GDT: Leafs at Stars-- Thursday 4/7/22

[zeke]

So what you're saying is on paper he's our new Cody Ceci right? Sound's good!!

Cody was more comparable to Boosh.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Yeah Brodie-Holl was the main shutdown pairing the last few weeks before Muzz came back. They were very good.

Fully healthy defence core, what do your Game 1 Round 1 pairings look like?

 

[zeke]

Fully healthy defence core, what do your Game 1 Round 1 pairings look like?

I liked last game's pairings but I'm willing to see some experimenting.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

I liked last game's pairings but I'm willing to see some experimenting.

You would have Boosh out? I thought he was sorely missed.

 

[therealkoho]

Leafs are 7-0-1 vs teams like Tampa, Florida, Carolina, Boston in their last 8 games, they are coming from sandy sunny FLA, hot hot hot Texas country women , soooooo many distractions... ... I can guaranteed you that I cannot predict the future usually i can read teams, this years Leafs, when I think they are gonna choke they man up and kick ass, when I think they are goign to dominate they choke... I think they are goign to dominate tonight .. so that would mean they are going to choke

7-0-1 wow fantastic great record

Oh btw, just wondering is that Holl's fault too, anybody?

 

[LeafsFan89]

You would have Boosh out? I thought he was sorely missed.

He was. Has been better than expected. Zeke is just anti-boosh. Probably because he doesn't fit his descriptive statistics narrative.

 

[Apotheosis]

Boosh may not have the greatest ADV stats but his mere presence makes people play differently, to a lesser extent, Blackwell as well.

 

[therealkoho]

This better be one game. If Holl fails here, he should be out. If not, than Keefe's fascination with him is on the same level as Babcock's was with Hyman.

Gee and look how that turned out

 

[zeke]

You would have Boosh out? I thought he was sorely missed.

Yeah Boosh is the most limited of all our dmen imo. He's not useless but he's not one of our top 6 D.

I like him better tham Bogo at least.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Gee and look how that turned out

For Hyman more than for us. He was dragging the top line down in the playoffs, IMO. Defenders were sagging off him and checking MAtthews/Marner. I am hoping with Bunting up there, that defenders won't sag off him as much as they did with Hyman.

 

[AuraSphere]

He was. Has been better than expected. Zeke is just anti-boosh. Probably because he doesn't fit his descriptive statistics narrative.

I kinda agree with him though to be honest. It's not a slouch on Lybush - he's an NHL dman, but who else would you sit out? Holl? Liljegren?

The thing is, Boosh needs a mobile d-man to play alongside and the only mobile D we have on the left side is Rielly. You're forcing our top pairing to be weaker by playing him with Rielly. As good as boosh has been, he's not a top pairing d-man.

It's also hard to play him with Muzzin/Gio for the reasons talked about. If Muzzin gets injured again come playoffs and Sandin slots in - then I 100% agree I'd rather Sandin - Lybushkin rather than Sandin - Holl/Liljegren.

Come playoffs this should be the line-up:

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl/Lybush
Gio - Liljegren

 

[therealkoho]

Have we ever seen Brodie-Holl? I feel like that might be a sensible pairing. They would be good a breaking out and neither shy away from being hit against aggressive forechecks.

I guess it's not really possible with Muzz coming back on the left side.

Pretty sure they were paired against Boston and TBay

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

For Hyman more than for us. He was dragging the top line down in the playoffs, IMO. Defenders were sagging off him and checking MAtthews/Marner. I am hoping with Bunting up there, that defenders won't sag off him as much as they did with Hyman.

If nothing less, Bunting will have them pissed off and for that reason alone they won't want to leave him alone.

 

[crump]

We need Lyabuskin in there. Our need was obvious from last year, more physicality and both him and Giordano bring that to the D. A healthy Muzzin will round it out. It’s between Holl and Liljegren. For the last spot, Holl is taller but Lily is sturdy and starting to use it. Even Sandin is tougher than Holl. Holl is good for spurts but I think he gets fatigued then makes dumb plays. In the end it’s a better choice than Marincin from years past. So I like our D depth, with Sandin starting to skate too.

 

[therealkoho]

To me, you need guys like Boosh and Muzz in there come playoff time. Assuming of course Muzz is back to.himself.

They do need crease cleaners and while Lube engages on a fairly regular basis, Muzzin hasn't been that guy in a while. Gio gets involved, but that's about it among the Dmen. This is what Dubas hockey is, I think they need to change it to at least 10 guys on the team that play with physicality, as it stands there's really only 6 who play that way now and two of them are regular scratches.

 

[saltming]

People under estimate how much Keefe loves Holl

I don't think we underestimated it, but one can hope

 

[Leafsfan74]

Boosh may not have the greatest ADV stats but his mere presence makes people play differently, to a lesser extent, Blackwell as well.

Muzzin in his first game back lead the Leafs with seven hits. You put Lybushkin in and you have another 5+ hits. That type of banging is going to pay dividends in a series on top of them moving bodies from the crease. Then the other players get in the action as they see that heavy checks are normalized.

