How well (or poor) do you think we will play in the playoffs?

[Maple Leaf]

Cup

 

[Canadian Finn]

I don’t see a line on TB or Boston that has a shutdown line to play Matthews. Am I wrong?

we'll have to see how post injury Matthews plays first.

 

[Nylanderthal]

I think we will dominate. We'll dominate 5v5 badly, we'll have significantly better special teams and defensive play, but get under .900 goaltending and lose in dramatic fashion again and have a meltdown. Hoping I'm wrong about the goalie part but I just don't have confidence in our goalies to get it done in the playoffs.

Didn’t soup put up like a .930 last post season?

 

[Nylanderthal]

Last year my belief was FInal 4 or Bust, when all it would have taken to be in the final 4 and win 2 rounds was beat #18OA Montreal and then Winnipeg/Edmonton as level of competition.

This year my belief system is "Prove It" that you can be successful playoff team against strong competition and our stars better show up to make that happen and no more excusses or changes are coming. They have to earn trust of being successful not been given it, because that is perhaps Leafs problem they believe because they have a lot of skill they don't need to compete and work hard also to advance.

In the playoffs Will beats Skill !!!

#18OA Montreal who then swept Winnipeg and ran Vegas into the ground? Price went on an all time heater.

 

[CDN24]

I don’t see a line on TB or Boston that has a shutdown line to play Matthews. Am I wrong?

Any team that has Patrice Bergeron and 2 warm bodies has a line that can (not will but can) shut down anyone.

 

[Kazparov]

My biggest concern is goaltending

Do we get early season Jack Campbell who looked like a world beater? Or preinjury midseason Jack Campbell who looked like he barely belonged starting in the NHL?

 

[Snipes 29]

Playoff hockey is very different.

Agree regular season is not even comparable to play off hockey! We will see if Leafs are for real or not in round One. Funny how Dubas created our so called Goaltending issues but none of media types bring it up?

 

[Bluelines]

Well we saw what the TB Lightning plan to do in the first round, in the first period at the 18 minute mark they had 17 hits. (I think the Leafs had 9) Almost 1 hit per shift... Playoff hockey is indeed all about the game with in the game. Andersen said in an interview that the Habs plan last year was to hit the Leafs into submission so by games 6 and 7 they would have no will to compete, did it work?

TBH if I'm Keefe I'm asking Dubas to call up a knuckle dragger to pound Hedmen into dust. Beat him down so har he flinches when there is a loud noise. Stammer was taking a lot of liberties last night, was it Colman that ran over Gio? Do you think all those slapshots at Leafs feet was by accident, of course not the TBL know that your feet are your base, bruise them up so in a couple of weeks the Leafs are so sore they don't compete at top level. Briused feet SUCKKKKKKKKKK ..... When I played , a playoff game was for me as much about scoring as for me to see who I could knock out the next game. If we were losing I would intentionally take slapshots at the back of opponents legs and / or feet, hack them in the wrist when the ref was not watching, hack their calves, hack the goalies trapper when it was on the ice, basically do what I had to do so they were as sore as heck the next game. I played to hurt my opponent as much as I did to score.

Leafs get a pass last night I'm sure they didn't give a shit about the outcome but they could have at least left a few bruises ....

 

[ToneDog]

We need Matty and Soup at 100% and firing on all cylinders or it will be a quick exit.

 

[HellasLEAF]

No expectations. I'm not convinced they can win in the playoff and not convinced they can beat Tampa firstly last nights' game is not even a factor really.

They will have to prove that to me before I am on board with this version of the Maple Leafs.

 

[Suntouchable13]

No expectations. I'm not convinced they can win in the playoff and not convinced they can beat Tampa firstly last nights' game is not even a factor really.

They will have to prove that to me before I am on board with this version of the Maple Leafs.

I am not convinced either. I don't think they have that extra gear. Last night was a perfect opportunity to up the intensity, and they did exactly the opposite. It's concerning.

