Is Matthews the worst playoff performer ever?

[BLKHKhockey]

Barlow hasn’t looked the same after the Hagel hit

 

[Svedu]

Deeper understanding from what, exactly? I’ve been watching Barkov since he was 14 or 15 years old — I know what he’s capable of. He has that next-level ability to make big-time offensive plays, but this year, he just hasn’t shown it.

My ego? You’re the one who seems upset — I’m fine. You can’t even handle criticism of a hockey player who has nothing to do with you personally.

You are the one mentioning someone else being insecure, like that would make you opinion more valid or anything. If anything, a sign of weakness.

Who cares if you've watched him since he was 12? NHL is another thing. Not all prospects pan out, or do they? If you look at Finnish prospects a lot of guys that have been successful during junior years don't pan out. I mean look at Veeti Miettinen, Leevi Aaltonen and Puljujärvi and a dozen of others.

He has the ability but it's like you seem to think this is peewee hockey or something. Give the Leafs credit. They have their most competitive roster in modern time. People are mentioning Nylander, Matthews and Marner. But their goalies have been playing very well in many games and I think you forgot they have some new D's this year in Ekman-Larsson and others... You know the guy who is known to be good, won a Stanley with Panthers last year and probably know Barkovs game very well...

Your take is so simple and black or white.

 

[Svedu]

Barlow hasn’t looked the same after the Hagel hit

Yeah good take. He's so good a lot of players will try to hurt him. He's not flying like MacKinnon nor McDavid. He handles the puck with strength and skill. So it's very possible that he gets hit a lot more and could be playing injured as well.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Or Barkov was put there to shutdown the Leafs best player? Nylander. The Swede is clearly better than Matthews and Marner imho.

The data is all there to confirm yourself. This was a talking about after the first 3 games.

 

[Mogo]

Nothing says ‘Hockey IQ’ like the phrase “Florida Panthers fans on Facebook”

Same as Reddit

 

[94leetch]

I think the results over the rest of this series will answer the question. Lots of pressure on him right now, we'll see if he (finally) rises to the occasion.

 

[thomast]

Lol, don't mix insecure with someone else having deeper knowledge and possibly hurting your ego.

Being strong in puck possession and completely shutting down the opponents in every zone is what? DOMINANT. He's playing a winning game for his team. The team obviously have plenty of guys who can score in Bennett, Verhaeghe, Lundell, Marchand etc. But amongst the forwards Barkov, Lundell and Luostarinen are one of those who are best at shutting down others. A team in the playoffs should focus on winning and do whatever it needs.
Barkovs individual stats won't matter anything in the end. That's just fanboy mentality.
Also, the guy is like what? Almost PPG in the playoffs and scores every third so far. Combined with defensive awareness and so on? No, you are just spitting nonsense right now.

I mean if Barkov is bad in your opinion? What is Matthews then, non existent? Lmao.

Did you miss something? I did mention, that he has been dominant in posession. First 3 games were 1 goal games. Need big guys to step up and make difference especially when the puck is in the offensive zone.

You are the one mentioning someone else being insecure, like that would make you opinion more valid or anything. If anything, a sign of weakness.

Who cares if you've watched him since he was 12? NHL is another thing. Not all prospects pan out, or do they? If you look at Finnish prospects a lot of guys that have been successful during junior years don't pan out. I mean look at Veeti Miettinen, Leevi Aaltonen and Puljujärvi and a dozen of others.

He has the ability but it's like you seem to think this is peewee hockey or something. Give the Leafs credit. They have their most competitive roster in modern time. People are mentioning Nylander, Matthews and Marner. But their goalies have been playing very well in many games and I think you forgot they have some new D's this year in Ekman-Larsson and others... You know the guy who is known to be good, won a Stanley with Panthers last year and probably know Barkovs game very well...

Your take is so simple and black or white.

I’ve followed his entire development curve from age 15 to 29. Almost every NHL game or so. This has nothing to do with how other prospects pan out — we’re talking about a specific player here. We both know Barkov has that next-level patience and skill to be more clinical when he gets scoring chances. Right now he has lost that last touch, as Barkov fan it’s been frustrating to watch. I’ve watched nearly every NHL game he’s played, and I just haven’t seen that higher gear from him this season. In my opinion, he’s regressed compared to last year — though of course, there are still games left to play.

I’m not expecting highlight-reel plays every night or huge point totals, but he’s clearly lost his offensive confidence. We need more big ball plays in the crucial moments of close games. Same goes for Matthews — both players have been pretty invisible. Yes, Barkov still has a big impact on games even without points, but at the end of the day, goals are what matter most. Barkov’s line should win the goal scored at even strength against Matthews line, by good margin. I know Bobrovsky has been leaky, but let’s be honest — Barkov has also made Stolarz and Woll look better than they are.

