Post-Game Talk: Leafs lose to MONTREAL. This team is no gangsta. Lyubushkin is needed, hard.

[Gary Nylund]

unfortunately everything is magnified in leaf land, highs and lows are higher and lower more than ever. also it's funny that when we are winning and playing well it's all "well playoffs blah blah" regular season doesn't count .. but when they play like dogshit, it's like, I knew it, this team sucks fold the team, trade everyone etc etc.....

it was a shit game, but like.... does regular season matter or no? too many goal post moving going around. Im still enjoying the ride into the playoffs.

Of course it matters, it just matters a hundred times less than the playoffs so no, when it comes to that, the goalposts never shift. I don't care that we've been playing like crap lately because it's a few points in the standings, I care because I'm always hoping that these playoffs will be different for us but the way we're playing does not bode well for that at all. And Muzzin going down is also a huge concern, at least it is for me. It's probably even a bigger concern than the way we've played these last several weeks but what, not an issue for you?

Ultimately if they win a round or 2 this game won't be remembered at all. But it's the same disturbing trends leading up to the playoffs and the same lack of push-back - Spezza is one of the few with balls on this team

It all comes down to the playoffs, as always. With all the talent we have there's always hope that a goalie plays well for us and then anything can happen. But then that's the case for pretty much every team, just get in the playoffs and anything can happen if your goalie gets hot.

 

[ACC1224]

Sure some lose their minds a bit after one game but many of the criticisms being brought up have been issues that have been brought up during wins as well and been apparent most of the season.

 

[egd27]

Good play by Anderson to make space for himself and hardly as dramatic as you make it sound.

No kidding, it was much more of a shove than it was a cross check.

Any excuse to avoid admitting the team is abysmal at protecting the front of our own net.

 

[Mess]

Don't shoot the messenger.

Leafs have now lost 4 of their last 6 games and its not really surprising. The game is more than a bunch of X's and O's and dominating the shot and possession clock.

Early warning signs have been there for those that understand system and style of play strategy and Leafs have slowly been slipping back into their Run and Gun style of play and away from their sound 2-way defensive play and its showing in the results to the point of yesterday's 5-2 loss to the worst team in the standings.

If your goalies are giving up 5 goals a game and playing below a .900 sv% because you have abandoned all goalie support and defensive structure and discipline in an effort to play wide open end to end rush hockey in a effort designed only to score goals not prevent them, then you are ill prepared for playoff winning style hockey.

If the playoffs started next week the Leafs the way they're playing now (which is a non playoff successful style) they would be swept away quick. IMO

 

[Gary Nylund]

I disagree. Peak on peak I think we can go toe to toe with anyone in the league right now. Standings bear that out, games against them bear that out, and IMO and objective comparison of rosters without falling into grass is greener traps bears that out. The question is whether or not we can deliver peak when the time comes, and what we do to massage that peak up a little.

Potentially losing Muzzin is really the only recent development that is concerning to me. The rest of the recent blips (goaltending, D, 2nd line) are likely noise.

I wouldn't bet a nickel on us beating TB, who is our most likely 1st round opponent ATM. And goaltending isn't "a blip", it's massively in their favour.

Muzzin going down is a huge concern. Without him, going "toe to toe" with TB seems like a long shot.

 

[thusk]

Campbell's save percentage since December 1st has been around .890%. Mrazek's save percentage on the season is .890%. The Leafs can't score five plus goals every game to make up for their suspect goaltending and even worse defense.

They won a lot of games in January on the backs of Marner and Matthews and special teams. You can't give up 4-5 goals every game in the playoffs and expect to score 5 or more to win every game.

People worried should be worried. This team will be feasted on by Florida, Tampa Bay or Boston in the first round. With this defense and goaltending, they will be slaughtered. You don't have to be a skeptic to see that, but a realist.

Campbell wqs not that bad than the stats telling us and more worried about defensive game than goaltending.

