Post-Game Talk: Leafs lose to Caps 3-1

[Lightsol]

Definitely playoff reffing.

See, here's my issue with that; every year we hear about how refs "put their whistles away for the playoffs" so we need to "get tougher"... And then we make the playoffs and our series either look the EXACT opposite (everything called), or the refs ref us like it's the regular season and our opponents like it's the playoffs.

The Leafs have been involved in some of the most penalized series of the last decade. So in a way, it is like playoff reffing, in that Washington got playoff-style reffing and we got regular season "call the chintzy shit" reffing.

And I'm sorry, but even in the f***ing playoffs, being in a scrum without a helmet should be an automatic 2 minutes. We're seriously getting to the point where I expect the other team to flip the puck into the stands and the ref saying "Yeah, I didn't see it. No penalty for DOG", because at this point, they're ignoring no-questions-asked penalties.

 

[Antropovsky]

Berube: "We didn’t play a north game, we didn’t play fast tonight. They were the better team. They deserved to win.”

 

[The Best Leafs Everr]

I’m yelling this for the last 5 games. We need to start shooting pucks at referees. Haunt their lives, when they go to sleep they should be scared of pucks in their dream. Don’t worry if anything happens to them. We need that Darcy Tucker mentality, kill them at all costs.

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

I’m yelling this for the last 5 games. We need to start shooting pucks at referees. Haunt their lives, when they go to sleep they should be scared of pucks in their dream. Don’t worry if anything happens to them. We need that Darcy Tucker mentality, kill them at all costs.

Well.. we shot one at a ref tonite. Didn't work out so good..

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

The last few games, if we're being honest, havet been good enuff. These boys don't have the horses. Not for a sustained hard-nosed detail oriented grind. They are not FLA, they are not Washington. They had a good lil run on a few games like that but otherwise, some level of lethargy an even disinterest in great swaths of the game with lax OEL, Morgan play - some swingbys by the boys not finishing checks, etc.. It just feels like the stamina and discipline required to keep up is still not there for this team. We'll see how it evolves, but looks to be the biggest issue right now.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

The look on Berube's face said it all.

He can't wait to get Robertson off the team. Robertson would be the worst player in the lineup if it wasn't for Holmberg. The difference is expectations were much lower for Holmberg.

That's what makes Robertson the biggest disappointment of the year so far.

I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise for a member of this core to have an outstanding season in a contract year. But it's still impressive what Tavares is accomplishing. The expectation for most fans was a continued regression in his game.

Seeing him still putting up points has been one of the highlights of the season.

I know they moved OEL back to his left side because he hadn't been playing well recently. I'm not sure pairing him with Tanev was the best solution though. As an armchair wannabe coach it looks to me like OEL brings Tanev down more than Tanev brings OEL up.

Berube probably doesn't like them as a top pairing either but the alternatives are Benoit, Myers, or Timmins.

 

[thewave]

The look on Berube's face said it all.

He can't wait to get Robertson off the team. Robertson would be the worst player in the lineup if it wasn't for Holmberg. The difference is expectations were much lower for Holmberg.

That's what makes Robertson the biggest disappointment of the year so far.

I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise for a member of this core to have an outstanding season in a contract year. But it's still impressive what Tavares is accomplishing. The expectation for most fans was a continued regression in his game.

Seeing him still putting up points has been one of the highlights of the season.

I know they moved OEL back to his left side because he hadn't been playing well recently. I'm not sure pairing him with Tanev was the best solution though. As an armchair wannabe coach it looks to me like OEL brings Tanev down more than Tanev brings OEL up.

Berube probably doesn't like them as a top pairing either but the alternatives are Benoit, Myers, or Timmins.

Reaves Holmberg and Robertson were all trash. The only thing worse on that ice were the two dumb ass refs that cost us the game. Clearly gave them a pp advantage, non calls to sag our momentum and a perfect assist to end the game.

Refs should be disciplined for that turd. Not even joking, if I were an NHL manager over the Refs and had integrity about me, that would be done. Doesn't matter the crest on the team or even if WSH was on the receiving end and lost the game. It was a shit show.

Imagine there were an international body, like a fairness commission brought in to observe and give an opinion on the officiating the Leafs get. By the numbers too. Slam dunk they would find Toronto is mercilessly and constantly on the recieving end of poor officiating.

 

[Gilmour1996]

The greatest trick the fixers ever pulled was convincing the fans that the refs didn't know what they were doing.

