Post-Game Talk: Leafs Beat Panthers and Clinch a Playoff Spot 3-2

[mclaren55]

Great game to watch. My wife started talking over it and asked me to lower the volume, I said "Shut up" and she actually did and laughed. She didn't even bring it up later. I need more important games like this in my life, go deep this playoffs boys!

 

[weems]

Just a casual 13 - 5 in the faceoff circle for Tavares.
I've been critical of him at certain points but he's really playing some great hockey right now.
Our best players showed up and carried us to this win and this will have to happen consistently in the playoffs.

Also it's pretty cool to see how big of a Leafs fan Biz is

 

[Evilhomer]

Toronto lost the season series, will likely lose this series to and that will spell the end of shanahan the con artist

Oh look, another Leafs fan.

 

[Evilhomer]

Over the years this idea has been peddled as an excuse for winning teams failing to reach the same level in a subsequent season and it’s complete crap.

Repeating as cup champions is incredibly difficult because it’s a 30+ team league, there are lots of good teams and because you need a lot of things to break your way to have ultimate success.

This idea that physical fatigue carries over from one season to another through months of offseason time is utterly bogus and only brought up seemingly when talking about SCF winners/finalists who frankly don’t really play much more hockey than the other final 4 teams that nobody talks about the same way. The wear on bodies via injury doesn’t really matter either because injuries are not unique to or necessarily even most prominent for teams that go on deep runs.

I agree with this. Florida won't reach the final this season not because of the number of games they have played in the past two seasons, but because it takes a tremendous amount of good fortune to get that far and it's extremely difficult to replicate it three years in a row, especially when other teams have improved.

 

[Brad C]

I have a long memory. Him doing nothing after Kaberle (one of my favorite Leafs ever) got wall papered pissed me off. I just think the guy is full of himself.

What happen?

 

[Evilhomer]

Novice hockey fans and casual observers of the game don’t realize how much more physical and intense the playoffs are compared to the regular season. So it’s not surprising that you can’t comprehend the physical toll that two months of playoff hockey takes.

When Florida gets “upset” this year in the playoffs and everyone is using their injuries as an excuse, you can refer back to this post.

At the same time, a lot more goes into winning than just physical health. Sometimes, other teams improve. That's all that has happened here.

 

[stats1]

Great game to watch. My wife started talking over it and asked me to lower the volume, I said "Shut up" and she actually did and laughed. She didn't even bring it up later. I need more important games like this in my life, go deep this playoffs boys!

Funny how it’s “turn it down” when all they have to do is go to another section of the house for a few hours. Work all day, and still can’t get a couple of hours of peace. lol

 

[stats1]

Nice to be clinched, in a meaningful game for 1st place. Stolarz was excellent aside from the first goal, but it was a zinger. He made game saving saves in the third.

Can someone show Laughton some film. If not of him playing well, but then of Travis Green, Peter Zezel, I’ll even take Mike Krushelnyski or Gary Valk right now. We don’t need a superstar just a solid third line

I’m kind of on the fence on the goal. On one point nobody was blocking his view and he looked small in net when he went down but then it’s like the dude clapped it just outside the dots at 95 mph lol it was a bullet

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

What happen?

POS Cam Janssen elbowed him in the head and he became tentative and never the same after that.

 

[LeafSteel]

Great game to watch. My wife started talking over it and asked me to lower the volume, I said "Shut up" and she actually did and laughed. She didn't even bring it up later. I need more important games like this in my life, go deep this playoffs boys!

Do not be lulled and stay on your guard.

You will pay for it later in ways you have yet to imagine.

Ensure your affairs are in order and that you have access to an emergency stash of cash.

Be afraid. Be very afraid……

 

[Brad C]

POS Cam Janssen elbowed him in the head and he became tentative and never the same after that.

Yes ,but what does that have to do with Jake and last night's game

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Yes ,but what does that have to do with Jake and last night's game

I thought you were asking about Kaberle, sorry. No idea what happened to McCabe, I predictably fell asleep during the game.

 

[Warden of the North]

My hate just grows for the Panthers. Want nothing to do with them in round 1,

Yes. Let them and Tampa slug it out in round one please.

 

[1specter]

If not for the Holmberg brain fart, we wouldn't be talking about how close the game was and could easily have cruised to victory at the end.

We can't afford to be taking careless penalties like that at such inopportune times.

Felt like a soft call tbh. We got interfered with all game long and that Caillou with a beard looking mother f***er Bennett even ran a dirty slewfoot on Tavares late in the game which there was no discipline for. It's bullshit that the Leafs have to be squeaky clean meanwhile the opponent can take as many liberties as they like.

 

[Niagara Bill]

I agree with this. Florida won't reach the final this season not because of the number of games they have played in the past two seasons, but because it takes a tremendous amount of good fortune to get that far and it's extremely difficult to replicate it three years in a row, especially when other teams have improved.

Panthers have improved as well.

