Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose 3-1

[JT AM da real deal]

Seems to me, one of Babcock's undoings was trying to get an overloaded offensive team play defense. They went on to play boring hockey, losing more often than not 2-1, or 3-1. Play the game the way the team is built to play or change your lineup. Once again the Leafs are on the road to hockey mediocrity. Regardless of the way they play Dubas has solidified a team that is destined for playoff failure.

Euro rollback hockey does not break through a centre ice trap it is just us playing with puck until we make a dumb mistake, correction 2 dumb mistakes in a row, in our own end ... it occurred and we lost ... but it took da refs help to win it on an egregious penalty late in 3rd ... even with bad coaching it was still a point which was taken away purely by reffing ... there needs to be a coaches challenge when a ref makes a huge mistake in last 10 minutes of a game ... we do it when someone if offside ... but we don't when a trip call is made when our guys stick did not even touch da attacker?? just because something looks like a trip does not mean it is a trip

 

[sparxx87]

not any leaf player.

Just Auston Matthews, the best goalscorer in hockey.

And that was a goal scorers goal. Great play to rip Kassian then walk out and find the hole... but, that was a bad goal for Koskinen to let in. He played that very poorly.

He’s a very bad goalie and I’d be surprised if the Leafs don’t hang 5 or 6 on him Friday night.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

And that was a goal scorers goal. Great play to rip Kassian then walk out and find the hole... but, that was a bad goal for Koskinen to let in. He played that very poorly.

He’s a very bad goalie and I’d be surprised if the Leafs don’t hang 5 or 6 on him Friday night.

Depends do we create a forecheck and jam net like Matty did???????????? or do we play with passy passy puck around ice and stay on perimeter due to Oilers trap game?????????????????? I don't think anyone knows what game we are gonna play Friday night ... but I do know Tipper and he will deploy same game plan until we prove we can overcome it

 

[zeke]

And that was a goal scorers goal. Great play to rip Kassian then walk out and find the hole... but, that was a bad goal for Koskinen to let in. He played that very poorly.

He’s a very bad goalie and I’d be surprised if the Leafs don’t hang 5 or 6 on him Friday night.

Absolutely a bad goal to let in for any goalie.

But not a lucky goal for Auston.

 

[ToneDog]

Absolutely a bad goal to let in for any goalie.

But not a lucky goal for Auston.

Agreed not many can rip a puck "through" a goalie like that.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Depends do we create a forecheck and jam net like Matty did???????????? or do we play with passy passy puck around ice and stay on perimeter due to Oilers trap game?????????????????? I don't think anyone knows what game we are gonna play Friday night ... but I do know Tipper and he will deploy same game plan until we prove we can overcome it

The Leafs simply needed to stop forcing pucks into the middle. It wasn't like they were happy on the perimeter, or were not trying to drive inside, but they probably should have taken more shots on net and crashed for rebounds instead.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

The Leafs simply needed to stop forcing pucks into the middle. It wasn't like they were happy on the perimeter, or were not trying to drive inside, but they probably should have taken more shots on net and crashed for rebounds instead.

Wrong we are a HAPPY team on da perimeter ... we don't inherently by nature of personnel deployed want to absorb punishment to win ... we want "get your money for nothing and your chicks for free" ... as long as we play like this we have ZERO chance in da playoffs ... even da soft Oilers can stop us and that is a fact Jack as we all saw last night

 

[Twine Tickler]

I think I agree with most of this.

I’m saying the game could have gone either way. Yamamoto created an opportunity to get lucky by winning the puck from Holl and Kerfoot and throwing it in front. Oilers created a PP by getting a step on Muzzin. Obviously it was a bad call after review, but it looked like Muzzin got beat and tripped his man from the referees perspective. Whoever that Oiler player was, he created that lucky power play with hustle.

On the other side, Matthews created his own luck by winning a puck from Kassian and throwing it on the net of a very bad goalie The rest of the team needs to do a better job getting the puck to the net against bad goalies for more chances at ‘lucky’ goals. They have a tendency to be too cute and over-pass... We’ve seen a number of teams just clog up the middle against them and make it very tough. They need to create their own luck in these games and they didn’t do enough of it last night.


On the plus side, they did very well containing McDavid and Draisaitl. I only recall one play where 97 was able to wind up through the neutral zone and I think it was on the heels of a line change. Great job taking away his time and space. He ended up taking a dumb penalty hooking Rielly later on. Always a good night if you can shut down and frustrate a player like that.

ya I am a firm believer in making your own breaks. It is very true. Same can be said for PP. The team that works harder tends to see more PP. Its impossible to strategize luck or PP time, but they tend to be a byproduct of hard work.

