Post-Game Talk: Leafs begin season with a WIN. 6-5 in the shootout

[DarkKnight]

Minten 60 percent on the draw, not sure why people are already writing him off.

 

[thewave]

Lol - pretty much what I expected.

Poor first period. No legs, bad ice and rust.
Then dominated 90% of the game. Mistakes just went in. Cream rises to the top.

Good:
Matthews release - looks healthy
4th line was great
More physical team didn’t back down
Willy looks elite
Klingberg looked good on the PP
Domi

Concerns:
Lines 2/3 lacked chemistry
Bertuzzi is not a match on the top line either.
Klingberg/Brodie/Gio/Lily all had rough nights in the d zone.
Break outs in general were poor
Sammy looks out of shape and was swimming in crease even when they didn’t score

Outside the game winner MM was a hot mess. You should probably add that in for accuracy. Bertuzzi was looking pretty good

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Concerns:
Lines 2/3 lacked chemistry
Bertuzzi is not a match on the top line either.
Klingberg/Brodie/Gio/Lily all had rough nights in the d zone.
Break outs in general were poor
Sammy looks out of shape and was swimming in crease even when they didn’t score

I think we see Domi there before long

 

[Kiwi]

Looks like hockey…

https://x.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1712275548653621412?s=20

Good to see Matthew's jumping in and getting involved

He doesn't need to fight but a willingness to get his nose dirty won't hurt

 

[PromisedLand]

I really really really really really wanna go to the scabs board and post this

 

[Stephen]

Well if Matthews is back to his 2022 self and the Habs are still tanking like it’s 2023, who am to complain?

 

[leafers]

Never in doubt.
Easy.

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

I don't know what you guys are smoking but Bertuzzi looked GREAT tonight. A little unlucky, but I love the tenacity and I especially love those bombs he threw after he poked at Allen's pads. We need more 'bastards' to quote Jose Mourinho.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Let's not overreact to one game but there is alot to like and plenty to be concerned about. Matthews put the team on his back. Great games by Nylander, Marner, Klingberg, and Tavares. Klingberg displayed the best of his abilities and little of his liabilities. I expect the two youngsters to have a better game but they weren't terrible. Liljgren was good despite his one major gaffe.

Defence is going to be a huge problem if Brodie, McCabe, and Giordano play like this. Brodie in particular was either unlucky or gawd-awful. Domi completely invisible and quite a few defensive mistakes, one leading to a goal. Samsonov had a few tough goals scored on him but he's got to make some saves on those giveaways. If every mistake ends up in the net we're in trouble.

All in all, I'll take the two points with the hope that it was the first game and alot went wrong that on most nights wouldn't. But if I'm Treliving, I'm scouring the league for defensive help.

 

[horner]

Minten 60 percent on the draw, not sure why people are already writing him off.

His 1st game not to bad

 

[MarMarSab3]

Marner was completely unnoticeable tonight, puck died on his stick. Very disengaged

 

[Cleetus]

Hyman and Mo in a pepsi zero commercial, wow 3 of my favourite things in 1 commercial! thats awesome!

 

[MSZ]

Joe Bowen:

 

[TheDoldrums]

I mean our whole free agency was adding terrible defensive players so hope this is just growing pains in the first game and not an omen for a different type of Leafs team. Because it was nice being structured.

W is a W tho, boys got it done!

 

[WillyC]

Coming back from 2-0 and 5-3 with Matthews scoring 2 goals in the last 5 minutes… then winning the shootout after the game Sammy played… lots to learn from tonight’s game.

One thing… we’re a pretty dam good hockey team.

 

[Mr_Fun]

Let's spend some money on it, ya? And not the suites?

$349 999 889 in arena upgrades; $11 on ice. Why has this building consistently some of the worst ice in the league?

 

[PromisedLand]

dude's dialed in this season

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

At times I detest Nylander, but tonight he looked like a Superstar.

 

[djdev]

Love that Gio has made a flying tackle his signature move.

marner is the only player not getting involved physically..even matty is now getting into scrums.

 

[Jojalu]

This type of game doesn't scream 'we're ready for playoffs' lol, but a W is a W.

*As stated previously, this D will not win you 4 rounds
*Sammy needs to get off the vodka
*Knies looked more like Chad Kilger than Chris Kreider
*Minten ain't ready, no sense trying to force it
*Hoping we continue to see the Matthews of two years ago, I missed that dude
*If Mitchy could find a way to start a season on time it'd be real swell
*Under any circumstance, you always enjoy the hell out of beating the Habs

View attachment 751498

I would guess most teams are not ready for playoffs Game 1 of the season.

 

[sxvnert]

I like that Rielly was taken off PK as well so all his minutes are ES rushing on almost every shift.

 

[rojac]

View attachment 751499

I was so hoping you were done with this schtick. Oh well.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

I would guess most teams are not ready for playoffs Game 1 of the season.

Quite an astute observation!!

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I mean our whole free agency was adding terrible defensive players so hope this is just growing pains in the first game and not an omen for a different type of Leafs team. Because it was nice being structured.

W is a W tho, boys got it done!

The structure was great, the part where they couldn't score in the playoffs really sucked though.

I hope they're able to strike the right balance, and I think they're heading in the right direction. You can always compensate for defensive shortcomings one way or another, but if you can't score then you won't go anywhere

 

[Mitch nylander]

Exciting game.

Just some thoughts:

• Fraser Minten - I'll be honest, he didn't look physically ready. I'm still willing to give him time, but I think we'll see holmberg in his spot after 9 games.
• TJ Brodie/Jake Mccabe were bad. Liljegren made an egragious mistake.
• Auston Matthews, and William Nylander were both excellent.
• Loved the fourth line. Reaves was a pleasant surprise, Gregor can skate.
• Bertuzzi seems slow. He doesn't seem to be able to keep up with the big boys. That being said, I think he'd be a great match with Tavares.