Try to name me 1 d who playing great game right now? Rielly struggle, muzzin struggle, liljegren struggle, holl struggle

 

[JT AM da real deal]

It is 1 game folks .. 1 regular season game .. yes it is horrible as it was against Habs and it showed our deficiencies .. every Leaf fan hates da Habs .. and rightly so .. bottom line in pro hockey every team has 3-5 stinkers per year over season .. sometimes playing worst team in league guys let up a bit thinking easy win and boom boom boom you get knocked out .. no pro team can win a game with DEFENSE like last night NONE .. Rielly got beat flat footed .. Brodie played soft as h*ll .. Holl was Holl and he is only on ice because of Dubie period .. Lily had some bright spots .. Muzzy was brutal and got knocked out .. Dermy was fine as a 5th/6th man .. but overall this is NOT a good playoff defense .. it can survive a skilled passing style of play in regular season hockey but it is NOT a playoff defense

Mitch struggles against PACE as he can't keep up to a long ice game (he plays well in half ice hockey) .. JT looks even more abysmal in a speed type game .. Willy took night off for some reason .. and Matty tried all night long but plays too much on perimeter too .. when you get that effort from top 4 it is guaranteed loss night

Bottom 6 played fine .. and tending was not great either but it wouldn't have mattered if Vasi was in our nets .. we got outskated and outhustled and out played

Turn da page .. our Leafs will slip as season progresses like I told all of you before season started but we have built enough to make it as a wildcard and due to some teams falling in Metro it worked out ok for this regular season

 

[Niagara Bill]

There are few soldiers on this team who can lead, they all follow.
Kase...
Kampf
The Eggman
Kerfoot,
Sandin,
Lilly,
Dermott
Holl
Simmons
These are all bottom half guys who rarely step up in tough going situations. They are expected to. They love it when the big score 3 goals and they can play free. When it us time to change the tenor of the game...nothing....
1996...Red Wings vs Black Hawks. Bob Probert runs wings goalie, a young Brendan Shanahan steps in and fully engages the ranking tough guy in the NHL.
Fighting is not always necessary, but our bottom guys except maybe Simmons can, or would...just once. They do not engage. That has to change if we are to be successful.

 

[leafsfan5]

Like every team...

Do you think colorado was happy with their game yesterday of 1st game against toronto? But they still #1

Or florida when they lost 8-2 to ottawa or 7-3 to nj

Tampa 9-3 against florida or 5-1 against anaheim...

Embarassing game happening to every NHL team

Except those losses weren't against the team who supplied them the most humiliating loss in franchise history under a year ago. If we lost 5-1 to Seattle or 6-2 to New Jersey it wouldn't be a big deal, you take it on the chin and move on. But this one mattered a bit. Keefe even said before the game that we know this is the team who knocked us out last year. You'd expect fire, some pride and some fight. Instead, you got limp leafs who got outplayed, outhustled, outchanced, outgoalied.

They'll bounce back and go on a run, they usually do. But this wasn't a good sign at all and showed it's the same old Leafs. That's the concern.

 

[hoglund]

No kidding, it was much more of a shove than it was a cross check.

Any excuse to avoid admitting the team is abysmal at protecting the front of our own net.

technically it is interference because you can't shove someone who doesn't have the puck.

 

[ShaneFalco]

3. On the note of getting a little crazy, I think it’s nuts that the Leafs basically experimented with line combinations for 1.5 games in 2022 before pretty well saying, “We know what the optimal lines are,” and calling it a day. We have this conversation every single season – I should just start copying and pasting the same few sentences every year. When things go south, they load up the top line… and do little else. And things will go south for every team at some point or another; it’d be nice to have a few different tricks up the sleeve to pull out when they do.

https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2022/02/22/toronto-maple-leafs-notebook-trade-deadline/

 

[3blizzard4]

I called a TD and we got a TD.

 

[egd27]

technically it is interference because you can't shove someone who doesn't have the puck.

Technically.........yes.

Practically......battling / establishing position in front of the net is an accepted part of the game unless a player commits an egregious foul.