Honestly, I know the popular thought on here was that we had a horrendous game, which we did. But the focus was clearly to contain the 2 stars. which was evident in Holl's pregame interview, and Matthews post game interview. They thought (as did I) that if you contain those 2 guys, the game is yours. They executed that very well, but the outcome was not there. I think what I failed to consider, as well as the coaching staff was that Edmonton had come off back to back poor defensive games. Which clearly resulted on tippet playing 1-2-2. They were fortunate to get the early bounce, and did a good job trapping up the remainder of the game. That said, Toronto made it exponentially easier by not being able to handle a pass. There were countless tape to tape passes, in the offensive zone and neutral zone that were uncontested, the blew up on their blades. legit tape to tape passes grenading of their blades. probably 4 one timers completely whiffed on. hard to win games when you play that way. Its sh!tty because they really did have an excellent defensive game. Holl especially impressed me yet again

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Wrong we are a HAPPY team on da perimeter ... we don't inherently by nature of personnel deployed want to absorb punishment to win ... we want "get your money for nothing and your chicks for free" ... as long as we play like this we have ZERO chance in da playoffs ... even da soft Oilers can stop us and that is a fact Jack as we all saw last night

But the big bad Habs could not stop us in the middle?

* Don't worry about the numbers, they have nothing to do with the Leafs. Just looking at the area.

You do realize that since Keefe has taken over, which is the equivalent of almost a full season now, the Leafs are 10th in terms of Corsi (i.e. taking shots from the middle of the ice) and are closer to 7th than they are to 11th. We are also 8th in terms of GF/60 in that area as well (however we are closer to 12th than to 7th).

If the Leafs love to live on the perimeter, they wouldn't be scoring goals and generating shots in that area better than the majority of teams. They wouldn't have dominated on the inside against the Jets and the Senators, who love to clog up the middle of the ice and did so in our first game against them.

The main thing we did not do against them was finding other ways of getting to that area than simply passing it there.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

But the big bad Habs could not stop us in the middle?

* Don't worry about the numbers, they have nothing to do with the Leafs. Just looking at the area.

You do realize that since Keefe has taken over, which is the equivalent of almost a full season now, the Leafs are 10th in terms of Corsi (i.e. taking shots from the middle of the ice) and are closer to 7th than they are to 11th. We are also 8th in terms of GF/60 in that area as well (however we are closer to 12th than to 7th).

If the Leafs love to live on the perimeter, they wouldn't be scoring goals and generating shots in that area better than the majority of teams. They wouldn't have dominated on the inside against the Jets and the Senators, who love to clog up the middle of the ice and did so in our first game against them.

The main thing we did not do against them was finding other ways of getting to that area than simply passing it there.

Yes Habs played us straight up and brought 3 forwards to attack us and try to beat us ... they lost ... our 3 forwards could carry puck up ice and pass puck around to create an net front advantage in their end

Oilers did not play to attack us they played to stop us for carrying puck up centre of ice and blocked off entries to their net front area ... it is called a TRAP ... and da one played today is called a centre ice trap forcing opponents to perimter ... Devils played a trap where they locked down one side of ice and forced play to other side and squeezed life out of you

This has nothing to do with STATS ... it is basic hockey 101

 

[hoglund]

The Leafs simply needed to stop forcing pucks into the middle. It wasn't like they were happy on the perimeter, or were not trying to drive inside, but they probably should have taken more shots on net and crashed for rebounds instead.

In terms of puck possession the Leafs dominated, but didn't shoot enough.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

In terms of puck possession the Leafs dominated, but didn't shoot enough.

It is why puck possession and shot metrics don't tell da story of a game ... all you need to do is wait for a massive screw up and score and you can win

 

[Cobra777]

So we replaced Kapanen with Vessey and Johnson with Simmonds.

Travis Boyd and Engvall better be playing next game

Engvall is another 6'5 softee all out to make 1 body check I'm so sick of this garbage that no one takes the man but 3 players on this team

 

[Cobra777]

Also Montreal isn’t better than us. Montreal is a speedy team that drives the net. That is why they can score 5 goals against Edmonton and their shitty goaltending. If Toronto wants to score they need to stop playing perimeter offense.

I agree I loathe Montreal more than anything but dang that team comes to play speed in your face hockey and are all over their opponents like white on rice

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Engvall is another 6'5 softee all out to make 1 body check I'm so sick of this garbage that no one takes the man but 3 players on this team

They brought up Andersen, can he hit? Can he forecheck? Can he crash net? I hope we got someone who can crash a TRAP. Otherwise we are in deep trouble. Now that 1 team has done it to us other teams will now start doing it too.

 

[Notsince67]

Anyone have an Evolving Hockey subscription? I am curious to see how Toronto matches up league wide in xGF and xGA.

You can pull from moneypuck for free. A bit different but the rank order should be similar

 

[Cobra777]

I can live with a loss, but this one is disturbing after watching the Habs dummy that team two times last week.

We've lost games to two of the weakest teams in the league in Ottawa and Edmonton.

We knew our top 4 would have to carry the load, but the other 8 forwards + defence are contributing almost nothing offensively so far.

