Post-Game Talk: Leafs 2 Rangers 1

[Dekes For Days]

My response was to the excessive amount of people that put the Leafs into non-playoffs or the bubble as opposed to apparently they were always a great team in contention of the playoffs. Regardless, the Atlantic is always a very strong division.

Boston didn't sign Ullmark to a 4 year 20M contract to be a backup. He's their starter. Not sure why and how Rask is suddenly THE hope to turn around Bostons season. He's not. Swayman, the current backup, have been great as well. That's one heck of a strong stretch of an excuse for the Bruins. They are still good though and should be a tough team as they usually are, but come on... Rask? Tampa Bay lost their entire depth that made them scary. They are still good but just because they won the cup, it doesn't remove the fact that they lost a lot of players and certainly won't be able to play the system to be 10M over the cap again. I see that Montreal wasn't listed though in your list of teams... I'm pretty sure I kept reading about their amazing team this summer.

Lot's of hockey to go and things could go many different ways. Any team can go hot/cold and turn around their season. Right now, the Leafs are playing very good defensive hockey and it's ok to cheer for them. It's even ok to say they are better than you thought they were going to be instead of reverting into a ball of negativity with "What If" and "something something playoffs". It's almost like you want them to fail so badly.

This is our favorite global mod Mess doubling down on his "Leafs are a bubble team" claim.

However he's lying about what he (and most others) said preseason - that the Leafs were in danger of also being behind 5 or more teams in the "super tough" metro. AND, of course, that the Habs were also a real threat the Leafs playoffs chances. So his claim was never just about finishing 4th in the Atlantic, but truly a claim that the Leafs were a mediocre team in tough to finish in the top half of the standings.

Everybody remember.

Was going to reply, but these two excellent posts pretty much sum up everything.

 

[Kurtz]

couldn't agree more. NYI plays playoff hockey with playoff intensity every damn night. It's a very impressive brand of hockey.

Having to play them on the 2nd half of a B2B in their barn will be the biggest test of this early season IMO.

If I were Keefe, I wouldn't make the mistake of looking too far ahead again (see SJ, PITT B2B). Get the 2 pts on Saturday and make that the priority right now. You gotta go into NYI on a high and feeling good about yourself.

I have a feeling Keefe is going to give Woll the Pitt game, and I honestly think that would be a mistake. We really just need to focus on putting the best team forward on Saturday to keep this streak alive. Truth be told, we wont win any game against NYI if we are expecting our tendy to steal the game. We will have to be the better team. So if we end up losing and it's because of Woll, c'est la vie. It was bound to happen at some point. At least mentally this group would be able to come away with some positives and have the built in excuse of Woll costing them the W.

either way, its going to be a tough weekend. Hoping to walk away with at least 1 W.

Islanders are the oldest team in the league and are currently 5-6-2 on the season, dead last in their division. If they are doing this while really going 100% every night, they are in a lot of trouble.

 

[4thline]

The Leafs were the best team in the North division last year, that same division is running roughshod over the NHL right now. They were never a bubble team. Can injuries derails a season, sure but thats how it works for every team. You can't just assume the teams behind us win all their games.

Nah but Mess can hope.

 

[kb]

Please don’t insult the giraffe


I’ve got your back @Teeder Keon

Hahahaha. It's a festivus Giraffe!

 

[7even]

You have to look at the big picture.

Tampa Bay is a 2 X Stanley Cup champs and one of the best teams in the NHL. Boston Bruins have been Leafs nemesis for a long time and always playoff competitive and have finished ahead of the Leafs in the standing consistently year after year. When the dust settles on an 82 game season there are no guarantees these 2 teams wont again rise to the top of the standings like they do regularly and finish in front of the Leafs. TB currently sits 4 points behind the Leafs with 3 games in hand and Boston has played fewest games in the league and have 5 games in hand on Toronto.

So that brings the Leafs into a potential battle with the upstart Florida Panthers and Leafs battling for 3rd potentially in the Atlantic. If people haven't notice those Panthers currently sit at the top of the NHL standings. So by default then the team the finishes 4th in the Atlantic is by definition a bubble and wild card team. Those same people that see Toronto as a potential "bubble team also see Florida as one and at present they also appear to be exceeding early expectations.

Some fans appear to only see that prediction and a condition of slighting the Leafs or playing poorly, but its a testament more to the strength of the teams in their division the Atlantic.

There is still over 3/4 of the regular season to go, and is anyone with any certainty know Leafs will finish ahead of TB and Boston after just 18 games played? Remember Leafs have been very fortunate with health to date where TB is playing without one of the best players in the league in Kucherov and still holding pace with Leafs. Boston lost their goalie Rask who will not be back until early January and give the Bruins a strong 2nd half boost.

Boston has 5 games in hand and would have to win all 5 of them to pass Toronto. Tampa has 3 games in hand and would have to win all 3 or go 2-0-1 to pass. This hot streak is already doing a lot of work for us, our position is pretty advantageous.