It’s quite the opposite of being egoistic, when someone criticize their favourite player.

 

[Svedu]

Did you miss something? I did mention, that he has been dominant in posession. First 3 games were 1 goal games. Need big guys to step up and make difference especially when the puck is in the offensive zone.

I’ve followed his entire development curve from age 15 to 29. Almost every NHL game or so. This has nothing to do with how other prospects pan out — we’re talking about a specific player here. We both know Barkov has that next-level patience and skill to be more clinical when he gets scoring chances. Right now he has lost that last touch, as Barkov fan it’s been frustrating to watch. I’ve watched nearly every NHL game he’s played, and I just haven’t seen that higher gear from him this season. In my opinion, he’s regressed compared to last year — though of course, there are still games left to play.

I’m not expecting highlight-reel plays every night or huge point totals, but he’s clearly lost his offensive confidence. Same goes for Matthews — both players have been pretty invisible. Yes, Barkov still has a big impact on games even without points, but at the end of the day, goals are what matter most. Barkov’s line should win the goal scored at even strength against Matthews line, by good margin. I know Bobrovsky has been leaky, but let’s be honest — Barkov has also made Stolarz and Woll look better than they are.

In all honesty, who knows, you could be right. I trust you following him his whole career. Perhaps it's a injury, perhaps it's a regression slowly growing. But if they do win the cup and he will be considered as the most important piece in this winning team? Because that is the case? Him being the Panthers most important piece that is. What will you think if they actually win the cup again?

There could be a factor where Barkov and Matthews take each other out a bit? Barkov isn't a hefty skater and as you mentioned, Matthews hasn't been exploding against Barkov either.
Also, look at Nylander the last game. He's weakest so far? Imo the Leafs best player. And he faced Barkovs line last game for the first time. I mean sometimes you can twist and turn things to question your own perspective. Rather than searching after cemented answers. Especially if the team and the individual are still keeping on being competitive.
Also, I haven't been impressed with Reinhart against the Leafs. I mean the whole Lundell line has been better overall. Bennett and Verhaeghe as well while Tkachuk hasn't lived up to the expectations so far. I mean if you look at the Panthers first line, if Reinhart isn't hot, Barkov will carry the whole line. Rodrigues is barely considered a complementary piece at this level. Don't think exchanging him against say Leonard or JP or Villains would make the biggest difference. Matthews has Marner. Give Barkov anyone from that second line and I believe both of us will have the feeling that the scenario will change immediately. But the thing is, if they are winning with this lineup they won't change it and rightly so. Barkov carries his mates more than any other players in this league if McDavid is playing with Draisaitl and when looking back, MacKinnon had Rantanen.
Disagreed regarding the goalies. Woll was good against every Panther and difficult to beat. Bennett scored that brilliant goal but with that there he was unique and the goal in itself was unique. You haven't seen anyone in the Leafs score that kind of a goal so far either.

 

[nturn06]

This thread looks like a blatant attempt at a jinx thread....

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

This thread looks like a blatant attempt at a jinx thread....

The thing with AM34 is that nobody is afraid of eating crow with this guy , it's basically free game you can say what you want about him and he will never burn you

 

[thomast]

In all honesty, who knows, you could be right. I trust you following him his whole career. Perhaps it's a injury, perhaps it's a regression slowly growing. But if they do win the cup and he will be considered as the most important piece in this winning team? Because that is the case? Him being the Panthers most important piece that is. What will you think if they actually win the cup again?

There could be a factor where Barkov and Matthews take each other out a bit? Barkov isn't a hefty skater and as you mentioned, Matthews hasn't been exploding against Barkov either.
Also, look at Nylander the last game. He's weakest so far? Imo the Leafs best player. And he faced Barkovs line last game for the first time. I mean sometimes you can twist and turn things to question your own perspective. Rather than searching after cemented answers. Especially if the team and the individual are still keeping on being competitive.
Also, I haven't been impressed with Reinhart against the Leafs. I mean the whole Lundell line has been better overall. Bennett and Verhaeghe as well while Tkachuk hasn't lived up to the expectations so far. I mean if you look at the Panthers first line, if Reinhart isn't hot, Barkov will carry the whole line. Rodrigues is barely considered a complementary piece at this level. Don't think exchanging him against say Leonard or JP or Villains would make the biggest difference. Matthews has Marner. Give Barkov anyone from that second line and I believe both of us will have the feeling that the scenario will change immediately. But the thing is, if they are winning with this lineup they won't change it and rightly so. Barkov carries his mates more than any other players in this league if McDavid is playing with Draisaitl and when looking back, MacKinnon had Rantanen.
Disagreed regarding the goalies. Woll was good against every Panther and difficult to beat. Bennett scored that brilliant goal but with that there he was unique and the goal in itself was unique. You haven't seen anyone in the Leafs score that kind of a goal so far either.

