Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose 2-0 To Pittsburgh

[Doublerum1975]

This was a playoff style game played by the Penguins. They were blocking everything and were right on top of us the whole game. Leafs haven't been able to grind out goals when teams play that way. It's tough.

Maybe you should watch the last few games

 

[egd27]

Pens wanted it a bit more tonight.....it happens.

Still not clear why the coach decided to go back to Ritchie on the top line and putting 34 & 16 back together. Didn't they go something 8-1 once he split them up and dropped Ritchie in the line up?

 

[Doublerum1975]

Meh, you win some you lose some
Just don't let it turn into a slide

I can tell you one thing though, it's starting to get bloody annoying that the puck won't go into the net

Our sh% must be brutal right now

It's not like we aren't getting chances lol

 

[Eye Test]

Sandin learning mistake on the first and a weird bounce leading to the second goal. We hit a few posts. Is what it is...decent game

 

[Amadeus]

Maybe you should watch the last few games

None of the teams we played were able to shut our top players down like the Pens did. I watch all the games.

 

[Doublerum1975]

None of the teams we played were able to shut our top players down like the Pens did. I watch all the games.

Yeah it happens but they have been winning those type of games

 

[Leaf4Life79]

Not a great effort but man do we need to either replace Holl or use someone else with Muzzin because he just gives up easy plays and bad readss every night this season.

Ritchie experiment should be over its doing nothing for us now.

Holl sucks

 

[Mess]

Yes, it's not their fault they haven't had to play a tough schedule. That doesn't mean you ignore the level of competition.

It should be noted that 13 of Leafs 19 games have been at home to start the year and only 6 road games.

 

[mapleleafs34]

How much longer are we giving Ritchie top 6 minutes? This is no longer a small sample set. A chair would have more goals playing with Matthews and Marner.

Matthews was easily the Leafs' most aggressive forward.

This. Ritchie playing with Simmonds would be a lot more effective

 

[wingman75]

It should be noted that 13 of Leafs 19 games have been at home to start the year and only 6 road games.

...and 6 of the next 7 are on the road; starting in Belmont tomorrow night and including the first west coast trip of the season through Cali.

Only home game is Dec 1st vs COL. This should be a good test.

 

[BigGulpsEh]

Matthews has had some bad luck but he needs to get going in the goal scoring dept. He is the straw that stirs the drink.

The ritchie experiment needs to end. He belongs on the 5th line

 

[Mess]

...and 6 of the next 7 are on the road; starting in Belmont tomorrow night and including the first west coast trip of the season through Cali.

Only home game is Dec 1st vs COL. This should be a good test.

Agreed

Lets hope the Leafs fair well, but it will be a new test to see where our team sits thereafter after their home and road games start to level and balance out.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Should probably go back to the duos that were scoring. Matthews-Nylander and Tavares-Marner.

Also is Matthews gonna score at 5 on 5 ever again?

 

[Jojalu]

How about the 11.6 guy? He gets a pass because reasons.

He is not on pace for sub 70.

 

[Polaris1010]

Frustrating game.

Once in 11 games, I'll stomach it.

Quick welcome to all of you that weren't here 10 out of the last 11 games.

This post is probably gonna be the first star of this thread!

 

[saffronleaf]

Didn't watch the game tn.

On one hand, sounds like a tight game and Leafs have won like 10 of last 12.

On the other hand, the offense has struggled mightily since the Habs series. It's worrying.

 

[Jojalu]

They’ve played like 7 or 8 games against playoff teams. That doesn’t mean they have had some impressive wins so far, but it does mean they’ve had a weaker schedule than average.

They have played 10. More than half their schedule.

 

[ponder]

No finish, but hey, we won 10 of the last 11 coming into this game, losses do happen. I don’t think we played that poorly overall, just couldn’t finish. We did hit a bunch of posts.

With best being said, our offence has to be better - all year long it’s rarely been elite, often been weak, and with players like Matthews/Marner/Nylander/Tavares it should be frequently elite. I believe we’re somewhere around 25th in the league in goals for per game? Crazy with this roster. Also, every D pair except Rielly/Brodie was weak tonight, especially Sandin/Lily, they got straight up DOMINATED whenever they went up against the Crosby line.

Overall though, it wasn’t a terribly played game or anything. We played decently but had a few slip ups, and lots of good chances we failed to convert. It was a normal loss, not a terrible loss.

