Post-Game Talk: It wasnt a fight, just fuggit aboutit

[1specter]

9 game segment which is about 23% of the season so far with both goalies healthy is not insignificant but yes let's wait and see. my concern is how both these goalies fight through on ice struggles because i'd be concerned if either pulls the chute with a 'tweak' or a 'maintenance day'.

Sure but a 9 game sample also doesn't erase a 30 game sample prior to that, and in the grand scheme of things it's ~11% of an entire season. I know we're all a little triggered from what happened last year with Mrazek/Campbell, but I think Murray and Samsonov strictly from a pedigree and talent perspective are on another level and they also addressed the goaltending coaching which seemed to be an issue previously.

I'm willing to give this some more rope, it's a long season. A bunch of fans were all ready to fire Keefe and shoot Marner into outer space by the end of October and even that's a distant memory now. I think people believe .915 goalies are .915 every single game but that's not really how averages work in real life, especially in a volatile sport like hockey.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

We dominated the 1st, but got scored on, and then we fought back, tied it, and got instantly scored on.
We were the better team, but Murray had his worst game as a Leaf, and we looked disjointed on the PP and a bit defeated as every shot went in in the 2nd.
Naturally, the sky is now falling, and people are arbitrarily blaming Rielly for some reason, even though he actually had a decent game.

Well I guess all 20,00 of us in attendance last night who started boooing him watched a totally different game than you .. go to a game my friend .. his head was hanging every shift he came off ice .. he even knows he is not right yet .. he will get his lungs and legs back but they are not there yet

 

[Nineteen67]

how bad was the game? Was watching the world juniors

I can’t understand why anyone watching hockey on tv, wouldn’t be watching the Junior game.

 

[IPS]

Well I guess all 20,00 of us in attendance last night who started boooing him watched a totally different game than you .. go to a game my friend .. his head was hanging every shift he came off ice .. he even knows he is not right yet .. he will get his lungs and legs back but they are not there yet

Didn't watch the game live but couldn't agree more.

Goaltending always gets blamed before Rielly. It's how it's always been. Rielly was utterly atrocious defensively last night.

 

[glue]

I’ve stopped caring much about the regular season, especially this year. It’s pretty much playoffs or bust at this point so one bad game or one great game - don’t care too much. Of course it’s extremely normal for leaf fans to be concerned, this team and organization has created that fear and panic situation from years of disappointment. Just looking forward to playoffs where I hope the pendulum of luck also swings the way of the leafs a bit more.

 

[ToneDog]

Don't look at me I was against giving Reilly the big money in the first place.


The opposite of 'love" is not "hate", it's "apathy". The boards seem to echo that. I think most of us are waiting for the playoffs and our annual disappointment.

At least this year if they exit quickly, Dubas will not be extended.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Win 9-0? I DON'T CARE
Lose 9-0? I DON'T CARE

Playoffs is all that matters guys, last year we set a team record with 115 points and they still couldn't win 4 games in April.
One of two things will happen, either they'll figure it out and win at least a round or they'll get eliminated in round 1 in which case there'll be serious changes.

Nobody in their right mind can think this core can win if they can't get out of the first bloody round again, that's literal insanity.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Well I guess all 20,00 of us in attendance last night who started boooing him watched a totally different game than you .. go to a game my friend .. his head was hanging every shift he came off ice .. he even knows he is not right yet .. he will get his lungs and legs back but they are not there yet

I've been to games, my friend, and it doesn't make you special or any more insightful. Rielly is still not quite back at mid-season form, but he had a decent game and was far, far, far from the issue, and none of the other stuff you said actually happened.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Didn't watch the game live but couldn't agree more.

Goaltending always gets blamed before Rielly. It's how it's always been. Rielly was utterly atrocious defensively last night.

Tender was terrible too TBH .. that 2nd goal was a house leaguer goal .. goals which AAA goalies get pulled for .. but we provided next to NO defensive support for him either .. too many defenders playing rover last night .. it was a pond hokey game played by us .. we can't win when 4 out of 6 defenders play like they did last night .. it will never ever work out good like that unless other team like in Avs game plays same way then you get lucky sometimes

 

[IPS]

I've been to games, my friend, and it doesn't make you special or any more insightful. Rielly is still not quite back at mid-season form, but he had a decent game and was far, far, far from the issue, and none of the other stuff you said actually happened.

"Had a decent game"

More proof you have no clue what you're watching.