Injuries might be a factor, but it’s been pretty much the same all year. Last season, Barkov was Conn Smythe-worthy if we exclude McDavid from the picture. Of course, winning is always a team effort, but I’d still consider him the most important piece — with Forsling a close second if we exclude the goalies. You could argue that Forsling is harder to replace, but Barkov is the best player and the captain. I’m picking the Oilers to win it all this year.

I still hope Barkov steps up and starts making big-time plays like he did last year. Right now, his game reminds me of the Panthers-Isles series in 2020. He dominated the Tavares line in terms of possession and had plenty of chances, but ended up making Greiss look like a god — shooting into the pads and chest. Just to be clear, I’m comparing individual performance here, not the entire series outcome.

As a team, the Panthers have been better lately at limiting Nylander’s odd-man rushes and breakaways. Barkov might have played a role in containing Nylander, but he’s not the only reason.

 

[Summer Rose]

This thread looks like a blatant attempt at a jinx thread....

I'm not convinced it will work.

To answer the original post, no. He's contributing pretty well in areas other than scoring goals himself, including a decent amount of assists. Not what you hope for out of someone with such a high salary (yes I know they aren't getting paid during the playoffs), and the combination of how he's playing compared to his cap hit isn't all that great. Worst ever? Eh... that's too extreme.

 

[Svedu]

Injuries might be a factor, but it’s been pretty much the same all year. Last season, Barkov was Conn Smythe-worthy if we exclude McDavid from the picture. Of course, winning is always a team effort, but I’d still consider him the most important piece — with Forsling a close second if we exclude the goalies. You could argue that Forsling is harder to replace, but Barkov is the best player and the captain. I’m picking the Oilers to win it all this year.

I still hope Barkov steps up and starts making big-time plays like he did last year. Right now, his game reminds me of the Panthers-Isles series in 2020. He dominated the Tavares line in terms of possession and had plenty of chances, but ended up making Greiss look like a superstar — shooting into the pads and chest. Just to be clear, I’m comparing individual performance here, not the entire series outcome.

As a team, the Panthers have been better lately at limiting Nylander’s odd-man rushes and breakaways. Barkov might have played a role in containing Nylander, but he’s not the only reason.

Barkov has most points in the PO together with 6 other players. As I said, they have even lines and I think there is a case to be made that the second line has better PO wingers, even the third line. So he's not producing any less than others in his team. Nylander has produced the most for Leafs and when he faced Barkov it became very clear he had his weakest game so far. And you better believe Barkov was the biggest factor and reason for that. But yeah, of course it's a team game and if Rodrigues can't produce much by his own he better be able to help out defensively. I mean anything else would just be spectacular.

 

[Juxta Position]

it's injuries, he's had so many injuries over the years in the spring time, his wrist, his back....you guys remember when he had the rumbly tummy and everyone made fun of him? That wasn't nice, people. A sore uterus can be very painful.

 

[The Shadow]

 

[sampollock]

“He’s winning faceoffs and playing good defense.”

$13,250,000 per season to do that?

yup
yet he is the next Ovi as per fans and media

 

[sampollock]

View attachment 1035570

nostrils

 

[AvroArrow]

Wild that a blatant bash thread is still going strong

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Worst ever? No.
One of the worst of the current players based on the drop off from regular season numbers though. And probably the worst of the current players based on the amount of his salary. Second highest in the league.
Helly would probably be the worst of the current players in terms of drop off from regular season numbers but his salary is not at that level.

 

[sampollock]

Wild that a blatant bash thread is still going strong

it fits him.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Wild that a blatant bash thread is still going strong

There’s no rule against criticizing Leaf players no matter how badly you want there to be

 

[The Shadow]

Wild that a blatant bash thread is still going strong

Let us vent

 

[WetcoastOrca]

There’s no rule against criticizing Leaf players no matter how badly you want there to be

It’s always hilarious when fans of a player turn up on a thread with a title that is clearly criticizing one of their heroes and then complain about it. If you don’t want to hear criticism about your players either put the thread on ignore or don’t click on it. Problem solved!

 

[REALTALK81]

I don't know about worst playoff performer ever but anytime he plays Selke level opposition, he gets shut down. He had 1 goal against Montreal in the playoffs when Denault was playing there. He has zero goals in his career in the second round of the playoffs. That's 1 goal in 15 games.

 

[robertmac43]

AM34 has so much real estate in some peoples brains lol