 

[81Leafs50]

I think it only makes sense that a final decision will be made based on his performance in the playoffs. If he gets us past the first round or beyond and his salary expectations are reasonable, I would strongly consider re-signing him.

If the decision by this management team of Dubas and Shanahan is to resign a 30 year old never been a starter for the prime years (25,26,27,28,29) of Matthews, Marner, and Nylander then its time for new management. Campbell is not the guy.

 

[81Leafs50]

Couldn't confidently say that I'm overly optimistic about a re-signing at this point of the negotiation stage. Hoping that Dubas has a good plan in mind for obtaining another starter though - assuming that ends up being the plan - since Campbell is currently the closest thing to a starter that this organization possesses.

Campbell is a great guy. But he is not THE GUY. He has barely played hockey in the last 2 months and he cannot stay healthy with all the rest and skipped practices in the world. I have more faith in Kallgren at this point.

 

[tom leafers]

If the decision by this management team of Dubas and Shanahan is to resign a 30 year old never been a starter for the prime years (25,26,27,28,29) of Matthews, Marner, and Nylander then its time for new management. Campbell is not the guy.

a lot better then having a 40 year old mike smith for the prime years of McDrai

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

It's a Cup year

 

[ClarkSittler]

I think we're ready to win a few rounds, but I'm not quite at the parade planning stage yet.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Campbell is a great guy. But he is not THE GUY. He has barely played hockey in the last 2 months and he cannot stay healthy with all the rest and skipped practices in the world. I have more faith in Kallgren at this point.

The question is, who might be available in the off season that would be a clear upgrade on Campbell?

 

[TimeZone]

I'm not optimistic.

I don't trust Campbell at all, nor do I trust the rest of the team to show up and get the job done.

Another first round exit is my prediction, probably in 6 or 7.

 

[Buds17]

Campbell is a great guy. But he is not THE GUY. He has barely played hockey in the last 2 months and he cannot stay healthy with all the rest and skipped practices in the world. I have more faith in Kallgren at this point.

To each his own.

 

[zeke]

East Playoffs Goalies since Deadline:

BOS Ullmark 10gms .946
PIT DeSmith 9gms .930
NYR Shesterkin 12gms .920
TOR Mrazek 3gms .919
TOR Campbell 9gms .915
TBL Elliott 7gms .913
FLA Knight 9gms .911
TBL Vasilevskiy 14gms .910
PIT Jarry 9gms .904
CAR Kotchetkov 3gms .902
CAR Raanta 9gms .899
FLA Bobrovsky 13gms .898
CAR Andersen 10gms .897
BOS Swayman 11gms .888
NYR Georgiev 7gms .881
WSH Samsonov 9gms .877
WSH Vanacek 10gms .876
TOR Kallgren 9gms .865

 

[Stephen]

I’m just going to predict they’ll play extremely well this year in the playoffs. Finally have some depth on defense and don’t underrate just being sick and tired of losing and that will free them from all the expectations and ghosts of being young and the pressure to do too much.

…who knows how this will age in two weeks.

 

[81Leafs50]

The question is, who might be available in the off season that would be a clear upgrade on Campbell?

LOTS of guys. ANA's John Gibson being at the top of the list.

 

[81Leafs50]

a lot better then having a 40 year old mike smith for the prime years of McDrai

Absolutely a horrible mistake by EDM. A fireable offense for sure. But that does not mean Toronto has to make a similar mistake.

 

[Clark4Ever]

It looks like we might have all hands on deck by game 1 which is very encouraging, and will give Keefe plenty of options.

 

[glue]

It looks like we might have all hands on deck by game 1 which is very encouraging, and will give Keefe plenty of options.

Yes, everyone minus Kase I think. I'm hearing Bunting won't be 100% by Monday, but I find it hard to believe he won't play, he seems exactly like the type of guy that would thrive in the playoffs.