 

[Dekes For Days]

"Had a decent game"
More proof you have no clue what you're watching.

No, it actually shows that I understand what I'm watching quite well. Pretty much everything out there supports my perception.
Not sure how anybody could justify blaming that game on Rielly.

 

[Racer88]

If Murray is who you believe is your #1, then allow him to establish himself as the true #1. That means playing him more. Sammy is better than a backup so you do not want him only playing in B2B games, but Murray needs to be the "guy". Perhaps the Leafs are afraid he will suffer an injury if he plays more ??

I can go along with that. We need to find out what we have in Murray, injury risk be dammed

 

[MSZ]

Apparently Dubas didn't watch this game either, he was at the Coyotes/Flyers game last night. Trades coming?

 

[Racer88]

Should have won that, but couldn't score when we were dominating, and then Murray completely imploded.

Lol @ people blaming Rielly.

At least Canada won.

I’m not even sure it has anything to do with Reilly but it happens in sports when a team has injured players the healthy ones rise to the occasion and play out of this world but crash back down to earth when the injured guys come back. Hopefully this phenomenon is short lived and the team gets back to the effort they produce during the injury period

 

[Twine Tickler]

Mo has not been great since he has come back. No question about it. But he's not the reason we've been losing games recently. People need to give their heads a shake if they think that.

Sheldon said it best in his post game availability. We had one of our better starts to a game this season, certainly in recent weeks. We failed to take advantage of that start, and we left the door open for Seattle to nudge their way into the game. We needed our players to take advantage of that great start, they didn't. We then needed Murray to make a timely save on the PK, and at 1-1 and 2-1. He as well did not show up in those moments.

If we take advantage of that hot start, we flip that game into cruise control, and lock it down. But because we didn't do that, we ended up getting over aggressive and started to trade chances. Which is not the game that makes us most succesful.

Anyone who knows anything about this game could tell you this was not a 60 minute beat down. There was a lot of good hockey from us in that first 25 mins. We deserved a better result out of that first 25 mins of play, and we crumbled over the reality that we were behind in the game. The game got away from us thereafter.

Mistakes like the 3rd goal only happen when you try too much and cheat the game. Again, this goal is not on Mo despite some of the opinions on here. Kampf is the one how needs to cover for Gio, and he let McCann get behind him.

I won't sit here and defend every bit of Mo's game. He is far from top form. But he's just too easy of a scape goat for this fanbase at times.

 

[thewave]

Mo has not been great since he has come back. No question about it. But he's not the reason we've been losing games recently. People need to give their heads a shake if they think that.

Sheldon said it best in his post game availability. We had one of our better starts to a game this season, certainly in recent weeks. We failed to take advantage of that start, and we left the door open for Seattle to nudge their way into the game. We needed our players to take advantage of that great start, they didn't. We then needed Murray to make a timely save on the PK, and at 1-1 and 2-1. He as well did not show up in those moments.

If we take advantage of that hot start, we flip that game into cruise control, and lock it down. But because we didn't do that, we ended up getting over aggressive and started to trade chances. Which is not the game that makes us most succesful.

Anyone who knows anything about this game could tell you this was not a 60 minute beat down. There was a lot of good hockey from us in that first 25 mins. We deserved a better result out of that first 25 mins of play, and we crumbled over the reality that we were behind in the game. The game got away from us thereafter.

Mistakes like the 3rd goal only happen when you try too much and cheat the game. Again, this goal is not on Mo despite some of the opinions on here. Kampf is the one how needs to cover for Gio, and he let McCann get behind him.

I won't sit here and defend every bit of Mo's game. He is far from top form. But he's just too easy of a scape goat for this fanbase at times.

In my opinion (not popular over the years). Mo has never been a very good defender at all outside of his offense. It all depends who his on the other side for him. He needs someone like Lilj is looking to become to offset his shortcomings.

 

[Americanadian]

I never agree with you but you're right. trading a good #2 for a UFA Cy Young candidate, would be a huge mistake.

Since when is scoring more goals than assists a detriment? He has more primary assists and total assists at 5 on 5 than the Leafs current 2C and is 4th in the league in 5 on 5 goals.

 

[ACC1224]

Well I guess all 20,00 of us in attendance last night who started boooing him watched a totally different game than you .. go to a game my friend .. his head was hanging every shift he came off ice .. he even knows he is not right yet .. he will get his lungs and legs back but they are not there yet

Watching a game doesn't necessarily mean you understand what you're seeing.

