I hate to say it

[mikeyz]

But, the more time I think about it, the more I am starting to think that that 1st round win against Tampa was a fluke and that if the Leafs had played anybody else other then Tampa in the East in the 1st round, I think they would have lost.

The only 2 reasons why I think they beat them were because of the injuries to Hedman and Cernak. Plus, they were completely run down and burnt out from the last 3 years and I think they finally ran out of gas. And even with all that, they still badly outplayed us in 5 of the 6 games.

I will reserve full judgement until September. But, I am just praying that Shanny and (Treliving????) don‘t run this back, because I think if he does, we’re likely looking at another 1st round loss next spring.

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[The Iceman]

NEWS FLASH

A lot of our playoff losses were flukes too.

 

[thusk]

But, the more time I think about it, the more I am starting to think that that 1st round win against Tampa was a fluke and that if the Leafs had played anybody else other then Tampa in the East in the 1st round, I think they would have lost.

The only 2 reasons why I think they beat them were because of the injuries to Hedman and Cernak. Plus, they were completely run down and burnt out from the last 3 years and I think they finally ran out of gas. And even with all that, they still badly outplayed us in 5 of the 6 games.

I will reserve full judgement until September. But, I am just praying that Shanny and (Treliving????) don‘t run this back, because I think if he does, we’re likely looking at another 1st round loss next spring.

We can say the same thing about florida

The only reason why they made playoff was pittsburgh just chocking

Or Bergeron/krejci/ulmark injured with Boston outplayed floride like 5 of 7 game...

For me Florida had been outplayed in every serie they played, the difference was they had a difference maker in the net in Bobrovsky... at the end they find the way to win and itd the only thing matter in playoff

 

[JT AM da real deal]

But, the more time I think about it, the more I am starting to think that that 1st round win against Tampa was a fluke and that if the Leafs had played anybody else other then Tampa in the East in the 1st round, I think they would have lost.

The only 2 reasons why I think they beat them were because of the injuries to Hedman and Cernak. Plus, they were completely run down and burnt out from the last 3 years and I think they finally ran out of gas. And even with all that, they still badly outplayed us in 5 of the 6 games.

I will reserve full judgement until September. But, I am just praying that Shanny and (Treliving????) don‘t run this back, because I think if he does, we’re likely looking at another 1st round loss next spring.

Bottom line we need to improve our speed and toughness on puck both up front and on D .. Tampa was burnt out and D losses did them in .. i think this team can be retooled but not with 4 forwards making half CAP .. bottom line JT is here to stay .. Matty is very likely resigned as no one can lose a 1C .. so that leaves Mitch and Willy as trade bait to put together a more balanced team

 

[thusk]

Bottom line we need to improve our speed and toughness on puck both up front and on D .. Tampa was burnt out and D losses did them in .. i think this team can be retooled but not with 4 forwards making half CAP .. bottom line JT is here to stay .. Matty is very likely resigned as no one can lose a 1C .. so that leaves Mitch and Willy as trade bait to put together a more balanced team

Move out murray and samsonov

Bring in Hellebuyck and Woll as goaltender at the same cap hit and the team is already a much better team...

 

[Brobust]

If you dig deeper into that series, you'll see that both Kucherov and Point were completely neutralized in 5v5 play. Not just production but underlying numbers as well. On top of the that, the leafs stars performed.

The series win was earned.

 

[Buds17]

Injuries are an unfortunate part of the game (Tavares vs Montreal) while wins just don't require making much, or any, of an explanation for. Should it come to pass, any decision made to run things back with the core will be partly based on it being far easier to replace a GM and/or coach over any of those players. Core players also represent a higher risk (cap considerations), higher reward (on-ice upside) scenario in comparison.

 

[Stephen]

At some point the deserve to win-o-meter and expected goals and saves stops being so important. Your team needs to find ways to convert probability into reality, snatch victory from the jaws of defeat blah blah blah. We hate the personality of this team, the makeup of the roster is so flawed and it’s always time to pile on but they earned their win vs Tampa and they should be acknowledged for that tiny, insignificant achievement.

 

[Notsince67]

Leafs shouldn't have won a single game all year because they are the worse hockey team the world has ever seen. My beer league would beat them because they are soft and they don't care. My beer league takes their hockey seriously and it's a travesty they aren't paid any money. If Marner and Matthews weren't so greedy, there would be money to pay players in my beer league.

 

[DuklaNation]

When assessing the team's roster, this must be considered seriously. TB did outplay them mostly in the games I saw.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Tbh that Brayden Point goal that was called back was pretty much bullshit (not that I would have admitted that at the time). If Leafs go on to lose that game 3 then…
Leafs really didn’t look all the great at any time this year. Hated hearing Keefe overrate the the team after getting mopped up by Florida, “missed opportunity” my ass.