 

[darrylsittler27]

Reaves Holmberg and Robertson were all trash. The only thing worse on that ice were the two dumb ass refs that cost us the game. Clearly gave them a pp advantage, non calls to sag our momentum and a perfect assist to end the game.

Refs should be disciplined for that turd. Not even joking, if I were an NHL manager over the Refs and had integrity about me, that would be done. Doesn't matter the crest on the team or even if WSH was on the receiving end and lost the game. It was a shit show.

Imagine there were an international body, like a fairness commission brought in to observe and give an opinion on the officiating the Leafs get. By the numbers too. Slam dunk they would find Toronto is mercilessly and constantly on the recieving end of poor officiating.

The question for me is why does an organization as big as Toronto say nothing about officiating when it's so obvious. The fans pay good money to watch rigged games and it will cost them a series and hopefully NHL insider Shanahan his job. We aren't as elite as we thought so we need every edge we can get.

 

[BallardEra]

Didn't realize that the Caps are 10-2-0 on the road this season.

That felt like a playoff game last night.

 

[weems]

Frustrating game that we didnt generate much.
Washington is playing good hockey and we didn't get many breaks from the refs.
As fun as it is to see Minten/Grebs play, we really need to get players like Pac, McMann, Domi back.
Also the absence of McCabe is huge, he was arguably our best defencemen through the first 20 games.

Hopefully they show up tonight against Pitt and beat an old team on a back to back.

Didn't realize that the Caps are 10-2-0 on the road this season.

That felt like a playoff game last night.

Washington has been very impressive.
I'm not sure they can keep this up over 82 games but Carberry deserves alot of credit for how they've started the season.

 

[Hellcat]

Thought it was an outstanding game / battle by both teams, the difference was a bad bounce off a Ref. That was playoff hockey in December, with 6 regulars and one Jani out of the lineup, I thought the Leafs fought for their ice the entire game.

The refs were shit for both teams. Both teams played a super structured game. I know we lost but watching the Leafs collapse towards the net, fight for pucks along the boards, tells me this is not the same team as the Keefe Leafs. Yeah the Leafs had 15ish shots halfway through the 3rd but it was tied 1-1 and they were fightign for ice. The difference from this years team and previous years Leaf teams, when ice is this hard to find, this is a game where in previous years the Leafs would have give up midway through the 1st period and it ends up 5-1 for their opponent. Great TEAM effort.

Nik Robertson has no business in a Berube system, he is utterly useless, he does nothing. Bad reads, bad lost pucks, he had a season low ATOI and a season low in # of shifts. He may have played enough to show he is not enough. If it comes down to Nylanders brother and Nik, the Leafs might choose to waive Nik.

 

[Hellcat]

The question for me is why does an organization as big as Toronto say nothing about officiating when it's so obvious. The fans pay good money to watch rigged games and it will cost them a series and hopefully NHL insider Shanahan his job. We aren't as elite as we thought so we need every edge we can get.

It might just be that the refs in general suck. I watch a lot of hockey and the Leafs effect happens every night in multiple games to many other teams. I see every team get "jobbed" by the refs, every night. Are refs human and carry players bias and call some games by the name on the back of their sweaters, ask Wilson about last nights Interference PIM. Yes, yes they do. Then there is the unexplainable Bunting effect, where when he was on our roster he would get a PIM for lacing up his skates too slow, now he is a choir boy. Maybe it's that the Leafs get so much media coverage, it's hard for the Refs to not notice specific players, who knows, I dont think the refs are crooked and tank games for certain teams.

 

[Dayjobdave]

See, here's my issue with that; every year we hear about how refs "put their whistles away for the playoffs" so we need to "get tougher"... And then we make the playoffs and our series either look the EXACT opposite (everything called), or the refs ref us like it's the regular season and our opponents like it's the playoffs.

The Leafs have been involved in some of the most penalized series of the last decade. So in a way, it is like playoff reffing, in that Washington got playoff-style reffing and we got regular season "call the chintzy shit" reffing.

And I'm sorry, but even in the f***ing playoffs, being in a scrum without a helmet should be an automatic 2 minutes. We're seriously getting to the point where I expect the other team to flip the puck into the stands and the ref saying "Yeah, I didn't see it. No penalty for DOG", because at this point, they're ignoring no-questions-asked penalties.