I don't see Florida as a bubble team tbh. They're better than Boston and they've played Tampa extremely close both this year and last. Their offense is criminally underrated. If this is an "on" year for Bobrovsky, woe be to the rest of the conference.

I agree with your broad point that this has the makings of a very tight division. It would be foolish to go ahead and pencil them in up top during a November hot streak. Never get too high never get too low.

 

[Notsince67]

Most people don't understand the most predictive stat to winning in the NHL.
That is the winning trend of previous games.

For those of you who are in boycott mode until the leafs win in the playoffs and still claim they don't have a good team, here is some context to those games:

 

[Zybalto]

You have to look at the big picture.

Tampa Bay is a 2 X Stanley Cup champs and one of the best teams in the NHL. Boston Bruins have been Leafs nemesis for a long time and always playoff competitive and have finished ahead of the Leafs in the standing consistently year after year. When the dust settles on an 82 game season there are no guarantees these 2 teams wont again rise to the top of the standings like they do regularly and finish in front of the Leafs. TB currently sits 4 points behind the Leafs with 3 games in hand and Boston has played fewest games in the league and have 5 games in hand on Toronto.

So that brings the Leafs into a potential battle with the upstart Florida Panthers and Leafs battling for 3rd potentially in the Atlantic. If people haven't notice those Panthers currently sit at the top of the NHL standings. So by default then the team the finishes 4th in the Atlantic is by definition a bubble and wild card team. Those same people that see Toronto as a potential "bubble team also see Florida as one and at present they also appear to be exceeding early expectations.

Some fans appear to only see that prediction and a condition of slighting the Leafs or playing poorly, but its a testament more so the strength of the teams in their division the Atlantic.

There is still over 3/4 of the regular season to go, and is anyone with any certainty know Leafs will finish ahead of TB and Boston after just 18 games played? Remember Leafs have been very fortunate with health to date where TB is playing without one of the best players in the league in Kucherov and still holding pace with Leafs. Boston lost their goalie Rask who will not be back until early January and give the Bruins a strong 2nd half boost.

I agree only 18 games have been played and we shouldn't be expressing anything with extreme certainty at the moment. I'm sure you called out anyone judging the team after 6 games in the same measured way. I tended to mostly stay away from the extreme toxicity of the delusional threads going on around then as they were basically equivalent to arguing Buffalo was going to be a 120+ point team and made a fool of most involved but I'm sure you were on board after only a few games in the same way you are looking at the big picture now right? We certainly needed more voices to calm folks down during that time and the few posts I made ran along the lines you are saying right now.

The team is on a 114 point pace right now and has won 10 of 11 games, is top 5 in the NHL for points since the start of the 2017 season and actually has more to give offensively when their shooting% normalizes. We all know Atlantic is the best division in hockey (and the Leafs have put up those points in the best division in hockey the whole time)but I just want to confirm that you want to go on record as saying that even if the Leafs finish 4th in the division with 114 points (which is actually possible looking at how good those 4 teams are), you would still call them a bubble team. That doesnt seem very measured (especially as they are 2-0 vs the other 3 teams so far) but I'm sure you have a reason why you would want to use wordplay here.

It's also kind of you to point out other teams key injury struggles to support your arguments and I'm sure you're hoping the Leafs don't suffer the same level of catastrophic injury they faced in last year's playoffs, the worst rash of playoff injuries of any playoff team in recent memory. Tavares brutal injury, Matthews wrist, Foligno rendered useless with a freak injury, Muzzin going down again. The way you put emphasis on that for other teams lends me to believe you must really have defended the Leafs on this point and I just havnt seen it but I'm sure it's out there right?

 

[Enniskillen]

Preds and Rags are good teams, so it feels good to beat them.

 

[Confucius]

Never get too high never get too low.

But the biggest roller coasters are the most fun. Merry-go-rounds are for people looking for an even keeled ride.

 

[Apex Predator]

I agree only 18 games have been played and we shouldn't be expressing anything with extreme certainty at the moment. I'm sure you called out anyone judging the team after 6 games in the same measured way. I tended to mostly stay away from the extreme toxicity of the delusional threads going on around then as they were basically equivalent to arguing Buffalo was going to be a 120+ point team and made a fool of most involved but I'm sure you were on board after only a few games in the same way you are looking at the big picture now right? We certainly needed more voices to calm folks down during that time and the few posts I made ran along the lines you are saying right now.

The team is on a 114 point pace right now and has won 10 of 11 games, is top 5 in the NHL for points since the start of the 2017 season and actually has more to give offensively when their shooting% normalizes. We all know Atlantic is the best division in hockey (and the Leafs have put up those points in the best division in hockey the whole time)but I just want to confirm that you want to go on record as saying that even if the Leafs finish 4th in the division with 114 points (which is actually possible looking at how good those 4 teams are), you would still call them a bubble team. That doesnt seem very measured (especially as they are 2-0 vs the other 3 teams so far) but I'm sure you have a reason why you would want to use wordplay here.