 

[trellaine201]

I will say bottom line is we won. I would say it was far from pretty. It happened that we got bounces which are part of the game. That being said. I was really surprised we did beat them because I thought Tampa was the better team.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

At some point the deserve to win-o-meter and expected goals and saves stops being so important. Your team needs to find ways to convert probability into reality, snatch victory from the jaws of defeat blah blah blah. We hate the personality of this team, the makeup of the roster is so flawed and it’s always time to pile on but they earned their win vs Tampa and they should be acknowledged for that tiny, insignificant achievement.

Yeah that's fair.

I mean at times TOR's goalies were the ones that allowed deflating/soft goals in games they seemed to deserve to win. It's just typical playoff hockey.

I thought TOR deserved to win the series. It's also true that TBL were not at their finest.

 

[AvroArrow]

Likewise Boston only beat us twice because Kadri got suspended for the entire series. Montreal only beat us because Tavares/Muzzin/Foligno missed the entire series and Matthews had a badly injured wrist requiring surgery.

We've been on the wrong side of bad luck several times, sometimes you need luck. Florida for example, this entire cinderella run they're on just some massive bounces going in their favor and Bob playing out of his freaking mind. Who did he make that breakaway save on in the 1st round, Marchand ? Changed the entire course of the playoffs.

 

[ULF_55]

Without Knies injury ...
Muzzin should have been Leafs' Stone, rising from near death ...
Samsonov being healthy ...

Leafs won a round ... that is better than not winning a round.

 

[Gallagbi]

We had some breaks this year. Many were long overdue.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Who cares it’s one series.

We won it, but it means nothing.

 

[Menzinger]

Part of the Leafs team structure was to invest in players who can literally turn the outcome of a game in a few seconds - which happened in some games. Leafs absolutely earned that win

And nobody would listen if the Leafs had used injuries as an excuse, so I don't see why it should apply to other teams. Good teams have good depth/replacements in waiting. Tampa left themselves exposed.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

There's this guy name Bobrovsky.

He's kinda playing really good.

The Canes (great team right?) just got swept.

People need to calm down and realize the Leafs finally made it out of the first round (and it DID feel like we won something, jeezus 2 decades since I've felt anything like that)

Go check the.....pregame or whatever thread on the Canes forums. I literally posted in it, coming in peace, you guys need to break Bobrovsky.

That doesn't mean you want Bobrovsky, dude is making $10m/per.

And yet now he is worth that if he carries them all the way to a Stanley Cup.

 

[DarkKnight]

When assessing the team's roster, this must be considered seriously. TB did outplay them mostly in the games I saw.

I thought we out played them in 2022. So….

 

[mikeyz]

Leafs shouldn't have won a single game all year because they are the worse hockey team the world has ever seen. My beer league would beat them because they are soft and they don't care. My beer league takes their hockey seriously and it's a travesty they aren't paid any money. If Marner and Matthews weren't so greedy, there would be money to pay players in my beer league.

So in other words, you have no rebuttal to my post?

BTW. This core did lose to a zamboni driver. So your smart-ass comment isn't as big of a flex as you think it is. LMFAO.

 

[egd27]

You could easily argue that TBL got some critical bounces last season, and the Leafs got some this season, but in both cases the teams were pretty evenly matched.

They won the series, it felt good, even if it was short lived.

 

[Stephen]

Yeah that's fair.

I mean at times TOR's goalies were the ones that allowed deflating/soft goals in games they seemed to deserve to win. It's just typical playoff hockey.

I thought TOR deserved to win the series. It's also true that TBL were not at their finest.

The Tampa series was just a win. Nothing more or less. They didn’t build on it, didn’t turn a corner, didn’t get over the next hump but we can’t take it away. Not worth talking about that much either but at least they’re not first round chokers anymore.

 

[Nineteen67]

But, the more time I think about it, the more I am starting to think that that 1st round win against Tampa was a fluke and that if the Leafs had played anybody else other then Tampa in the East in the 1st round, I think they would have lost.

The only 2 reasons why I think they beat them were because of the injuries to Hedman and Cernak. Plus, they were completely run down and burnt out from the last 3 years and I think they finally ran out of gas. And even with all that, they still badly outplayed us in 5 of the 6 games.

I will reserve full judgement until September. But, I am just praying that Shanny and (Treliving????) don‘t run this back, because I think if he does, we’re likely looking at another 1st round loss next spring.

You failed to mention the biggest reason they beat TB, Vasi was terrible.
In hindsight, we all missed a potentially great series between TB and Florida

 

[mikeyz]

Oh sorry. Mistook this place as the village idiot thread. If it's serious you want, I might have to take a few days to un-stupid myself after reading this shit.

It's not necessarily serious as it is facts. Facts don't care about your feelings my boy.