 

[Polaris1010]

The only thing I did not really like about tonight's game was how the Pittsburgh players mugged the Toronto players.

Remember Hyman? He would always get mugged, but he would fight back. Then later, Hyman would mug the other guy for the puck.

Tonight there were two types of Leafs players. Those who got mugged and fought back a little. Those who would just stand there getting mugged and giving it up too easily.

The Leafs did do some mugging of their own, but they need more of that.

More muggings. Less victimhood.



Uh-oh, just realized they will be playing in New York City tomorrow - the mugging capital of the world.

I got a bad feeling.

 

[2 Slick]

The Leafs offense hasn't been there all season, it isn't just last night. They've been winning a lot of low scoring games thanks to elite Vezina caliber goaltending from Campbell. His save percentage was like .945% before tonight.

Matthews and Marner are shit together, idk why Keefe decided to put them back together when they were ass together to start the season along with useless Ritchie.

How did this guy get 2 million? Better yet, how the hell did he ever score 15 goals? Garbage player, garbage signing, garbage term, garbage money, garbage player. I know... lets put him on the top line to make Marner and Matthews' offense even worse than it already was before.

Keefe makes some bone-headed decisions this season.

Put Marner back with Tavares and Matthews back with Nylander. Get Ritchie off the top f***ing line. Scratch Engvall, bring anyone else up to replace that sieve.

 

[cookie]

Toronto teams are weird this year:
you got that Jays team that had a crazy run differential that should have, but didn't make the playoffs,
a sieve of a Raptors team that was thought to be a defensive juggernaut before the season started, and
an top heavy offensive Leafs team that can't convert on their chances even with 2 40+goal scorers in their primes on the team
C'est la vie

 

[Havoc]

Observation: Matthews is one timing and missing on plays where his wrister would have been a guaranteed goal. I'd start there if I were him. Stick to his signature shot and rack up some goals. When he is in his groove 100%, then bring back the clappers. They're just not working right now.

Only 1 has went in against Boston. The rest were all pretty bad attempts compared to his wrister. In some of them, he has a lot of time too to shake and bake a bit to deceive the goalie then snipe it in, but he claps it right away instead right into the pads or chest.

Also the chemistry between him and Marner seems to have expired. Keefs needs to stop forcing it. Either give him Nylander, or give him none and let him drive a line for once. This guys relegated to being a pure shooter right now when he actually has a ceiling that is almost unlimited.

To be honest, this is more of a hot take so don't look to deep, but I am interested in seeing if Nylander and Marner is the true duo we need. I want Matthews puck hogging (bad choice of words, I just mean I want the puck on his stick quarterbacking everything that happens) and doing whatever he pleases (responsibly) on his own line. That's not going to happen with Marner.

 

[Dreakmur]

They have played 10. More than half their schedule.

Who are the 10? I count 8 of 19.

8 Play-off Teams (New York, Carolina, Vegas, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Calgary, Nashville, New York)
11 Non Play-off Teams (Montreal, Ottawa, Ottawa, San Jose, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Pittsburgh)

That's not a good schedule.

 

[hockeyes]

Observation: Matthews is one timing and missing on plays where his wrister would have been a guaranteed goal. I'd start there if I were him. Stick to his signature shot and rack up some goals. When he is in his groove 100%, then bring back the clappers. They're just not working right now.

Only 1 has went in against Boston. The rest were all pretty bad attempts compared to his wrister. In some of them, he has a lot of time too to shake and bake a bit to deceive the goalie then snipe it in, but he claps it right away instead right into the pads or chest.

Also the chemistry between him and Marner seems to have expired. Keefs needs to stop forcing it. Either give him Nylander, or give him none and let him drive a line for once. This guys relegated to being a pure shooter right now when he actually has a ceiling that is almost unlimited.

The problem is Matthews wasn't ready to start the year from surgery and partying with Bieber all summer. The best we can hope for is he rounds into form going into the playoffs.

 

[Havoc]

The problem is Matthews wasn't ready to start the year from surgery and partying with Bieber all summer. The best we can hope for is he rounds into form going into the playoffs.

He definitely looked out of it to begin the year but those quick release snipes against Vegas and Nashville (go figure Nylander is the primary assist on both) confirms he has that weapon in his toolset. He needs to stick to this right now.