Post-Game Talk: Ladies and Gents- The Core of the Maple Leafs does it again. Leafs lose

[Stephen]

Florida’s core, with or without Maurice, have a willingness to play physical hockey. Berube faces a bigger challenge. Marner and Nylander, in particular, avoid physicality, and the entire Leafs core tends to skate away from scrums. Coaches are taught to develop a system around the team, not a team around a system. For years management has tried to pay the core top dollars but build the leadership and physicality from the depth players and money, its unconventional and it hasnt worked.

i dont think there is room for both Nylander and Marner.

Auston Matthews has always been the golden child and escapes a lot of the criticism but having been elevated contractually and symbolically a lot of your criticisms are applicable to him as well. With great power comes great responsibility etc.

It’s only one game on a weeknight early in the season but the Blues game was really a terrible game from the captain. Directly involved in 3 Blues goals, and was beat on low compete plays on 2 of them, having one of the worst efforts of his career in the new coaches rematch with his old team. Disappointing to say the least.

 

[Stephen]

Tavares on PP is a joke.

Tavares c cut and blind spam shot wide or into the goalies chest. Otherwise puck dying on his stick. Rinse and repeat.

 

[ULF_55]

I dont really care about wins and losses this early...all I gotta say is Knies is a problem for the NHL

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849620335898812516

Is it true he stood up and said, "Where's Bennett?"

 

[Antropovsky]

Mitch is not a big guy
He can't play the physical game

Bedard isnt big, and was just 18 years old but he stood up for himself last year when a player slashed him repeatedly up the ice. Its compete... its in some players blood, some way more than others. Sometimes it that compete boils over and a player take on a much bigger foe. Hell Kessel would get into it with opponents.

Bedard fight:


Marner... not an ounce of it. He watched Reilly get filled in vs Fla at the end of the game...and he tried to skate away from it but Tkachuk pushed him into it.

Last year vs Boston, he watched from 40 feet as his teammates were in a scrum outnumbered 6-4 and Marchand skated over to him (to which Marner squirmed like a child).

Weve got two videos of him pulling the chutenin playoff games.

 

[stickty111]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849828210994782280

He's so good and makes you respect him even after a bad play.
Yesterday he took ownership. There was also a game I think 2 years ago against the Habs. He failed to back check hard enough and cost a GA. What did he say after the game? My failed back check cost us the game. Thats a leader

 

[Antropovsky]

Auston Matthews has always been the golden child and escapes a lot of the criticism but having been elevated contractually and symbolically a lot of your criticisms are applicable to him as well. With great power comes great responsibility etc.

It’s only one game on a weeknight early in the season but the Blues game was really a terrible game from the captain. Directly involved in 3 Blues goals, and was beat on low compete plays on 2 of them, having one of the worst efforts of his career in the new coaches rematch with his old team. Disappointing to say the least.

Sure... but watch playoff replays back and Matthews is a force physically. He was voted for Lindsay over Mcdavid last year, won the Lindsay a couple seasons ago, was a finalist for the Selke just last year and put up 70 goals last season and it didnt matter who passed him the puck. I dont see a lazy player. I just dont think playing with Marner workd for him and history shows that (at least early on)

This is the 3rd consecutive year that Marner/Matthews struggled to produce together at the beginning of the year. Each time, to get them out of the funk, Nylander was put with Matthews and Tavares with Marner.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

It’s absolutely the players. In my humble opinion it’s a power struggle right now between the new Muskoka 5 and Berube

Absolutely correct. Time for Berube and Tre to trade a malcontent to send a message.

 

[GoonieFace]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849828210994782280

He's so good and makes you respect him even after a bad play.
Yesterday he took ownership. There was also a game I think 2 years ago against the Habs. He failed to back check hard enough and cost a GA. What did he say after the game? My failed back check cost us the game. Thats a leader

Marner also made a terrible play at the offensive blue line in that game, but it didn’t end up a goal, so nobody talks about it

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

I dont really care about wins and losses this early...all I gotta say is Knies is a problem for the NHL

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849620335898812516

They need to break up the core before another poor kid is led astray.

 

[Stephen]

Sure... but watch playoff replays back and Matthews is a force physically. He was voted for Lindsay over Mcdavid last year, won the Lindsay a couple seasons ago, was a finalist for the Selke just last year and put up 70 goals last season and it didnt matter who passed him the puck. I dont see a lazy player. I just dont think playing with Marner workd for him and history shows that (at least early on)

This is the 3rd consecutive year that Marner/Matthews struggled to produce together at the beginning of the year. Each time, to get them out of the funk, Nylander was put with Matthews and Tavares with Marner.

