Post-Game Talk: Leafs lose 4-2

[killer1980]

Ya gotta know when to pinch and when to play it safe, less than 3 minutes left in the 3rd in a tie game on the road, every coach but Keefe will tell their players to NOT do what Rielly did...but this why Keefe loses that game and other coaches at least get a point.

Unfortunately, Reilly only has one gear, forward. His strength Is pinching and his work in the other team's zone. In his own zone, not so much.

 

[Enniskillen]

Looking forward to post season changes. Getting rid of the President, gm, coach, marner/nylander trade as this team has no heart and just flashes of skill which are non existent in playoffs. They can’t even hit properly expect for Boosh.

 

[Mess]

Yeah, Leafs have come up short several times while outshooting opposition big time.
Even with all their fire power, Leafs have a hard time getting good shots against good defensive teams. Still get shots but not good ones.
They do well against goalies with holes/flaws.

Like shooting 53 shots against Thatcher Demko of Vancouver and losing recently.

Kallgren is a rookie so him losing 3 of his 5 stats may no be all that surprising, but he is not expected to be playing come playoff time either.

What should have Leaf Nation on pins and needles is knowing that Leafs goaltending sv% in 2022 by both Campbell and Mrazek combined places them last in the NHL among teams.

It seems opposition teams do well against the Leafs goalies with their holes/flaws.

 

[ULF_55]

Like shooting 53 shots against Thatcher Demko of Vancouver and losing recently.

Kallgren is a rookie so him losing 3 of his 5 stats may no be all that surprising, but he is not expected to be playing come playoff time either.

What should have Leaf Nation on pins and needles is knowing that Leafs goaltending sv% in 2022 by both Campbell and Mrazek combined places them last in the NHL among teams.

It seems opposition teams do well against the Leafs goalies with their holes/flaws.

Yeah, unless Campbell we saw early is the real Campbell, we're looking at an exciting off-season.

 

[nuck]

Tough loss but 51-18 shots makes it hard to say they should have done much different, other than start a different goalie,, but it was the Montreal goalie that was the real problem. I am not a dedicated Habs hater and they aren't meeting in the playoffs so this one doesn't matter much to me. Lets see how Mrazek stands up to Florida.

 

[francis246]

Looking forward to post season changes. Getting rid of the President, gm, coach, marner/nylander trade as this team has no heart and just flashes of skill which are non existent in playoffs. They can’t even hit properly expect for Boosh.

2024 NHL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NHL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

Which UFA(s) are we going to over pay in order to get said grit and heart after we trade Marner or Nylander for futures for cap space.

It’s a pathetic UFA class this year. Outside of Palat and Kadri (who probably won’t come back) I wouldn’t give any of those players long term deals.

 

[therealkoho]

Florida or Carolina in the first round.

Woohoo.

The Leafs are going to rip em a new one

 

[Cournoyer12]

Don't know if I've ever missed Kadri more than right now. We don't have a capable 2C. There's a dearth of centers in this organization. Trades have consequences...even years later. This one's haunting hard right now.

I agree, should never have lost Kadri, hard player with skill, the one FA I wish the Habs would sign!

 

[Superstar]

Tough loss but 51-18 shots makes it hard to say they should have done much different, other than start a different goalie,, but it was the Montreal goalie that was the real problem. I am not a dedicated Habs hater and they aren't meeting in the playoffs so this one doesn't matter much to me. Lets see how Mrazek stands up to Florida.

NHL officiating is so corrupt. Byron should have been called for tripping on Matthews, it was skate clipping. In a game that the Leafs dominated, how come the Habs received the first 2 powerplays and the Leafs didn't get their first powerplay until the 3rd period? These kinds of embarrassing officiating jobs have happened to the Leafs too many times over the last bunch of years for it to be a coincidence. How could the NHL build up a gambling business with Vegas with this kind of officiating? People betting against the Leafs would come out on top most of the time.

The Leafs are bunched up around the bottom of the league in the last 5 years for drawing penalties while being a good team? Matthews drawing so few penalties compared to McDavid and MacKinnon? Only getting 1 powerplay over a 4 game span? Leaf player suspensions for similar infractions while other players get a fine or nothing at all? The list goes on and on.

 

[therealkoho]

Lol seriously, I don't get it with some people. I know it's the Habs and it sucks losing to them, but what can you do when Allen played the game of his life? Leafs completely dominated other than a small portion of the 2nd

My only takeaway from this game is that I hope Keefe keeps JT and Nylander separated

Will is going to have to play his way back on to that line but make no mistake he is slowly playing his way off the team. This has been Willie's MO since day one, it's just who he is. You can try and deny it and that's OK, it doesn't change the reality. I get the "great contract" the "elite skill set" those things don't matter if you're actions can eventually alienate your teammates. There have been all kinds of guys on hundreds of different teams who's talent eventually wore out it's welcome because of a lack of effort. Almost all of us who've played at whatever level have known this guy at least once or played against him, that guy who hangs on the redline, who skates big circles in his own zone, who so rarely wins important pucks, but man can he ever shoot, stickhandle and skate.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

We've somehow managed to find a coach more stubborn, than stubborn old Mike stubborn Babcock

Matthews wants to play with Marner and so that’s why Keefe doesn’t cater to Nylander and move Marner to play with Tavares

If you move Marner off Matthews line and Matthews loses the Rocket by a goal or two … that’s not wise

 

[Knies iT]

His activate the D - doesn't work. It creates chaos and too many off man rushes.

