Kessel, JvR, and Kulemin in Sochi

[Indicate]

Glad to see Kulemin, Kessel, JVR come back next week vs the ISLANDERS.

On a side note, Kulemin in 48 games has 8 goals on 54 shots, could help if he shot more

I don't mind Kuli not getting as much goals. He does a good job supporting as a grinder.

 

[Igy]

Honestly the only US player with jump today was Kessel. Obviously quieted down later in the game when it got out of hand, but had a strong start with some good puck possession and chances.

 

[ConnorTO]

didnt see much of the Kessel and JVR line today

 

[Trapper]

It looks like the Fins did .

Europeans have a different mentality when it comes to playing in the bronze medal game. I'm sure Canada would have gone through the motions as well. Look how much heat Kessrl took alone for failing to score against Canada in the game to go to the gold medal. Like it was all his fault yet Pavelski and Kesler will still be worth 3 1st rd draft picks and your best player. Even if the US had won bronze the other fanbases would still be saying who cares about the bronze.

 

[Daisy Jane]

didnt see much of the Kessel and JVR line today

Apparently, I heard they weren't on a line. Bylsma split them up? (I only watched the highlights).

Europeans have a different mentality when it comes to playing in the bronze medal game. I'm sure Canada would have gone through the motions as well. Look how much heat Kessrl took alone for failing to score against Canada in the game to go to the gold medal. Like it was all his fault yet Pavelski and Kesler will still be worth 3 1st rd draft picks and your best player. Even if the US had won bronze the other fanbases would still be saying who cares about the bronze.

I would like everyone to remember (if you are old enough) what happened after the Semi-final game against the Czech Republic. Canada and Finland came out to play the bronze medal game - and Canada lost. They were going through the motions, and just couldn't muster up any energy (I don't even remember what the score was).

We all know that in European countries - the Gold is their Stanley Cup - but I also think, medals of any colour is just as good [it will be sad for a bit, but they'll still come up to play]. Since here it's just about the Championship ( - and there's no other game afterwards), once you get eliminated from the championship game (or in this case the game that can get you to the championship game) - the level of play just becomes more of... "what's the point." (which shouldn't be the case - the point is: bronze medal).

I feel very bummed out for JVR and Kessel - and I like it how Kessel is the one getting all this flack. Sometimes it's not that "so and so didn't show up." - we have to give credit that the other team's defense was better.

 

[hotpaws]

Europeans have a different mentality when it comes to playing in the bronze medal game. I'm sure Canada would have gone through the motions as well. Look how much heat Kessrl took alone for failing to score against Canada in the game to go to the gold medal. Like it was all his fault yet Pavelski and Kesler will still be worth 3 1st rd draft picks and your best player. Even if the US had won bronze the other fan bases would still be saying who cares about the bronze.

The U.S. didn't show up today because it seems they're more interested in trying to prove their on the same level as us instead of representing their country to the best of their abilities . If these were the women i'm pretty sure they would have given a much better effort even though it was only for the bronze .

The only reason PK took any heat on these boards is because the other fan bases had enough with our over zealous support of anything to do with the Leafs .

 

[ULF_55]

We shouldn't be shocked.

Huge let down, and facing a really good goaltender and 2 quick goals.

Anyone notice how Quick was cheating so much?

 

[Ari91]

Kessel's performance against Boston last season is enough proof in my mind that the guy can step up and produce. Difference is that he had teammates on the Leafs that were willing to share the load. He had a coach that realized his game breaking ability and out-coached in order to give the most favourable match ups whenever possible. It's funny that Kessel isn't even considered the best winger on his team (that honour goes to Kane) yet people now want to act like the offense of the team starts and stops with Kessel. Hey, where was American hero Oshie the past two games?

US got away from the game today. The talent under performed but the coaching was simply not good.

 

[Mess]

I feel very bummed out for JVR and Kessel - and I like it how Kessel is the one getting all this flack. Sometimes it's not that "so and so didn't show up." - we have to give credit that the other team's defense was better.

The three teams with the best Defense in this event will be taking home medals.

"Defense wins Championships".

The high powered USA offense shutout 2X when it counted most, and our players among those that were a victim of their style of play.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Disappointed for our guys, but at least JVR avoided serious injury in that dangerous play. Scared the crap out of me for a minute.

 

[Trapper]

The U.S. didn't show up today because it seems they're more interested in trying to prove their on the same level as us instead of representing their country to the best of their abilities . If these were the women i'm pretty sure they would have given a much better effort even though it was only for the bronze .

The only reason PK took any heat on these boards is because the other fan bases had enough with our over zealous support of anything to do with the Leafs .

Pretty sure the other fan bases would still blame Kessel. If USA wins gold it's because Kessel was on a great team with Backes,Pavelski,Kane,Kesler etc. if the lose, it's Kessel's fault. Kinda like here where Clarkson is to blame for everything.

 

[Daisy Jane]

Kessel's performance against Boston last season is enough proof in my mind that the guy can step up and produce. Difference is that he had teammates on the Leafs that were willing to share the load. He had a coach that realized his game breaking ability and out-coached in order to give the most favourable match ups whenever possible. It's funny that Kessel isn't even considered the best winger on his team (that honour goes to Kane) yet people now want to act like the offense of the team starts and stops with Kessel. Hey, where was American hero Oshie the past two games?

US got away from the game today. The talent under performed but the coaching was simply not good.

I don't get why Bylsma would have split up Kessel/JVR I heard. that made no sense to me.

 

[Peasy]

I don't get why Bylsma would have split up Kessel/JVR I heard. that made no sense to me.

