Post-Game Talk: LEAFS defeat montreal hockey team 2-1

[willmma]

That sleaze ball Frank Gallagher tripping Willy after the final whistle while the ref is holding him.

 

[Smif]

Habs are giving Engvall a lot of attention, eh?

 

[BertCorbeau]

Props to Rielly so far in this series. He's been really good, taking his game up a notch.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Close game .. 1st period was a draw .. 2nd we dominated .. 3rd we relied on Soup .. overall we can play much better .. Mitch has been doing his normal nothing BS and is getting overplayed for zero performance .. too weak on puck .. can't move anybody .. can't skate fast enough .. and pretty much shut down with a fast trap system

 

[Zybalto]

Props to Rielly so far in this series. He's been really good, taking his game up a notch.

Out of the 77 dmen who have played 50+ 5v5 minutes in the playoffs so far:

Morgan Rielly:

CF%: 62.69 (3rd out of 77)
SF%: 68.59 (1st out of 77)
SCF%: 64.35 (7th out of 77)
HDCF%: 73.11 (2nd out of 77)
xGF%: 74.51 (1st out of 77)
GF%: 76.88 (8th out of 77)

 

[fahad203]

Habs are giving Engvall a lot of attention, eh?

Engvall has been great for the leafs. He has been hitting everyone. I really wish mikaheyev picks up his game

I think Engvall realizing how effective he can be. Back to back games Habs now come after Engvall

 

[Gallagbi]

Which goes to show this series is far from over, the Habs are a better team than they were in the reg season and by no means are they out of this. The only reason why this game didn't go to OT is a couple of bad bounces in the last 2 minutes. This series is going at least 6 games.

A couple of bad bounces is also why they had a chance in regulation, but I agree this series isn't over

 

[Gallagbi]

That sleaze ball Frank Gallagher tripping Willy after the final whistle while the ref is holding him.

I'm happy to have him agitated and chasing the game like he has been to this point

 

[The Masters]

Winnipeg keeps coming for u whether they down or up ... leafs have to step up their game if they advance

 

[TMLeafer]

The more they are preoccupied with chasing around our bottom six players like Simmonds and Engvall, the better.

 

[Bluelines]

Yes. I recorded the game so I watched that sequence a few times. Kerfoot literally layed the hit at the buzzer, he's not going to be checking the clock to see if he has time or not. He even offered what looked like a "sorry didn't realize we were at the buzzer" when Andersen went 1/2 Wilson on him. Hilarity ensues when Gallagher tries to trip up Nylander after the horn and Taffoli flicks a stick at Muzzin.

So I wasn't dreaming that this happened, maybe because of the camera angle it looked worse than it was but IMO it looked like Andersen targeted Kerfoot's head.

 

[Bluelines]

That sleaze ball Frank Gallagher tripping Willy after the final whistle while the ref is holding him.

Clearly the Habs know they cant beat the Leafs if the game is fair. They are purposely playing like assholes to goad the Leafs into playing the gutter game they want to play. So what if Willie loses his balance and pulls a groin, is that intent to injure? Its a nothing play that could have turned into a something play.

This really tells you where the Habs heads are, they don't think they can win this series.

 

[Bluelines]

A couple of bad bounces is also why they had a chance in regulation, but I agree this series isn't over

Right and bad bounces deciding this series is not a warm fuzzy feeling for a fan of a team that should win this series.

 

[MapleLeafs9]

That sleaze ball Frank Gallagher tripping Willy after the final whistle while the ref is holding him.

When did Gallagher become such a little bitch? When he broke into the league his first few seasons he was always in scrums laughing it up and smiling like a pest doing pest things. Now it looks like he's always triggered about something

His pest factor is completely gone now

 

[mix1home]

Campbell stole that game. Price kept the game close. Any other goalies this would be 4-3 Leafs.

Lol. When was it last time mtl scored 3 goals in hockey game?

 

[Zybalto]

Right and bad bounces deciding this series is not a warm fuzzy feeling for a fan of a team that should win this series.

Bounces often decide series.

Couple bounces in the opposite direction and the Oilers are up 3-1 against the Jets right now....Nashville and the Wild are a couple bounces away from taking out the Canes and Knights....

Hell, Tampa was a couple bad bounces from getting rolled against the Jackets again last year. Every game was a one goal game that series.

The key is to be continually the better team and thats what the Leafs have been.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Thought we were the better team for 40 mins last night. I think the 3rd period got a bit away from them, but it also was not nearly as lopsided as some people like to suggest. Yes, Jack was forced to make some very strong saves. But a large amount of their shot imbalance came from non threatening areas. Not to mention, we had like 3 grade-A chances that we didn't even register a shot on net (Gally, Jumbo, and Spezza). No question the Habs pressed a bit in the 3rd, which should be absolutely no surprise to anyone. They were down a goal. Overall, I thought the 3rd was not terrible in terms of defending the lead aside from maybe 2 shifts outside of the 6v5. Might be an unpopular thought, I just think on the scale of 1 to complete fire drill we were a solid 4. I guess what I am trying to say is the way they played the 3rd last night was still exponentially better than this team has ever played with a lead in years past. I agree they very clearly lost the period and were flirting with disaster, but that's going to happen when you try and shut the door from time to time. Jack came up big, but lets not forget Carey made some phenomenal saves prior to the 3rd to keep it within 1. The Leafs earned that W because they were the better team for the majority of the game. You can't just show up in the 3rd and expect to win at the NHL level. Excellent road W, lets get another tonight

 

[nuck]

I can easily say "Imagine if Fred had this defence versus the Caps and Bruins". Probably get through the first round in all 3 matchups.