Exactly. Your post is what I mean by playoff reffing. The Leafs were called for tiki tac stuff, refs invented rules to not call the Caps, so they were draped all over us.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Goals are overrated come playoff time. Come playoff time, it's about winning battles on the ice. Goals are a byproduct of positive play. All those players you mentioned, we need them.

Goals are a critical component of being successful in the playoffs. In fact, goals from depth players become more important when teams play the superstars tough and tight. Look no further than our failings in the playoffs…when Matthews or Marner are shut down, despite playing well in critical games, we’ve lost. To say we “need” a Holmberg, Grebenkin, or Dewar without them chipping in a goal is a ridiculous comment. If Reaves plays in the playoffs, our judgment will be questioned.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Bound to lose a tight game. Happier it was because of questionable reffing than the team making a mistake.

The struggled with Washington's pressure though so this is an opportunity for feedback. I did like that they kept their composure through it though and got chances.

The soft calls against the Leafs were one thing but what decided it was the non holding the stick call on Carlson. The ensuing shift was the bad bounce of the ref leading to the winning goal.

Encoring that those bad bounces seem to be the only way to score against the Leafs these days. Even the first goal was a nice tip.

The fourth line is a black hole though with Reaves back. They seem to be getting caved.

The fourth line was caved in virtually every shift. Reaves on this roster is an anchor but Grebenkin looked totally ineffective/overwhelmed his entire 7 minutes of playing time.

 

[Brown Dog]

Berube: "We didn’t play a north game, we didn’t play fast tonight. They were the better team. They deserved to win.”

This bugs me a little. When we lose and point to how we won the "expected" goals battle, etc., people complain that "expected" results mean squat.

Fact is, we were in a tie game late and got hosed by crappy officiating and a bad bounce (off the refs no less).

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

The officiating sucked tonight and they even got an assist on the game winner but the team better team won tonight.

no they didn't you can't say the better team won when the ref literally kicked the game winning goal to the caps.

That's got nothing to do with the better team winning that's called getting f***ed.

 

[thewave]

no they didn't you can't say the better team won when the ref literally kicked the game winning goal to the caps.

That's got nothing to do with the better team winning that's called getting f***ed.

We hit the post 3 or more times as well. I thought it was pretty even minus the ref advantage for WSH

 

[Schennanigans]

We didn’t deserve to win that one but the refs sucked and why isn’t ref interference a thing…

 

[Da Mash]

We need better bottom six play .....and this has been the case for the last several years.

Robertson needs to be in a new system. He just doesnt fit here. Reaves is a plug and will continue to be a plug. There is no sugar coating that turd IMHO.

In the end like alot of sports......the refs dictate the games. Its been like this for decades but much more noticeable now because of availability of games and social media.
There is a reason teams get a PP when a goal down late in games. It seems to happen all the time.

The refs and sports media are brainwashed in thinking they have to act a certain way because they dont want to show Leaf bias. Yet other high profile teams get calls and praise all the time.

There is no consistency in NHL calls. No wonder the rules change in the playoffs. No other sport does this.

Why is that?

Promote goons and think that crosschecking and interference is a good thing in the playoffs? Why do teams like the Avs seem to always lead the league in PP's? year after year? Better coaching? .....cant be all that.

There is a reason the NHL will never top the other 3 major sports in North America. All the other sports promote their stars. The NHL likes to promote goonery. Their highlights are having players fight with plastic armour on and shields or dirty hits. They rather see dirty stick work then skills with the stick IMHO.

The refs wont change because the way they call games have been engrained in them for a long time.
There is never any accountability and you can see that from how the NHL is run.

 

[meefer]

Berube: "We didn’t play a north game, we didn’t play fast tonight. They were the better team. They deserved to win.”

They were.

 

[WillyC]

NFL officiating > NHL referees

It’s really gotten that bad.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

My haterd for Robertson continues to grow.

You could argue he did more to lose the game last night then any other single player on the team.

HE cost them the first goal

HE screwed up a 2 on 1

HE took at least 1INCREDIBLY stupid penalty.

He's got to go.

 

[GoonieFace]

What a ridiculously stupid take on what happened. The official was pulling his leg backwards, you cannot kick something forward by moving your foot backwards. If you want to lay blame for what happened lay it where it belongs - right on the shoulders of Captain America who made a crappy, lazy ass pass attempt that ended up costing his team the game.

Or you can blame Marner for not being stronger on the boards and getting the puck out. Neither are to blame by the way, just an unfortunate play