Good teams roll over opponents same as the Lightning, sometimes yes they have bad games, but our team game in and out is a flip coin cracker jack what prize inside are going to show up. IMHO this core will go nowhere, AM is the only real deal as he is now taking the body when opportunity arises, puck possession and support is excellent as well as he come back to back check, Nylander shows up 1 game out of every 5 it seams wouldn't break an egg if a dozen eggs were fitted in his pants and Marner who was one of the most dynamic hockey players his 1st 2 seasons where every time he touched the puck MAGIC happened has almost just disappeared into coughing up pucks and disappointment after his big contract so far. I don't give a RATS AZZ what type of flames I receive for stating the truth. Truth is with everyone touting so much talent and firepower on this team they are NOT rolling over teams as they should and struggle beating teams in rebuild and did not take advantage of another team(Oilers who have played poorly). I don't think there are too many here that if they had the 40+ mill all over again would spend it on these same guys other than one contract for Mathews. Yes I know its only 5 games in but the same type of problems keep rearing its ugly head from last season and I don't have to list them all.

 

[Cobra777]

They brought up Andersen, can he hit? Can he forecheck? Can he crash net? I hope we got someone who can crash a TRAP. Otherwise we are in deep trouble. Now that 1 team has done it to us other teams will now start doing it too.

JT sorry but I just don't know enough about that player

 

[Cobra777]

Dubas' vision was to have a young fast-paced team that would outskate and, more importantly, outscore their opposition. While exciting during the regular season, they didn't have the fortitude to compete in the playoffs. So, someone within the organization, probably Shanahan, decided that had to change. Now we are left with a team that doesn't know what they want to be and a coach that can't figure out how to deal with the hand he has now been dealt. Looking at another first round loss assuming we make the playoffs.

It was so the 1st two seasons every hockey pundit and person thought the leafs the most exciting in the league until Santa Claus doled out all the money which only one out of the 4 deserve. Now the team is cap *&^% and cannot improve by a solid acquisition or 2

 

[ToneDog]

Good teams roll over opponents same as the Lightning, sometimes yes they have bad games, but our team game in and out is a flip coin cracker jack what prize inside are going to show up. IMHO this core will go nowhere, AM is the only real deal as he is now taking the body when opportunity arises, puck possession and support is excellent as well as he come back to back check, Nylander shows up 1 game out of every 5 it seams wouldn't break an egg if a dozen eggs were fitted in his pants and Marner who was one of the most dynamic hockey players his 1st 2 seasons where every time he touched the puck MAGIC happened has almost just disappeared into coughing up pucks and disappointment after his big contract so far. I don't give a RATS AZZ what type of flames I receive for stating the truth. Truth is with everyone touting so much talent and firepower on this team they are NOT rolling over teams as they should and struggle beating teams in rebuild and did not take advantage of another team(Oilers who have played poorly). I don't think there are too many here that if they had the 40+ mill all over again would spend it on these same guys other than one contract for Mathews. Yes I know its only 5 games in but the same type of problems keep rearing its ugly head from last season and I don't have to list them all.

Nicely stated. Nobody knows if you can win with 1/2 your cap going to 4 forwards but I am coming to the conclusion this one cannot unless it is surrounded by a better supporting. Hence the short term dilema. If the answer is Dubas' great drafting, we are a minimum of a couple of years away. Sadly the answer might be that one of our 3 $11M players needs to go.

 

[Notsince67]

Nicely stated. Nobody knows if you can win with 1/2 your cap going to 4 forwards but I am coming to the conclusion this one cannot unless it is surrounded by a better supporting. Hence the short term dilema. If the answer is Dubas' great drafting, we are a minimum of a couple of years away. Sadly the answer might be that one of our 3 $11M players needs to go.

How original

 

[baton elevated]

I agree I loathe Montreal more than anything but dang that team comes to play speed in your face hockey and are all over their opponents like white on rice

All these excuses about trying to shut down 2 superstars etc. etc. Come on. We have more depth than e
Edmonton by a country mile if the Superstars neutralize each other. The Flames and the Habs didn't have trouble beating this team why do we? Coaching maybe. Thing is this team always has an excuse!!

 

[cupcrazyman]

All that payroll & only 1 goal

 

[likecheese]

If I'm Shanny, I give it to game 20 and if it's the same old same old, rip the shreds out of this clownshow and start over. They should be rolling over weak teams and be in the running for the President's Trophy at this point and they're still playing Benny Hill style hockey that is unwatchable half the time. How many games last season did they put out performances that were downright embarassing (including game 5 of the qualifying round) and here we are again, the clownshow just rolls on. It's a joke.

 

[Critical13]

If I'm Shanny, I give it to game 20 and if it's the same old same old, rip the shreds out of this clownshow and start over. They should be rolling over weak teams and be in the running for the President's Trophy at this point and they're still playing Benny Hill style hockey that is unwatchable half the time. How many games last season did they put out performances that were downright embarassing (including game 5 of the qualifying round) and here we are again, the clownshow just rolls on. It's a joke.

I think he needs to give it the full season. With that being said, in 2019 I said I’d give Dubas a couple years to straighten things out...he will lose me this year, though, if we flounder again.

Especially if the Habs can rebuild on the fly and have a more successful year. This is a weak division, we’ve never had a better opportunity to go deep.