Let's just enjoy Campbell and leave Fred out of it. Campbell has ways to go before he proves to be the better playoff performer. It's been 3 games against a team that wouldn't even be in the playoffs if Sens didn't sign Murray.

edit- I am thrilled with Campbell. Just don't see the need to bring Fred into it.

Yeah that's something for ruminating over in the off season, if at all. I hope to only see FA in warmups and when they are passing the Cup around.

 

[mix1home]

Marner is probably the softest player on the Leafs. Nylander has turned it on. The Marner skate-by and over-passing can be infuriating.

On that wrap around attempt I was yelling “shoot” at TV. There were two Leafs in front of the net and Marner was 4 feet’s away. Just shoot it.

 

[Duffman955]

This game could easily have been 4-1. We missed a few empty nets in the 1st/2nd period

Let's not let up the pressure when we have a lead again

 

[JT AM da real deal]

On that wrap around attempt I was yelling “shoot” at TV. There were two Leafs in front of the net and Marner was 4 feet’s away. Just shoot it.

His shot is so so weak he knows Price will stop it .. but agree with you make shot off pad for rebound goal

 

[therealkoho]

When did Gallagher become such a little bitch? When he broke into the league his first few seasons he was always in scrums laughing it up and smiling like a pest doing pest things. Now it looks like he's always triggered about something

His pest factor is completely gone now

it's the natural evolution of the pest type players

they go from being a semi-lovable pest to being complete arseholes that nobody likes because they do stupid stuff, see Marchand, Tucker, Cooke, Barnaby and Avery, by the end of their careers even their own team mates aren't too thrilled with them

 

[Zybalto]

Leafs numbers and playoff ranking so far:

5v5:

CF%: 55.36 (5th out of 16)
xGF%: 59.71 (2nd out of 16)
GF%: 61.76 (3rd out of 16)

All situations:

Shots Against/60: 27.33 (2nd out of 16)
Expected Goals Against/60: 2.16 (2nd out of 16)
Team Save%: 95.12 (1st out of 16)
xGF%: 61.18 (2nd out of 16)



Powerplay xGF/60: 7.57 (5th out of 16)
PK lowest xGA/60: 4.02 (2nd out of 16)

So far the 2nd most lopsided series after the Avs/Blues and Montreal would probably be out of it except for Price's heroics.

Anything can change of course but team is looking good so far.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Let's not let up the pressure when we have a lead again

I agree with you to some degree, but to be completely honest I am ok with them defending the lead in that fashion. They defend very well, and despite not registering a HDCF in the 3rd, they still generated some transition chances that just did not result in a shot on net. There was maybe 2 shifts at 5v5 that I didn't like in the 3rd, and I really didn't like the 6v5. But overall, the chances MTL generated were not very threatening. They kept them largely to the outside, and had minimal breakdowns. It was not a masterpiece, I will give you that for sure. Lots that could have been better. But they could have easily capitalized on one of those MTL breakdowns to put them up 2, but most importantly they didn't give up any easy transition chances the other way. I think MTL has scored 4 goals all series if I'm not mistaken, and 3 of them have come off of transition (Anderson B-way G1, Byron B-way G1, and Suzuki off the rush G3). It's clear that is how we have to defend. Limit those chances, and we have a very good chance at winning the game. Let them p***y foot with the puck on the wall. Defend the house, and hope your goalie makes a save in traffic should he need to. Which Jack did. As chaotic as the 3rd may have felt at times, I am ok with them playing that way. They are very good at playing that way most nights. Especially against an offensively challenged MTL. Just have to be a bit tighter than they were last night playing that way. I don't want them to cheat offensively to bury the Habs. Thats exactly what they want us to do

 

[therealkoho]

The Good: for two periods the Leafs dominated, the PK smothered the Montreal PP, it's fun watching Marner box two Canadiens out and disrupt the puck continually up high. 3rd line whomever happened to be on it was effective, always on the hunt, always in control. I'd like to see them rewarded with a goal. Willie's line(and it's his line now, at least till JT returns) totally outclassed who ever was sent out against them. The 1 line has been frustrated by Montreal's tenaciousness but they're still getting chances and I expect a break-out for them tonight Matty, Buster and Mitch all with multipoint games tonight.

The Bad: Don't want to harp on this but Jumbo needs to sit, missing the net completely from inside 15 feet with nobody near him or between he and Price was embarrassing, watching him flub 60% of passes coming his way, whether on the fly or standing still is beyond frustrating. I know he's a respected vet, I know he's a HHoFer, but he needs to sit, Brooks should be on the 4th line. He may make the odd mistake and I can understand that, but what I can't understand is a guy who kills chances because of diminishing skills.

The Ugly: the 4 minute high stick! For those 4 minutes Gally should've knocked his teeth out and broken his nose. I can't help but think there is some bad blood left over from Alex's Montreal days btween him and Gallagher, that high stick was no oopsy whatsoever! Somebody needs to put a really big hurt on any of the Montreal forwards early preferably Anderson or Toffoli although Caulfield would be just fine, afterwards knock one of their Dman out of the game. If the referees don't want to do their jobs then it's up to the Leafs to take care of things.