He ended up having Wheeler replace JVR lol.

 

[Mess]

I don't get why Bylsma would have split up Kessel/JVR I heard. that made no sense to me.

In this game JVR took a puck up high and then sat on the bench for a while missing shifts altogether.

They were also broken up later on because the coach wanted to try and find combos that could score goals. When you're being shutout in 2 straight games you can't blame a coach for trying something different.

 

[mikeo1]

Was Kane being double shifted or something? He was out there a lot, and his shifts seemed to be fairly long too.

 

[Ari91]

I don't get why Bylsma would have split up Kessel/JVR I heard. that made no sense to me.

Because that's Bylsma's idea of 'adjusting'. Just juggle the lines. It was US's strategy for zone entry that was flawed in their game against Canada. Canada knew what to expect and it put them a step ahead of the play. Kessel was easily the best offensive producer on the US team, why wouldn't you fight a bit harder to get some favourable match ups for him when you know your team is just 1 goal away from tying the game? With all of your other forwards being so underwhelming, you should know that in Canada's locker room, they're going to have Kessel's name written in capital letters and circled. Canada was obviously going to be paying special attention to him.

I didn't see much of the game today but I saw enough to know that the US weren't playing their style of play. Did they not trust their coach? Did they not care? Not that the Fins weren't good enough to win bronze, they certainly deserved it. But is 5-0 a realistic portrayal of the talent on both sides? Definitely not.

All in all, I'm disappointed that none of our Leafs could grab a medal but I'm incredibly relieved that they're all coming back to us healthy and able to play as soon as the NHL starts up again.

 

[Peasy]

Because that's Bylsma's idea of 'adjusting'. Just juggle the lines. It was US's strategy for zone entry that was flawed in their game against Canada. Canada knew what to expect and it put them a step ahead of the play. Kessel was easily the best offensive producer on the US team, why wouldn't you fight a bit harder to get some favourable match ups for him when you know your team is just 1 goal away from tying the game? With all of your other forwards being so underwhelming, you should know that in Canada's locker room, they're going to have Kessel's name written in capital letters and circled. Canada was obviously going to be paying special attention to him.

I didn't see much of the game today but I saw enough to know that the US weren't playing their style of play. Did they not trust their coach? Did they not care? Not that the Fins weren't good enough to win bronze, they certainly deserved it. But is 5-0 a realistic portrayal of the talent on both sides? Definitely not.

All in all, I'm disappointed that none of our Leafs could grab a medal but I'm incredibly relieved that they're all coming back to us healthy and able to play as soon as the NHL starts up again.

Finland scored 2 goals in 11 seconds and thats when it all went downhill.

 

[Pyrophorus]

I hope this isn't the beginning of a cold streak.

Maybe Randy can actually help here?

 

[Ari91]

Finland scored 2 goals in 11 seconds and thats when it all went downhill.

I'd say missing two penalty shots probably didn't set a good tone either.

For as well as they played against weaker competition, the US team simply didn't respond well to adversity. They have a lot of first timers on their team so maybe they'll be a bit more seasoned the next go around.

 

[likeabosski]

Ah well. At least Leo Komarov got a bronze medal. He deserved it. And he might be a Leaf next year.

 

[hotpaws]

Pretty sure the other fan bases would still blame Kessel. If USA wins gold it's because Kessel was on a great team with Backes,Pavelski,Kane,Kesler etc. if the lose, it's Kessel's fault. Kinda like here where Clarkson is to blame for everything.

Why would other fan bases feel the need to single out Kessel if some of our fans didn't feel the need to constantly run to the main boards to pimp him while crapping on the rest of the team ?

 

[Quares27]

Olympics went pretty well... JVR and Kessel did well, nobody got injured and a bunch of players from Eastern competitors got injured for a while - Tavares, Kopecky, Martin, Tyutin, Zuccarello, Barkov, Zetterberg.

 

[Pilky01]

In this game JVR took a puck up high and then sat on the bench for a while missing shifts altogether.

They were also broken up later on because the coach wanted to try and find combos that could score goals. When you're being shutout in 2 straight games you can't blame a coach for trying something different.

But JVR is fine? I know he played some shifts afterward, but not much in the second period.

Do we have confirmation he is fine?

As far as Kessel and JVR coming back, I think this works in our favour. They need to put that **** behind them. They will come back here and take out their frustrations on the rest of the NHL as Maple Leafs.

 

[TheProspector]

Of course Russia's disappointment was all Kulemin's fault, and USA's disappointment was all Phil Kessel. With a little left over for JVR.

Think about the 2006 Olmypics. The Cup was hoisted that very year by gold-medal winning Swedish & Leaf captain Mats Sundin.

We definitely should trade Phil Kessel for Olli Jokinen. And JVR for Korpikoski. Hell, the Penguins should swap Malkin on the top line for Jussi Jokinen, and Washington should trade Ovechkin for Komarov. At least those Finnish guys have won something (a bronze medal).

Back in reality, if this tournament were immediately replayed, no-one would end up in the same place.

 

[Marr]

But JVR is fine? I know he played some shifts afterward, but not much in the second period.

Do we have confirmation he is fine?

As far as Kessel and JVR coming back, I think this works in our favour. They need to put that **** behind them. They will come back here and take out their frustrations on the rest of the NHL as Maple Leafs.

Or they'll come back heartbroken and not care anymore about how they play. It's a situation where with two possible polar opposite scenarios. It's entirely possible that Kessel and JVR will need time to shake off the heavy losses or else they'll play like crap when the opposing team is up by a few goals. I'm hoping it's not the case, but I wouldn't doubt it either.