believe in themselves. The GM and coach can't hold their hands when it comes time to go into the corners against Hedman or pick a corner on Vasilevskiy.

Sullivan would be a great replacement candidate for Keefe, though. Great suggestion.

 

[Rob Brown]

Holy moly this is depressing.

 

[ToneDog]

I'd keep Dubas and Keefe in exchange for some player accountability. The coaching last night was appalling, but you could see in their eyes as soon as Cirelli scored that they were thinking, "here we go again". Their in-room leadership is incapable of turning up in the big moments (save for Rielly), and while the coach can carry some of the blame, it's still on the guys wearing skates to dig deep and win the game.

These guys just aren't killers. Corey Perry has more killer instinct in his jockstrap than our whole team.

I have believed in their resilience so far this series, but at some point they have to believe in themselves. The GM and coach can't hold their hands when it comes time to go into the corners against Hedman or pick a corner on Vasilevskiy.

Sullivan would be a great replacement candidate for Keefe, though. Great suggestion.

A per Kypreos, Perry begged to be a Leaf and they went with Simmonds at 2x the money instead. Just one of the many mistakes Dubas has made. He is betting he can surround the 3 amigos with a good enough supporting cast to win a SC. So far he can't even win a series.

How can you bring Dubas back if they blow another 3-1 lead, losing 3/4 home games ??