It's also kind of you to point out other teams key injury struggles to support your arguments and I'm sure you're hoping the Leafs don't suffer the same level of catastrophic injury they faced in last year's playoffs, the worst rash of playoff injuries of any playoff team in recent memory. Tavares brutal injury, Matthews wrist, Foligno rendered useless with a freak injury, Muzzin going down again. The way you put emphasis on that for other teams lends me to believe you must really have defended the Leafs on this point and I just havnt seen it but I'm sure it's out there right?

I like your post and I’ll own that I have been wrong about how I thought the Leafs would be. I see where Mess is coming from and I’m still a bit pessimistic.

I don’t mean to come off negative I’m just trying to tamper my expectation as I would be really annoyed with another 1st round lose. It’s early and everything is still tight but happy to see the leafs banking those points and playing some playoff hockey! Hope this will translate to post season success.

If I have offended anyone with some of my negative posts the last few weeks I’m sorry! I’m enjoying this run! Please don’t burn me again Leafs!

 

[Mess]

This is how I feel. You summed it up way better than I ever could!

The Leafs moving back into the Atlantic and against much better QofC and as a result will be in a season long battle for positioning. Whoever finishes 4th in the Atlantic will be declared the official "bubble team". Still way too early to be declaring winners and losers after we haven't reached the quarter mark.

Jack Campbell has been playing outstanding hockey lately, its the main reason the Leafs are winning and why he stands atop the goalie stats in sv% and GAA. However we also know Campbell has never started more than 25 games in a season and has his own durability and injury history and Leafs didn't sign Mrazek at $3.5 mil X 2 years to play 10-12 games a year.

Right now Leafs are getting the bounces and the goaltending and putting early points in the bank which is great.. There will also come a time when they might be ravished by Covid or have injury concerns like other teams are currently facing adversity and then we will have to see how that plays out.. Leafs have played 12 of their first 18 games at home also, which is playing an early part in the standings as its always an advantage for home teams.

PS. We all know it really doesn't matter if the Leafs finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th in the Div in the regular season, its all going to come down to being able to win a playoff round so as long as they make the playoffs that is really all that matters here. IMO

 

[Confucius]

I agree only 18 games have been played and we shouldn't be expressing anything with extreme certainty at the moment.

Yet 16 wins, nets you a Cup and fans proclaim "we are #1"

 

[Confucius]

duplicate

 

[Martin Skoula]

Islanders are the oldest team in the league and are currently 5-6-2 on the season, dead last in their division. If they are doing this while really going 100% every night, they are in a lot of trouble.

Who cares about advanced stats like their record, they play the Right Way ©.

 

[ACC1224]

Islanders are the oldest team in the league and are currently 5-6-2 on the season, dead last in their division. If they are doing this while really going 100% every night, they are in a lot of trouble.

What's their home record vs away? I believe they are undefeated at home.

 

[zeke]

It's also kind of you to point out other teams key injury struggles to support your arguments and I'm sure you're hoping the Leafs don't suffer the same level of catastrophic injury they faced in last year's playoffs, the worst rash of playoff injuries of any playoff team in recent memory. Tavares brutal injury, Matthews wrist, Foligno rendered useless with a freak injury, Muzzin going down again. The way you put emphasis on that for other teams lends me to believe you must really have defended the Leafs on this point and I just havnt seen it but I'm sure it's out there right?

Not to mention that the Leafs have had to deal with injuries to Matthews, Tavares. Mrazek, and Mikheyev already this year.

 

[Dekes For Days]

What's their home record vs away?

They haven't won a single game at home.

 

[zeke]

.

Right now Leafs are getting the bounces

The Leafs have the 29th ranked shooting percentage in the league. This from a team that is perennially top-3 in shooting percentage.

They certainly aren't getting the bounces this year so far.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Islanders are the oldest team in the league and are currently 5-6-2 on the season, dead last in their division. If they are doing this while really going 100% every night, they are in a lot of trouble.

They've also spent their entire season on the road and are playing their first home game in a new barn tmw.

If you want to underestimate them, fill your boots. I won't

 

[Notsince67]

They've also spent their entire season on the road and are playing their first home game in a new barn tmw.

If you want to underestimate them, fill your boots. I won't

The only team I'm gonna talk shit about is Edmonton on December 14th.
Why?...it would devastate them if they believe they still can't beat the Leafs. NYI have a lot of pride and a great coach. Not a team to take for granted.

 

[Cecithepylon]

I think Keefe is a good coach I’ll say it

 

[Brobust]

I think Keefe is a good coach I’ll say it

The transformation of an awful defensive team into one that is now a borderline top 10 defensive team is quite the accomplishment.

And he's generally accomplished the feat without turning the offence into a joke.

 

[7even]

But the biggest roller coasters are the most fun. Merry-go-rounds are for people looking for an even keeled ride.

I'm putting this on my tinder bio.

 

[kb]

Most people don't understand the most predictive stat to winning in the NHL.
That is the winning trend of previous games.

For those of you who are in boycott mode until the leafs win in the playoffs and still claim they don't have a good team, here is some context to those games:

Yeah, I feel more comfortable this year more than any other.

 

[zeke]

borderline top 10 defensive team .

7th last year
3rd this year