Post-Game Talk: Leafs lose 5 -1

[Punch Drunk Loov]

It's just not a winning mix of guys. We can either keep trying to force it or have the guts to try a different look. At a certain point it's detrimental, nobody is growing we've hit a plateau

 

[leafsfan5]

My eyes aren't as good. Anyone pinpoint besides Willy who else is here?

It's all the scratches and Willy, but this is huge news. He probably needed to skate after not being on the ice for a few days

Hopefully this means he's good to go

 

[Ports]

Leafs can’t play a high risk, puck possession game against a disciplined, strong defensive team like the Bruins. The Bruins can just wait for the Leafs defensive mistakes, score a couple of goals and then just clog up the neutral zone and net front for the rest of the game. All those short risky passes the Leafs try in their own zone prevent them from getting the puck out and be able to go on the forecheck and pressure the Bruins defense. Keefe needs to forget his run and gun offense. The Bruins have figured out how to neutralize it and with their great goaltending the Leafs aren’t going to win games 5-4 anyways. The Leafs need to simplify their game, get pucks out quickly, clog up the middle of the ice and try and win low scoring games. They’re not the ‘76 Habs or ‘85 Oilers that Keefe and Shanahan think they are.

 

[AllHeartNoSkill]

Six players (only one who is a regular) and a goalie at an optional skate after a 5-1 loss is ridiculous. Tell me again why coaching isn't one of our biggest problems. PK sucked, PP sucked more, and a defensive specialist who has missed two months of play due to injury is inserted to the PP in his first game back, and now an optional skate? They had nothing to work on? Makes me almost want to lose so we move on from Keefe.

For the special teams, have they made any meaningful adjustments those? They’ve been broken for so long and they’re just hoping to “snap out of it”? Are the coaching something that COULD work but the players just don’t do it? I just don’t get how they can’t find a way to improve it.

 

[thusk]

Sammy was definitely not the biggest issue last night. He sucked but Matthews, Marner and Tavares were embarrassing last night

youre taking high danger chance from those 3 player and together they had the same number of scoring chance than the complete boston bruins team.

please dont tell me Samsonov was not the biggest issues. The biggest save leafs had been made by the post and not by Samsonov.

Samsonov made look basic like pretty hard save and high scoring chance

 

[notbias]

Six players (only one who is a regular) and a goalie at an optional skate after a 5-1 loss is ridiculous. Tell me again why coaching isn't one of our biggest problems. PK sucked, PP sucked more, and a defensive specialist who has missed two months of play due to injury is inserted to the PP in his first game back, and now an optional skate? They had nothing to work on? Makes me almost want to lose so we move on from Keefe.

they've had hundreds of practices, but this one will fix the PP and PK?

I assume most teams have days off win or lose.

 

[TMLegend]

Andersen already proved he folds under pressure with us though.

False narrative. Freddy was scapegoated by this team as a cover up for their failure to score on the playoffs.

Granted, Freddy's health hasn't been the best the last few years. But the way his tenure ended in Toronto left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[Rare Jewel]

Andersen already proved he folds under pressure with us though.

No, he doesn't.

That's what the fans of the prior GM told themselves to put a disproportional amount of the blame on the guys who acquired before 2018.


I do remember him being in need of some scoring support vs. CBJ, though...

 

[The Masters]

 

[Captain Crunch]

I'm not sure what idea I projected, but Nylander played all 82 games, including the last 4 that were completely and utterly irrelevant.

And then he mysteriously went MIA from the team the day after the last game of the season, and missed the first game of the playoffs.


If it was a nagging thing that flared up in that last game or 2, then his contract extension should be voided, and the entirety of the training and coaching staff should be fired immediately.


And since we have had no update on whatever is bothering him sufficiently to miss playoff games, it’s fair to ask.

EVERY team is vague when it comes to giving out any useful info on injuries in the playoffs.

 

[Suntouchable13]

youre taking high danger chance from those 3 player and together they had the same number of scoring chance than the complete boston bruins team.

please dont tell me Samsonov was not the biggest issues. The biggest save leafs had been made by the post and not by Samsonov.

Samsonov made look basic like pretty hard save and high scoring chance

Give me a break. How many times we gonna talk about it? Finish those chances then if they had so many high danger ones. Goaltending is what it is because there is no money. How many times can that be said? So the high paid forwards better finish those chances. They making the big money, not Samsonov. Samsonov is all this team can afford. The high scoring forwards need to finish their chances, simple as. I am sick and tired of talking about "chances" or "expected goals".

 

[arso40]

This team needs a new coach, and a massive shake-up to the core. Also for the love of God get a D-man that can move the puck! Rielly is the only guy that doesn’t treat the puck like a grenade. A big issue with this team is that it takes them forever to get the puck out of the D zone. All you see these guys do is reverse, reverse, reverse. Boston is eatting us alive on the forecheck

What game were you watching?? Lily was our best dman

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I can’t believe Keefe chose to put Jarnkrok on PP1 over Bertuzzi with Nylander out of the lineup. Ignoring the fact that Bertuzzi should already be on PP1 over our slow and useless Captain, choosing Jarnkrok over him is insane.

 

[Ports]

man Mccabe had the worst game Ive seen him play all year. He was very physical and punishing the other team at least but his puck handling was atrocious and dumb decision making defensively. Benoit had some struggles as well but was very physical. Lybushkin is just trash. We need Brodie in so badly and it was a terrible coaching decision to keep him out. I know he's been bad this year but common he's an experienced veteran top 4 D.