Matthews is an elite player who can play any way you want but I find there’s a lack of consistency in the physical, defensive and details impact you get from him game to game. Sometimes he’s a defensive beast. Sometimes he’s a faceoff specialist. Sometimes he’s a shot blocking machine. Sometimes he plays with bite and a relentless drive. But it’s never consistent and the quality of the 200 foot game can be obscured by his scoring as well.

When he’s getting beat up defensively and isn’t scoring and looking poor in the leadership department, we have problems. The Blues game was one of the worst in his career. The worst ever was probably Game 2 vs Florida when he and Marner basically choked away the series with their dumb zone exit attempts leading directly to Panthers goals in what should have been a 1-1 series tie.

 

[rumman]

Absolutely correct. Time for Berube and Tre to trade a malcontent to send a message.

 

[Da Mash]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849649450207052073

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849617204796424598

 

[WillyC]

Hopefully we’re not in the middle of a brutal losing streak… gotta win against Boston.

 

[Hellcat]

Matthews is an elite player who can play any way you want but I find there’s a lack of consistency in the physical, defensive and details impact you get from him game to game. Sometimes he’s a defensive beast. Sometimes he’s a faceoff specialist. Sometimes he’s a shot blocking machine. Sometimes he plays with bite and a relentless drive. But it’s never consistent and the quality of the 200 foot game can be obscured by his scoring as well.

When he’s getting beat up defensively and isn’t scoring and looking poor in the leadership department, we have problems. The Blues game was one of the worst in his career. The worst ever was probably Game 2 vs Florida when he and Marner basically choked away the series with their dumb zone exit attempts leading directly to Panthers goals in what should have been a 1-1 series tie.

IMO it's all mental ... if he wants to mope he mopes... if he wants to be elite no one can stop him.... same goes for Marner and Nylander.... moody beoytches ...

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849649450207052073

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849617204796424598

<Surprised Pikachu>

Just not good enough from the highest paid players.

 

[rumman]

IMO it's all mental ... if he wants to mope he mopes... if he wants to be elite no one can stop him.... same goes for Marner and Nylander.... moody beoytches ...

 

[Antropovsky]

Matthews is an elite player who can play any way you want but I find there’s a lack of consistency in the physical, defensive and details impact you get from him game to game. Sometimes he’s a defensive beast. Sometimes he’s a faceoff specialist. Sometimes he’s a shot blocking machine. Sometimes he plays with bite and a relentless drive. But it’s never consistent and the quality of the 200 foot game can be obscured by his scoring as well.

When he’s getting beat up defensively and isn’t scoring and looking poor in the leadership department, we have problems. The Blues game was one of the worst in his career. The worst ever was probably Game 2 vs Florida when he and Marner basically choked away the series with their dumb zone exit attempts leading directly to Panthers goals in what should have been a 1-1 series tie.

There will be lazy moments for all players. My point is that Matthews was voted as a Selke finalist just last year. Meaning hes a top 3 defensive player in the entire league. He is not a bad defensive player, and that didnt flip after 7 games of a new season. He isnt lazy either. Conpared to other stars, hes a very good defensive player.

The big problem is his line isnt producing goals, that is where hes lacking compares to other stars.

It might be a coincidence, but this is the third year in a row that he and Marners couldnt score 5v5. Yet they are still together.

 

[colchar]

Sweet Jebus people, 'compete' is verb not a noun.

 

[DarkKnight]

A friend asked what "hyperbole" means, I linked here. He said thanks.

 

[Mr_Fun]

Anyone who thinks they've already tuned the coach out doesn't understand sports very well.

In a couple weeks these past two games will be long forgotten.

Probably more projection than anything.

 

[Wrong Wilson]

Sweet Jebus people, 'compete' is verb not a noun.

Tell Berube

 

[ULF_55]

The 2nd game I have shut off the game in the 3rd period.
Need I say more

Surely, you felt it was a lost cause long before the 3rd. period?

 

[stickty111]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849902961197187365

Feels like something I heard Keefe say about process, and he was heavily criticized for it

 

[NinjaKick]

I see what you are doing. No we did not get goalied .ffs

nope. just giving a player on a different team a compliment. is that not allowed?

do I think Binnington had a good game? absolutely. do I think we did enough to win? absolutely not. our defensive breakdowns killed us.

"for f**k sake"... right back at you