What Anderson did was well within what would be considered an "acceptable" establishment of position

 

[cupcrazyman]

Weak as water.

 

[ACC1224]

technically it is interference because you can't shove someone who doesn't have the puck.

It happens 100's a of times a game by both the offense and defense.
Christ it happens in womens hockey where no contact is allowed.

 

[hoglund]

It happens 100's a of times a game by both the offense and defense.
Christ it happens in womens hockey where no contact is allowed.

I agree that everything in the slot is usually considered legal, if that was a Leaf player it would be no goal and Montreal would be on the powerplay.

 

[ACC1224]

I agree that everything in the slot is usually considered legal, if that was a Leaf player it would be no goal and Montreal would be on the powerplay.

Bunting, Tavares, Simmonds, etc have all scored goals like that this year without a penalty being called.
The Leafs weren't victimized by the refs last night, they got the result they deserved.

 

[Clark4Ever]

I saw this one coming so I'm not surprised.

We'll bounce back.

 

[kk87]

Except those losses weren't against the team who supplied them the most humiliating loss in franchise history under a year ago. If we lost 5-1 to Seattle or 6-2 to New Jersey it wouldn't be a big deal, you take it on the chin and move on. But this one mattered a bit. Keefe even said before the game that we know this is the team who knocked us out last year. You'd expect fire, some pride and some fight. Instead, you got limp leafs who got outplayed, outhustled, outchanced, outgoalied.

They'll bounce back and go on a run, they usually do. But this wasn't a good sign at all and showed it's the same old Leafs. That's the concern.

We're 40pts ahead of them in the standings people try to manufacture significance in random regular season games that are no more relevant than any other to the players. You never want your team to play like that but it happens to every team occasionally.

 

[mydnyte]

No kidding, it was much more of a shove than it was a cross check.

Any excuse to avoid admitting the team is abysmal at protecting the front of our own net.

I've always said we suck in front of our net, and we are much too weak.

though, cross check/shove, call it want you want, it should have been called. it was a penalty either cross checking, or interference, but, i could see where this game was going (pathetic), and didnt even watch past the 1st period.

 

[mydnyte]

Bunting, Tavares, Simmonds, etc have all scored goals like that this year without a penalty being called.
The Leafs weren't victimized by the refs last night, they got the result they deserved.

there is a huge difference between 2 players battling in front of the net, and being hit from behind and taken out of the play.

 

[ACC1224]

there is a huge difference between 2 players battling in front of the net, and being hit from behind and taken out of the play.

Don't know what to tell you, this stuff happens many times by both teams every game.

 

[thusk]

Except those losses weren't against the team who supplied them the most humiliating loss in franchise history under a year ago. If we lost 5-1 to Seattle or 6-2 to New Jersey it wouldn't be a big deal, you take it on the chin and move on. But this one mattered a bit. Keefe even said before the game that we know this is the team who knocked us out last year. You'd expect fire, some pride and some fight. Instead, you got limp leafs who got outplayed, outhustled, outchanced, outgoalied.

They'll bounce back and go on a run, they usually do. But this wasn't a good sign at all and showed it's the same old Leafs. That's the concern.

They still the same thing they was last of the league and it was not the 1st game against mtl... so yes its the same thing.

except if you telling me every game we played against montreal, columbus, boston or washington... toronto should be play with intensity because they eliminated toronto during playoff?

 

[mydnyte]

Don't know what to tell you, this stuff happens many times by both teams every game.

yea, but, that play and non-call that early in the game sets the tone for the rest of the game. usually, a clear shot from behind like that is called, especially early in the game.

 

[Bluelines]

In reference to the title of this thread, "Lyubushkin is needed" ....don't get your hopes up for this guy, he's like a Holl clone but plays tougher (he likes to bully smaller forwards) and gets rag dolled often in fights against players his size. He's a good 5 /6 guy ... but will not move the needle in terms of making this team noticeably better. Take your expectations down 6 or 10 notches