Woll, Nylander, Mcmann and Brodie being in would definitely help us a ton.

Brodie especially on RD is not the answer. The Bruins will just run him, he’ll cough up the puck and be soft around their net. Keefe’s system is the problem. Their dmen over handle the puck trying to make too many fancy passes instead of just make smart, safe plays getting the puck out and allowing the Leafs forwards to put pressure on the Bruins defense with a strong forecheck. The Bruins have beat the Leafs eight games in a row by just waiting for the Leafs to make mistakes. Leafs need to play a tighter, more conservative style and try and win low scoring games.

 

[Antropovsky]

youre taking high danger chance from those 3 player and together they had the same number of scoring chance than the complete boston bruins team.

please dont tell me Samsonov was not the biggest issues. The biggest save leafs had been made by the post and not by Samsonov.

Samsonov made look basic like pretty hard save and high scoring chance

Matthews had 5 five vs 4 shots, 2 high danger and 3 medium danger, one post.

He's not in control that the team isn't getting him the puck on the pp.

5 even strength shots, 3 medium to high danger. Matthews did his part. His penalty was while standing in the crease battling for position. Maybe Marner would get a penalty like that if he wrnt to dirty areas and battled.

As I said, Marner had 2 shots total, one from long range (blueline) and the other not ranked because it was further than the blueline (probably a clearing attempt that went to Swayman).

 

[1specter]

 

[Aashir Mallik]

Give me a break. How many times we gonna talk about it? Finish those chances then if they had so many high danger ones. Goaltending is what it is because there is no money. How many times can that be said? So the high paid forwards better finish those chances. They making the big money, not Samsonov. Samsonov is all this team can afford. The high scoring forwards need to finish their chances, simple as. I am sick and tired of talking about "chances" or "expected goals".

man it’s been 8 years and I was sick of it the 3rd time around

We’ve heard this crap from Boston 2019 about “we deserved to win” or “we got goalied”. That second statement is smearing shit on our core 4 guys faces. Why tf are each and every one of you paid 1-2 milllion over market for then? If they need another top six winger, the extra top 4dman and the true elite goaltender, then what are we paying them for. Our teams makeup shouldn’t be the typical makeup because they don’t make the typical salary

When the Kings or Hurricanes get goalied it makes sense because they paid their forwards normal money just like the rest of the team, so it can sometimes be expected to fail. We didn’t do that, we overpaid our guys so that exact excuse can’t happen, I’ll hear out “our goaltender was shit” if we score 4 goals and ours let’s in 5 stinkers. These guys should be able to single-handedly win series’s

People want a normal team make up when we are short handed 8-10 million compared to others

 

[Ports]

I would tend to agree with you. Where the teams differed last night is Boston didn't make mistakes, they had detail in their game, when Toronto made mistakes they capitalized on them. Take a look at the Boston goals, they are perfect shots, like absolutely threading a needle, except for the Debrusk PP goal. The Leafs are far too lose/undisciplined in their game, that is quite simply bad coaching, repetitively teaching the right way to play the game, is not done here. When the Leafs had that infrequent spurt of pressure in the B's zone, the B's relatively easily, stopped that pressure and were able to get the puck out of their zone. Sustained pressure is something the Leafs need 10x in their next game.

Swayman was perfect, he was in the right place at the right time but that is why you pay 4 players 10+ mil (Nylander next year), Those type of players are supposed to expose seams / weaknesses to make Swayman get out of position. We got playoff goalied again for the billionth time, that is system related.

Marner was a zero, Matty was a big old zero, JT zero.

Domi all though a bad PIM , understands that if you are not scoring, you better be hurting.

End of the day I thought this would go 4 and so far that prediction is bang on.

The Bruins have beat the Leafs eight games in a row this way but Keefe still hasn’t figured it out hoping they’ll out score their mistakes. That and terrible special teams tells most of the problems are behind the bench.

 

[authentic]

Didn’t he have food poisoning last year in the playoffs too?

 

[HamiltonNHL]

you win some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you lose some, you wait 5 decades, you lose some, you tie a few and lose in OT.

im hopeful.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

Didn’t he have good poisoning last year in the playoffs too?

If that’s the case this man needs to start eating exclusively celery sticks from a week before the playoffs lol

 

[Gallagbi]

Leafs can’t play a high risk, puck possession game against a disciplined, strong defensive team like the Bruins. The Bruins can just wait for the Leafs defensive mistakes, score a couple of goals and then just clog up the neutral zone and net front for the rest of the game. All those short risky passes the Leafs try in their own zone prevent them from getting the puck out and be able to go on the forecheck and pressure the Bruins defense. Keefe needs to forget his run and gun offense. The Bruins have figured out how to neutralize it and with their great goaltending the Leafs aren’t going to win games 5-4 anyways. The Leafs need to simplify their game, get pucks out quickly, clog up the middle of the ice and try and win low scoring games. They’re not the ‘76 Habs or ‘85 Oilers that Keefe and Shanahan think they are.

A run and gun offense is the opposite of puck possession

 

[authentic]

If that’s the case this man needs to start eating exclusively celery sticks from a week before the playoffs lol

Or Kraft Dinner. I never got food poisoning from Kraft Dinner.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

We had more expected goals nearly the whole game. The third period just made it much more lopsided for us.

Look at this chart:


View attachment 856410

If the stats say the Leafs should have won this game.
The stats are really wrong.

 

[Gallagbi]

Didn’t he have food poisoning last year in the playoffs too?

Food poisoning doesn't make much sense given the timelines. Didn't we hear about the question if him playing a day or two in advance