IMO both The Bear and Muzzin are critical types to have in the playoffs. Absolutely critical. I don't even want to see the advanced stats come post season, only one stat matters...Wins. By any means.

I want to trust Keefe, I've respected his decisions and he knows the team in ways we don't. The one disagreement I had with him was in the playofrs last year when he put in Sandin over Dermott after they shut out the Habs.

His D is tougher now, let no fan be enamoured with too much flash on the backend when the game gets in the trenches. Playoff winners almost always have guys who are bruised up and who are laying bruises on others.
No dirty stuff or stick work, just hard, willing combatants who hate to lose.

 

[Leafsfan74]

I don't think we underestimated it, but one can hope

This lineup looks strong and I like it (would like to see Clifford on the wing but I am splitting hairs).

Sorry folks. I really like Lilly, he and Sandin will play key roles in this teams future but playoffs will be a mans game. Five years of this core losing? They need all the tough players they can muster.

Please, think back to the types that run us over in the playoffs.

 

[therealkoho]

I kinda agree with him though to be honest. It's not a slouch on Lybush - he's an NHL dman, but who else would you sit out? Holl? Liljegren?

The thing is, Boosh needs a mobile d-man to play alongside and the only mobile D we have on the left side is Rielly. You're forcing our top pairing to be weaker by playing him with Rielly. As good as boosh has been, he's not a top pairing d-man.

It's also hard to play him with Muzzin/Gio for the reasons talked about. If Muzzin gets injured again come playoffs and Sandin slots in - then I 100% agree I'd rather Sandin - Lybushkin rather than Sandin - Holl/Liljegren.

Come playoffs this should be the line-up:

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl/Lybush
Gio - Liljegren

For me, if Muzz can't turn it around, tbh sadly I think his tank is empty

Gio Lilj
Morgs Lube
Brodie Holl
Sandin

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Muzzin in his first game back lead the Leafs with seven hits. You put Lybushkin in and you have another 5+ hits. That type of banging is going to pay dividends in a series on top of them moving bodies from the crease. Then the other players get in the action as they see that heavy checks are normalized.

IMO both The Bear and Muzzin are critical types to have in the playoffs. Absolutely critical. I don't even want to see the advanced stats come post season, only one stat matters...Wins. By any means.

I want to trust Keefe, I've respected his decisions and he knows the team in ways we don't. The one disagreement I had with him was in the playofrs last year when he put in Sandin over Dermott after they shut out the Habs.

His D is tougher now, let no fan be enamoured with too much flash on the backend when the game gets in the trenches. Playoff winners almost always have guys who are bruised up and who are laying bruises on others.
No dirty stuff or stick work, just hard, willing combatants who hate to lose.

So you want wins and mentioned hits as an indicator of what you need, yet Muzzin had 7 hits and was on the ice for 5 goals against last game lol More hits means you don't have the puck as often.

Get the puck. I don't care if you have 0 hits if you don't get scored on.

 

[saltming]

I'm fine with Lilly sitting tonight IF it means we're going to regularly rotate. However if he sits Saturday as well, we riot.

Muzzin, Holl, Boosh and Lilly can all rotate. Rielly, Brodie and Gio should be the only ones safe from being scratched*

*in my world Lilly would also be safe but c'est la vie. And I fear Muzzin will be safe no matter how poorly he plays unfortunately

Muzzin needs some games to get his legs back. 5-8 games we should be able to better judge where he's headed, to 4 or tire fire

 

[saltming]

This lineup looks strong and I like it (would like to see Clifford on the wing but I am splitting hairs).

Sorry folks. I really like Lilly, he and Sandin will play key roles in this teams future but playoffs will be a mans game. Five years of this core losing? They need all the tough players they can muster.

Please, think back to the types that run us over in the playoffs.

I am all for toughness but to be fair Lilly is tougher that Holl and way better at moving the puck

 

[ULF_55]

Giordano's adrenaline rush is over.

Still fine, but he is old.

 

[Leafsfan74]

So you want wins and mentioned hits as an indicator of what you need, yet Muzzin had 7 hits and was on the ice for 5 goals against last game lol More hits means you don't have the puck as often.

Get the puck. I don't care if you have 0 hits if you don't get scored on.

Yes, he and Holl weren't great on the PK, but look.at the game he came back to? The toughest team to slow down.

Even with all that, on the road in back to backs, the Leafs needed a bad goal from their AHL backup and an OT to lose.

As long as Keefe ices the meanest defense come playoffs, I will havr much more faith than in years past.

I'd be willing to bet that the Leafs don't blow a 5-1 lead on regular rest and Campbell the starter against these same Panthers come playoffs. Especially when Muzzin is back and on his game.

Keefe gets it. He's not interested in soft game approaches as some believe.

 

[therealkoho]

So you want wins and mentioned hits as an indicator of what you need, yet Muzzin had 7 hits and was on the ice for 5 goals against last game lol More hits means you don't have the puck as often.

Get the puck. I don't care if you have 0 hits if you don't get scored on.

7 hits I saw that, who was he hitting exactly considering the 5ga's