 

[Sypher04]

Novice hockey fans and casual observers of the game don’t realize how much more physical and intense the playoffs are compared to the regular season. So it’s not surprising that you can’t comprehend the physical toll that two months of playoff hockey takes.

When Florida gets “upset” this year in the playoffs and everyone is using their injuries as an excuse, you can refer back to this post.

I’m neither a novice or casual observer. I know exactly how much more physical and intense it is vs regular season. I didn’t say 2 months of playoff hockey doesn’t take a toll, I’m saying the physical fatigue from it doesn’t carry over through months of offseason into the following season. It’s a fallacy.

I’m also saying that it’s seemingly only Stanley cup finals teams that get these excuses made, and if you actually look at it, they often don’t play many more games than the other teams nobody makes these same claims about. A 3rd round finish vs a Stanley cup finish doesn’t equal meaningful difference in number of games played.

And again, injuries happen to all teams, some considerably worse than the teams that make the cup finals.

For example, Dallas, across the last two years combined has only played 7 less playoff games than Florida has and quite literally no one makes the same excuses for them.

 

[Evilhomer]

Panthers have improved as well.

I don't think they have. Their defense is not nearly as good as it was last season, even with Ekblad and Kulikov back, and now that Reinhart and Verhaege have come back down off career years, the team struggles to produce consistent offense. They are going to lose in the playoffs because of those offensive struggles.

 

[Torontonian]

Liked the win, but that's a playoff Florida team that's going to be extremely tough to beat 4x in 7 games...They were without their 1C/1RW/1D. Toronto is going to need to clean up and change their play if they want to beat them come playoff time.

A lot of breakdowns in the 3rd period when having a lead. Toronto had a lot of careless mistakes that led to chances against. Far too many grade A chances for them when you're trying to shut the game down. (Who exactly is our "shutdown line"?)

Panthers forecheck and ability to win pucks battles along the boards and behind the net is going to be hard to play against, they cause you to turn the puck over and go low to high for shots & deflections.

 

[HEAVY DUTY]

Good win. If the team gives this type of effort every game in the playoffs, we should have no problem going deep.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I’m not worried about Florida in the playoffs and I’d welcome a Leafs/Panthers match up in the conference finals.

Repeating as Cup champion is incredibly difficult - - even more so than winning it the first time - - because of the physical toll that it takes.

Not only did Florida win it in 2024, they were finalists in 2023. Three years in a row of being in the Cup finals? That’s not happening because Florida just isn’t physically capable of another championship run.

They don't need to win the cup or even get to the finals to beat the Leafs, just win 2 rounds.

 

[Al14]

Felt like a soft call tbh. We got interfered with all game long and that Caillou with a beard looking mother f***er Bennett even ran a dirty slewfoot on Tavares late in the game which there was no discipline for. It's bullshit that the Leafs have to be squeaky clean meanwhile the opponent can take as many liberties as they like.

Exactly, and it's complete BULLSHIT that Shanahan stays silent and doesn't bring this to the attention of the NHL, and especially, to the media !!! His silence means approval to me !!!

 

[v00d00daddy]

Liked the win, but that's a playoff Florida team that's going to be extremely tough to beat 4x in 7 games...They were without their 1C/1RW/1D. Toronto is going to need to clean up and change their play if they want to beat them come playoff time.

A lot of breakdowns in the 3rd period when having a lead. Toronto had a lot of careless mistakes that led to chances against. Far too many grade A chances for them when you're trying to shut the game down. (Who exactly is our "shutdown line"?)

Panthers forecheck and ability to win pucks battles along the boards and behind the net is going to be hard to play against, they cause you to turn the puck over and go low to high for shots & deflections.

I agree about the panthers missing some key players last night but they also had their goalie stand on his head. Sure he can do that in the playoffs again but that’s a lot of pressure on the panthers.

As for the other 2 paragraphs you said…flip the team names and it would be exactly what panthers fans would have to say. The leafs go ahead goal wasn’t a rush goal. It was outworking the panthers on the boards and behind the goal line causing a panthers turnover and the leafs cashing in a on a chance.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Just a casual 13 - 5 in the faceoff circle for Tavares.
I've been critical of him at certain points but he's really playing some great hockey right now.
Our best players showed up and carried us to this win and this will have to happen consistently in the playoffs.

Also it's pretty cool to see how big of a Leafs fan Biz is

Johnny is arguably playing the best hockey of his career this past month or so. Which is wild to think at 34 years old.

At the end of the day, Johnny has given us everything he has over the last 7 years. Really happy to see him get rewarded. Hopefully he can sign a sweetheart deal with us next year and continue this run of good play

 

[ACC1224]

Great effort all around last night in a playoff type game with a playoff type atmosphere.

Glad I made the trek down on such a shitty day.

 

[Fogelhund]

A good win, is a good win.

Holmberg and that brain dead penalty made it nerve wracking at the end, but they held on.