Tell that to Boston who has one of the most aggressive blue lines when it comes to activating.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

NHL officiating is so corrupt. Byron should have been called for tripping on Matthews, it was skate clipping.

Rielly suicide pinching was the main cause of the goal.

 

[ULF_55]

Matthews wants to play with Marner and so that’s why Keefe doesn’t cater to Nylander and move Marner to play with Tavares

If you move Marner off Matthews line and Matthews loses the Rocket by a goal or two … that’s not wise

The coach really shouldn't be catering to any player.

Team wins should dictate play, not personal stats.

 

[Superstar]

Rielly suicide pinching was the main cause of the goal.

Rielly is a different story, whether he was back or pinching at all shouldn't determine whether it was a trip or not.

 

[therealkoho]

f***ing bullshit non call at the end. Bush league shit. Announcers didn’t even make anything of it. How the f*** is that not a penalty?

51 goddamn shots on net and we lose in regulation

The announcers by and large work at the pleasure of the league, and cannot be too critical or shine too much light on officiating gaffes, they do however inordinately wax poetic when the league gets it right.

 

[ShaneFalco]

We're not elite anymore?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

No i'm putting a lot of trust into dominating a game, playing the right way and badly out chancing your opponent. Obviously an elite goaltender needs to be taken into consideration, he's going to negate (not sure if it's the right word I want to use) a significant amount of the offence. If the skaters play the way they did over a 7 game series, they will win that series almost every single time. Going back to last years series, legit everything that could have went wrong did. It's like the hockey gods tehmselves came down and blessed the Habs.

The shooters also determine actual goals against, something you haven't acknowledged it. The puck doesn't magically go into the net, there's a shot that beats the goalie, and Matthews is the best in the business.

Also question for you, if it was us that was outshot 51-18 and won last night what would the narrative be then ? What would your stance be then ? We were the better team and deserved to win ? We played the right way and dominated ? The better team doesn't always win, there's always some luck involved, but dominating puck possession and scoring chances heavily tilts the odds in your favor and that's all you can do. You can't predict freak injuries to multiple core players, or ridiculous bounces or your player sending the opposing team on a 2 on 0 in OT. You give yourself the best chance to win and we did that, like it or not but luck is absolutely a factor in all sports.

I'll take that game last night from a puck possession/scoring chances point of view 100/100. Like the great Ray once said "That's the way she goes, sometimes she goes sometimes she doesn't" On to the next one.

I think what you are trying to say is that an excellent goaltending performance can mask other issues or even be the difference maker when it comes down to a tight 7 game series.

Montreal last year was an anomaly; it is rare that you see a team like Montreal get so badly outplayed by Toronto and Vegas and have their goalie be able to steal that many games for them. Not saying it never happens, and that you don't need a goalie to come up big in some moments, but if you are betting on your goalie being the main reason why you win a series, then you are likely not winning many series.

Contrarily, you can't have a goalie who craps the bed in series clinching games like ours consistently do as well. We have seen great goalies crap the bed, and we have seen rookies go on a major tear.

What we don't see very often is teams winning when they are constantly getting caved in possession, or don't have high end skill leading the way offensively. They always hit a wall. It may not be the first round, or even the 2nd round, but it comes eventually. And short of a miracle, it won't change. The Leafs don't need a miracle to win a series... They mostly need guys to play to their expectations and have a goalie who doesn't crumble under the pressure at the worst possible time.

 

[ToneDog]

Like shooting 53 shots against Thatcher Demko of Vancouver and losing recently.

Kallgren is a rookie so him losing 3 of his 5 stats may no be all that surprising, but he is not expected to be playing come playoff time either.

What should have Leaf Nation on pins and needles is knowing that Leafs goaltending sv% in 2022 by both Campbell and Mrazek combined places them last in the NHL among teams.

It seems opposition teams do well against the Leafs goalies with their holes/flaws.

Hoping Panthers come at us with their best game. I'd rather see any holes that needed fixing today rather than in May.

 

[ToneDog]

We're not elite anymore?

On pace for team record regular season 108 points. What you talking 'bout Willis ?? ;-)

 

[SeaOfBlue]

The coach really shouldn't be catering to any player.

Team wins should dictate play, not personal stats.

Well I think Bunting - Matthews - Marner caters to team wins.

We shouldn't be splitting up one of the best lines in the league just because Nylander is playing like ass. Nylander shouldn't be rewarded with Matthews. Put him on the 3rd line against weaker competition and make him figure it out with guys like Kerfoot and Spezza on his line. He knows how to play with Kerfoot and it shouldn't be too hard for him to learn how to use Spezza.

 

[Superstar]

On pace for team record regular season 108 points. What you talking 'bout Willis ?? ;-)

Willy: I like 88 better...

 

[Cleetus]

On pace for team record regular season 108 points. What you talking 'bout Willis ?? ;-)

 

[nsleaf]

Don't know if I've ever missed Kadri more than right now. We don't have a capable 2C. There's a dearth of centers in this organization. Trades have consequences...even years later. This one's haunting hard right now.

Hindsight, whatever.............

 

[therealkoho]

Same trip that was called on Gio 3 nights ago that they ended up reversing.

Not the same at all my friend, close but not alike.