 

[thewave]

Another game of shinny on da pond that I watched from my seats last night .. that's 3 straight pond hockey games .. absolute sh*t show on defense .. Rielly not ready yet to come back with his conditioning .. Sandin taking way too many risks (like Rielly too) .. Gio again playing like he got da virus from 2 D who entered our healthy lineup .. but then Holl decides he is gonna sh*t da bed too .. 4 D men playing NO D .. impossible to WIN playing like that .. it is easy pickings on all our mistakes .. we got picked apart .. and tending was not da best but no tender was winning us that game .. we need to tighten up our play and get back to a D that plays D first and foremost .. otherwise losses will pile up

Isn't this just typical Leafs hockey at this point? Come out on fire like a comet and midway Dec start to sizzle out with an under-performing tandem of tenders?

 

[thewave]

Watching a game doesn't necessarily mean you understand what you're seeing.

They do understand the score though. I think most people recognize true compete level and going above and beyond. It's just like when a 4th liner single handedly hems a team in their own zone along the boards for 30 seconds. People cheer for that sort of thing or taking a hit to make and play, or making a hit to make a play.

 

[Twine Tickler]

In my opinion (not popular over the years). Mo has never been a very good defender at all outside of his offense. It all depends who his on the other side for him. He needs someone like Lilj is looking to become to offset his shortcomings.

He's not. He's never been overly responsible defensively. It's why we've insulated him with TJ in recent years.

What people forget is that he makes plays throughout the game that allow offense to materialize. Whether that's keeping a puck in at the blue line, using his legs to jump into the play, or making a strong first pass. Of course this also leaves him vulnerable to being out of position. Like most offensive defensemen.

I would like to see Mo take a less aggressive approach to his game in the years to come. His legs won't bail him out forever, and he's been showing signs of that the past couple seasons already. I think it will be about transitioning his game to something more sustainable. But he's still a very good hockey player.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Mistakes like the 3rd goal only happen when you try too much and cheat the game. Again, this goal is not on Mo despite some of the opinions on here. Kampf is the one how needs to cover for Gio, and he let McCann get behind him.

Yeah, I'm not sure how anybody could blame that goal on Rielly, when it wasn't Rielly that pinched, and it wasn't Rielly's man. And that was the only goal he was on the ice for, and he put up an 83% xGF% at 5v5. I guess Rielly's now the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong. At least Holl gets a break.

 

[Dekes For Days]

He has more primary assists and total assists at 5 on 5 than the Leafs current 2C and is 4th in the league in 5 on 5 goals.

He's also shown zero indication of being capable of sustaining anything close to what he's doing this year, he's not good defensively, and he's a pending UFA that's about to be overpaid for what he can consistently bring.

 

[fahad203]

AM goes MIA again, sit him if hes hurt FFS!~

WHEN is the last time they had a true#1 dman, a true #1 goalie and a real power forward who could actually play in his prime? Reilly can f off.

Belfour, Yuskevich and Robarts were the closest thing

 

[Twine Tickler]

Yeah, I'm not sure how anybody could blame that goal on Rielly, when it wasn't Rielly that pinched, and it wasn't Rielly's man. And that was the only goal he was on the ice for, and he put up an 83% xGF% at 5v5. I guess Rielly's now the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong. At least Holl gets a break.

the entire play is avoided if Kampf holds his position covering for Gio. For whatever reason he uncharacteristically gets puck watching and creeps back into the play. Gio pinching is exactly the play you want him to make. He won that pinch. We succeeded in the 1st period largely on pinches exactly like this by our D. We need our forwards to be more aware in those moments.

It's going to happen in games like this. Guys tend to cheat the game a bit more when they feel like they are battling from a deficit. I think it speaks volumes on the impact that 2nd goal against had on our team. Kampf is very rarely the guy who would cheat the game like that, but when every puck that gets thrown on your net is seemingly going in over the last couple games there will be a fundamental shift in the guys mindset to press for more offense. As in, we are going to need 6 to win tonight. When in reality, lets pretend Kampf has a bit more awareness on that play, and McCann doesn't blow the zone as a result. Maybe we go into that 2nd intermission down only 1 or 2. The game is in reach.

Bad goals like #2 on Murr are unfortunately going to happen from time to time. We just can't let it disrupt the structure like that. In fairness to the boys, it's been weeks of this off and on tending, so maybe it's starting to creep into their heads a bit.